A standby Meatball Subs –, served with garlic bun!

At a glance

What stands out: Keep meatballs in your freezer to make these straightforward meatball sub sandwiches. Everyone loves them!

How long it takes: 20 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: saucepan, baking sheet
Servings: makes 4 sandwiches

Pizza in a Bun

We know you all love pizza! And you know we love pizza. Just a speedy search of our site will reveal that. Pizza pasta, pizza chicken, BBQ chicken pizza, pizza sliders, pepperoni pizza dip, grilled pizza, and that’s just a sampling. For a quickie pizza, try English muffin pizzas, pizza quesadillas, or air fryer bagel bites!

While there are many variations of pizza, there’s nothing quite like a meatball sub. It’s kind of like pizza in a bun. A pizza with meatballs, that is.

So, meatball subs it is! Make them for dinner tonight. They’re a big hit on game day, too. A meatball sub satisfies even the most hungry appetite.

Any Meatball will Do!

From-scratch or already made. Any of your favorite meatballs will work for this recipe, whether they’re from-scratch from your grandma’s recipe, or store-bought frozen ones.

Turkey meatballs. We like to use from-scratch baked turkey meatballs. Made with ground turkey, they are a little leaner than beef meatballs, have great flavor, and are straightforward to mix. We almost always have some in the freezer which simplifies making this sandwich by a long shot.

Classic meatballs. If turkey isn’t your thing, we have a great recipe for classic meatballs made with a mixture of ground beef and pork. They are good, too!

Air fryer meatballs. We like to make air fryer meatballs. They cook up evenly and in no time at all. Even frozen meatballs can be cooked quickly in the air fryer without thawing them first!

What goes in

• Sub buns: You need a hefty bun for a meatball sandwich. Submarine sandwich buns are reliable.
• Meatballs: Your choice, turkey, beef, from-scratch, frozen, whatever. They do have to be cooked first though!
• Marinara: Buy a jar (spaghetti sauce works too), or use your from-scratch pizza sauce.
• Cheese: Top your sandwich with lots of shredded cheese. Use a mixture of provolone and mozzarella for ultimate gooey goodness.

How it comes together

Prep meatballs. Begin by warming the meatballs up in marinara sauce. Frozen meatballs will take a little longer to warm.

Prep buns. If you like, hollow out the bottom half of the bun just a bit so the meatballs fit right in there, snug as a bug. For utmost flavor, spread garlic butter on the buns and toast them under the broiler for a few minutes before filling. This straightforward step adds so much to your sandwiches.

Fill buns. Place the meatballs with a spoonful of sauce in the bun and cover with lots of shredded cheese.

Broil. Broil a few minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Garnish. Sprinkle with freshly chopped parsley if you’d like a garnish. Enjoy!

Side Dish Suggestions

Since meatball subs are pretty filling, you don’t need a lot of side dishes. We like to serve a salad, like creamy coleslaw, arugula salad with a bright lemony dressing, or simple cucumber onion salad. Fresh fruit is always a good side, such as sliced apples, citrus fruits, or pineapple or mango. Serve the fruit with cream cheese fruit dip.

Ways to change it

• Add veggies. Sauté sliced bell peppers, onions, and/or mushrooms, and add them to the sandwich on top of the meatballs, then top with cheese.
• Add pepperoni. Add a few slices of pepperoni to the sandwich for more pizza flavor.
• Not in the mood for pizza? Try chipotle honey glazed meatballs on a bun instead!

Keeping leftovers

Meatball subs are best eaten immediately. If you do happen to have leftovers, wrap and refrigerate for up to one day.

To reheat, wrap in foil, and reheat in oven for 20 minutes at 350°F or until heated through.

Free Meal Plan

Interested in a weekly meal plan that includes this recipe? Take a look at Meal Plan #59. You’ll find a wholesome recipe for each weekday plus a categorized grocery list.

Browse Meal Plans

• Yield: 4 servings
• Prep: 5 minutes
• Cook: 15 minutes
• Total: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 12 pre-cooked or frozen meatballs (see notes for recipe links)
• 1 jar (24 ounces) marinara or pasta sauce (see note)
• ¼ cup salted butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 4 sandwich buns (we recommend sub buns, hoagie rolls, or French rolls)
• 1 cup freshly shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup freshly shredded provolone cheese (see note)
• fresh Italian parsley, for garnish (optional)

Method

1. Place meatballs in a large saucepan and add marinara sauce. Bring to a simmer over low heat until meatballs and sauce are heated through. (This will take a bit longer if using frozen meatballs, but they don’t need to be defrosted first.)
2. Preheat oven broiler to high. LIne a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper for easy cleanup.
3. Meanwhile, combine melted butter and garlic salt in a small bowl. Slice buns along the side and gently open, being careful that the bun stays intact. Place buns on a baking sheet. Brush open face of the buns with the butter mixture. Coat well (you may not use all of the butter). Place in the oven and broil for 2 to 3 minutes or just until bread begins to toast. Remember that the edges of the buns will brown further during the next steps. Remove buns from oven.
4. Fill each bun with three warmed meatballs, spooning a bit of the sauce over the top. Top each sub with ¼ to ½ cup shredded cheese. Put the filled subs back on the baking sheet.
5. Broil the subs for 2 to 3 minutes, or just until cheese is melted. Watch closely, and remove the subs from the oven as soon as the cheese is melted.
6. Serve meatball subs hot, sprinkled with a bit of freshly chopped parsley, and with extra sauce on the side. Makes 4 sandwiches.

Notes

Marinara sauce: Instead of a jar of sauce, you can use 3 cups of from-scratch spaghetti sauce or pizza sauce. There will plenty of sauce to use for dipping.

Cheese: Omit provolone and use all mozzarella if desired.

Meatballs: Try our classic meatballs, baked turkey meatballs, or air fryer meatballs.