Everyone loves a delicious sandwich and with simple ingredients, these cheesy easy Meatball Sub Sandwiches are no exception. While we think this is the best meatball sub recipe, after the first bite, you'll agree too.
Sonoran Style Dogs and Cheddar Bacon Beer Brats are two more delicious sandwiches you should try.
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What's the difference between a Hoagie, Sub, Hero, or Grinder
Many people use the words subs, hoagies, heroes, and grinders interchangeably, especially subs and hoagies. But is there really a difference between them all?
Short answer: not really. They're all subs.
It's geography that makes them all different. For example a sandwich on a submarine shaped roll, where the name sub has derived from, in New York is called a hero, but in New England, it's a grinder. The hoagie hails from Philadelphia. If you're in New Orleans, you'll order a Po'Boy.
Some say hoagies tend to have a bit harder crust while subs are soft and tender. Wasn't it Shakespeare who said:
"What's in a name? That which we call a sub, by any other name would taste just as great," or something like that anyway.
Recipe Ingredients
Meatballs — we used our homemade meatball recipe that were already cooked. Cooked meatballs are the easiest way to make this recipe. We toss any leftover meatballs in a freezer bag for recipes just like this.
Cheese — why use one type of cheese when you can use two? You'll want both mozzarella and Parmesan. Use the block kind and grate them yourself for best results.
Sauce — we used jarred marinara sauce to make this recipe the easiest it could be. Homemade marinara sauce or any tomato sauce based sauce like spaghetti sauce will do.
Bread — actual sub rolls were used in the recipe, soft bread that we toasted.
Basil — technically it's optional but it does add a bit of freshness along with hint sweetness to the recipe.
Variations
Bread — hoagie rolls, French bread, even hot dog buns will work
Meatballs — pre-cooked frozen meatballs, meatball recipes made from different meats (ground meat such as ground turkey, ground pork, or Italian sausage.)
Extra flavor — freshly ground black pepper, red pepper flakes, fresh herbs like fresh parsley or oregano, or spread garlic butter inside the sub rolls before adding the warm meatballs and cheese.
How to make meatball subs
Step 1 — Preheat oven to 400°F. Add the meatballs to the skillet.
Step 2 — Cover the meatballs with pasta sauce. Give everything a good stir to make sure the meatballs are covered.
Step 3 — Top with most of the Parmesan cheese, then the mozzarella cheese, reserving a bit to sprinkle on the individual sandwiches. If using, garnish with freshly chopped basil.
Step 4 — Bake for 15 minutes uncovered or until the meatballs are heated through and the cheese has melted.
Step 5 — Slice the bread open, and place the meatballs and melty cheese. Sprinkle a bit more of the remaining freshly grated cheeses and some fresh basil. Place them on a cast iron baking tray and pop them under the broiler for a couple of minutes to melt the new top layer of cheese and toast the sub rolls.
What to serve with meatball sub sandwiches
- Chips or pretzels
- Pickle spears or giardiniera
- Green salad, antipasti, or fruit salad
Recipe FAQs
Yes, add the desired amount as a topping. Italian seasoning is also a great addition instead of just basil.
Oh yes! You can use it instead of or in addition to the cheeses. Replace mozzarella with slices of provolone or add the slices between the Parmesan and mozzarella layers.
Increase the cooking time to at least 30 minutes. We also recommend you cover the skillet so the cheesy top doesn't over cook and burn; uncover during the last 10 minutes allowing the cheese to melt.
More Italian style Sandwiches
- Italian Grinder Sandwich
- Pesto Caprese Sandwich
- Mortadella, Burrata, and Pesto Panino
- Italian Beef Sandwich
Other Related Italian Inspired Recipes
If you tried these Meatball Subs or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Get the Recipe
Meatball Subs
Equipment
- 12" cast iron skillet
- Cast iron baking sheet
Ingredients
- 18 homemade meatballs
- 24 oz pasta sauce
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
- 8 oz mozzarella cheese freshly grated
- 6 sub rolls
- fresh basil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Add the meatballs to the skillet.
- Cover the meatballs with pasta sauce.
- Top with most of the Parmesan cheese, then the mozzarella cheese, reserving a bit to sprinkle on the individual sandwiches.
- If using, add freshly chopped basil.
- Bake for 15 minutes uncovered or until the meatballs are heated through and the cheese has melted.
- Slice the bread open, and place the meatballs and melty cheese.
- Sprinkle a bit more of the remaining freshly grated cheeses and some fresh basil.
- Place them on a cast iron baking tray and pop them under the broiler for a couple of minutes to melt the new top layer of cheese and toast the sub rolls.
Notes
Homemade Italian Meatballs
Variations Bread — hoagie rolls, French bread, even hot dog buns will work Meatballs — pre-cooked frozen meatballs, meatball recipes made from different meats (ground meat such as ground turkey, ground pork, or Italian sausage.) Extra flavor — freshly ground black pepper, red pepper flakes, fresh herbs like fresh parsley or oregano, or spread garlic butter inside the sub rolls before adding the warm meatballs and cheese. What do serve with meatball subs- Chips or pretzels
- Pickle spears or giardiniera
- Green salad, antipasti, or fruit salad
Nutrition
Dutch Oven Daddy is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.
D says
Yummy!!
Dina and Bruce says
We made these this week, and they were a huge hit! So cheesy!
Ned Adams says
Awesome!! So glad they were a hit!
Alison says
It was a meal that my picky kids actually loved.
Dutch Oven Daddy says
That's always a win, isn't it!?!
Travis says
My kids are big meatball fans so this one went over well. It is great to make something that kids will actually eat.