These are the BEST meatball subs! Made with a garlic toasted bun, tender meatballs, homemade tomato sauce and provolone cheese, these meatball sub sandwiches are guaranteed to satisfy.
One of my favorite meals as a child was meatball sub sandwiches.
Meatballs piled on a toasted bun with melted cheese was just comfort food to me.
Meatball Subs
In my opinion, there are decent meatball subs and there are knock-it out of the park meatball subs.
And I am sharing with you how to make a knock-it out of the park sub sandwich.
My recipe for meatball subs starts with homemade meatballs that are filled with INCREDIBLE flavor and homemade tomato sauce. Served on a toasted bun that has been flavored with garlic and smothered in provolone cheese. It is ooey, gooey, savory perfection.
For the Best Meatball Subs
The difference between a good meatball sub and a great meatball sub are all in the details. With minimal ingredients needed to make a meatball sub sandwich, it is essential to choose your ingredients wisely.
- Homemade Meatballs
- Yes, you can use any frozen or store-bought meatballs you like for meatball subs, but for the BEST meatball sub, I strongly suggest homemade meatballs.
- Instant Pot Meatballs work well in this recipe as well.
- Homemade Tomato Sauce
- Again, you can use any store bought marinara/spaghetti sauce you like. While I prefer my homemade marinara sauce, there are really good quality brands on the market.
- Hoagie Buns
- You want a thick bun that has room for 3-4 meatballs per sub.
- Provolone Cheese
- Provolone is my go to cheese for meatball subs.
- Thinly sliced provolone is best so that the cheese melts sufficiently to fully cover the bun and meatballs.
- Olive Oil
- Used to help perfectly toast the hoagie bun.
- Seasonings
- Mix garlic powder and dried oregano into the olive oil for an added layer of flavor to these meatball sandwiches.
How to make Meatball Subs
Step One: Prepare Meatballs and Sauce
- Make Oven Baked Meatballs or Instant Pot Meatballs.
- Make Homemade Marinara (or warm up jarred spaghetti sauce.)
- Mix prepared meatballs with just enough sauce to coat.
- For one batch of meatballs this is typically 2 cups sauce.
- If using frozen meatballs, warm through in sauce before assembling meatball subs.
Step Two: Toast Buns
- Toasting the buns ensures that you will not have a soggy meatball sub.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Mix together olive oil and seasonings.
- Brush on inside of the hoagie buns
- Place seasoned opened buns on cookie sheet and bake for 5 minutes, or until golden.
Step Three: Assemble Meatball Sandwich
- Place provolone cheese slices on bun, overlapping to cover surface of the bun.
- This step helps to keep the sandwich from getting soggy as well.
- Top toasted bun with 3-4 meatballs.
- Top with another piece of provolone cheese.
- Return to oven to bake for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.
- Remove from oven and close bun and serve.
Serve Meatball Subs with:
Meatball Sub Recipe
I would love to know how you enjoy this recipe! Be sure to leave a comment and let me know. Or snap a picture and tag @amindfullmom on Instagram and hashtag it #amindfullmom
Meatball Subs
Ingredients
- 18 meatballs 1 recipe
- 6 hoagie buns
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 2-3 cups marinara sauce
- 8 ounces provolone cheese thinly sliced.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Gently mix together prepared meatballs with marinara sauce. Set aside.
- Place opened buns on large cookie sheet.
- Mix together olive oil with garlic and oregano and brush on the opened sides of the buns.
- Toast buns for 5 minutes, or until just browned.
- Remove buns from oven and place 2 slices of provolone cheese on each bun, slightly overlapping to cover surface of the bun.
- Top with 3 large (or 4 smaller) meatballs and an additional slice of cheese.
- Return to oven and bake for 5-7 minutes or until cheese is melted.
- Close sandwich and serve meatball subs.
Kristen Chidsey
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I love all the tips, and these subs look so scrumptious! And thank you for the meatball recipe too. My husband would love this!
YAY!!! This is a winner in my husband’s book as well!
My kids would love this for dinner. I love all of the step by step directions, it makes it so much easier.
So glad the tips help! Enjoy!