Seriously, who doesn't love Homemade Meatball Sub Sandwiches? Sure they're a little messy, but they taste so good it's always worth it! One of the keys to this recipe is simmering the meatballs in the sauce for at least an hour to help thicken the sauce and develop tons of flavor. Having a thicker sauce helps to keep things from getting too soggy and messy...and nobody wants a soggy sandwich! (If you do, let it be known that I am officially worried about you!)
Meatball Sub Components
The Meatballs
Equal parts sweet Italian sausage and ground beef form the base of the meatballs. The extra salt and fat content of the sausage help keep things from drying out. This recipe calls for making your own breadcrumbs, but that is entirely optional. Store-bought would work just fine, but I find that toasting a few slices of bread and blending them is easy enough.
You'll notice whole milk yogurt in the ingredient list and you might wonder what that's doing there. I stumbled on to adding it quite by accident. I had an early version of this recipe that used whole milk, but I was out one time while working on it. The whole-fat yogurt was the next closest dairy product I had on hand, and I was very pleased with the results. While this may not be a traditional component of meatballs, I'm a firm believer that the yogurt contributes to the juiciness, and improves the texture of the final product.
The last key element in making these is to mix all of the ingredients really, really well. The meat should become tacky and stick to the palm of your hand when held out horizontally. Essentially, you are making a loose sausage, and this is one of the ways to tell if you've mixed your meat properly.
After mixing the meat, I like to portion out individual balls with the help of my digital kitchen scale. I have found around 50 grams to be the perfect size meatball to fit on the sub rolls. Weighing them is optional as well. Use a tablespoon as a scoop, and that should get you close. They should be about the size of a ping pong ball after being rolled up.
The Sauce
The sauce for this is pretty straightforward as well. Whole peeled tomatoes, tomato paste, onions, garlic, and a few seasonings are all that you need for this simple sauce. Adding the onions to the pan and deglazing the fond (the brown stuff left on the pan from the meatballs) is a step you don't want to skip. This is important for adding richness and depth to the sauce. The second most important step is to add the meatballs back to the sauce for a long, slow simmer. After an hour (at least), the sauce is thickened, and you are ready to assemble some sandwiches.
The Bread
The bread is the final and quite possibly the most important component to these meatball subs. I have a separate post for my Handmade Sub Rolls recipe that is perfect for this sandwich. In fact, the recipe was developed specifically for these subs. Head over there and check that out and let me know what you think.
If you don't feel like making your own bread, store-bought will work just fine. I really do recommend that you at least try making the sub rolls yourself at least once. It's incredible how good they are.
Meatball Sub Assembly
Assembling the meatball subs is as easy as splitting the sub rolls, adding the meatballs and sauce to your liking, covering with sliced or shredded low moisture mozzarella and parmesan, broiling to melt the cheese, and garnishing with parsley! One of the best parts about using my recipe for Handmade Sub Rolls is that they don't need to be toasted before adding the meatballs and sauce. They hold up surprisingly well, and are one of the reasons I recommend making them (not to mention how delicious they are!).
I like to serve these with extra sauce on the side for dipping and Air Fryer Parmesan Garlic Chips. It really doesn't get much better!
Did you make this recipe for Homemade Meatball Sub Sandwiches?
Let me know in the comments below how yours turned out, and don't forget to leave a rating!
Recipe
Homemade Meatball Sub Sandwiches
Ingredients
The Meatballs
- 1 lb. 80/20 Ground Beef
- 1 lb. Mild Italian Sausage Loose ground or casings removed
- 2 Eggs Beaten
- ½ cup Parmesan Cheese Grated
- ¼ cup Flat Leaf Parsley Finely Minced
- 1 cup Breadcrumbs Fresh made from 2 - 3 slices of white bread, toasted and blended, or store bought.
- Juice and Zest from ½ Lemon
- 2 Tablespoons Whole Milk Plain Yogurt Not Greek Yogurt
- 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- ½ teaspoon Fresh Cracked Black Pepper
- 1-2 teaspoon Neutral Oil
The Sauce
- 1 - 2 teaspoon Neutral Oil If needed
- 1 Yellow Onion Diced
- 4 cloves Garlic Minced or Grated
- 2 tablespoons Tomato Paste
- 28 oz. can Whole Peeled Tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon Dried Oregano
- 1 tablespoon Dried Basil
- 1 tablespoon Parmesan Grated
- 2 tablespoons Unsalted Butter
- 1 pinch Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt Plus more to taste
- ½ teaspoon Black Pepper Plus more to taste
Sandwich Assembly
- Batch Sub Rolls - Split Homemade or Store-bought
- Meatballs and Sauce
- Whole Milk Low Moisture Mozzarella Sliced or Fresh Grated (Not Pre-Shredded)
- Parmesan Grated
- Parsley Finely Minced for Garnish
Instructions
The Meatballs
- In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, sausage, bread crumbs, beaten eggs, grated parmesan, minced parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, whole milk yogurt, salt and black pepper. Thoroughly combine the ingredients until the mixture becomes tacky and sticks to the palm of your hand if held out horizontally.
- Using a tablespoon scoop, measure out 50 grams of meat mixture and roll into a ball and place on a plate or baking sheet. The meatballs should be approximately the size of a ping pong ball.
- Heat a large, heavy bottomed skillet over medium high heat. Add 1 - 2 teaspoons of neutral oil to the pan. In two separate batches, add meatballs in a single layer and leave undisturbed for 3-5 minutes until the sides are seared fairly heavily. Flip meatballs and sear an additional 3 - 5 minutes. (The meatballs do not need to be cooked all the way through at this point). Remove meatballs and set aside.
The Sauce
- In the same pan that the meatballs were cooked in, add 1 - 2 more teaspoons of neutral oil. (Only do this if the pan is dry - some of the fat should have rendered out of the meatballs). Add the diced onions and a small pinch of salt, stirring occasionally. Sautee for 5- 8 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon as the onion releases its liquid. The onions should be soft, with a little color on them, but not browned.
- Add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds, until fragrant, but not browned.
- Add the tomato paste to the pan and stir until it starts to stick, approx. 2 -3 minutes.
- Add the can of whole peeled tomatoes and finish deglazing the pan. Break up the tomatoes with a wooden spoon.
- Add the basil, oregano, parmesan, and unsalted butter, stirring until incorporated and butter is melted. Bring the sauce to a boil, and reduce heat to medium low - low.
- Add the meatballs back to the pan, and simmer until sauce is thick and meatballs are cooked all the way through. This should take at minimum, one hour. Once sauce is thickened to your likening, taste and adjust for seasoning. Adjust with salt, and pepper. Sometimes canned tomatoes benefit from a small pinch of sugar as well.
Meatball Sub Assembly
- Split rolls with a bread knife on one side. Add desired amount of meatballs and sauce on top. (Try to cover as much of the bread as possible. Leaving bare spots can cause the bread to burn under the broiler when the cheese is melted).
- Cover the meatballs and sauce with sliced or fresh grated whole milk, low moisture mozzarella and grated parmesan. Place sandwiches on a sheet pan and place under a broiler on high for 2 - 3 minutes until cheese is bubbly and golden brown.
- Remove from oven and garnish with minced parsley. Slice in half and serve warm.
Michelle says
I want these every day for breakfast so cooking up a bunch and freezing them saves time and ensures breakfast is already made! They taste so good 💯
Greg says
An easy recipe for a meal so good! I plan to continue this recipe and share it with my friends!
Paula says
This is our go to recipe whenever we have friends over because it is so easy and delicious! We have it when it's just us also! Thank you for sharing such a wonderful recipe!