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Italian Meatball Sub Sandwiches Better Than Subway!
I love meatballs. They’re always so satisfying to me. Whether they’re in Spaghetti & Meatballs with Classic Marinara Sauce or Cheesy Meatball Casserole, meatballs rock! I just love these juicy delights, they never get old! The combination of Marinara Sauce, meat and cheese never fails to put a smile on my face. Sometimes I want to enjoy the meatballs on their own, like in the case of the meatball casserole, or with some spaghetti.
What’s the third epic way to enjoy meatballs? A meatball sub sandwich of course! If you’re new here, maybe I should make it clear that I also really love bread. I have a ton of sandwiches & wraps recipes to go through! I also love burgers, and the bun matters. Sorry protein-style burgers, but I need my bun to complete it! A burger is not a burger without a soft, toasted, buttery bun!
So, let’s envelop our meaty, saucy and cheesy masterpiece in some buns shall we? You may have had the famous meatball sub from Subway. Okay, I’ll be honest and admit I’ve never had the Subway meatball sub. It looks good, but I’ve never tried it. I just wanted to make my own and I guarantee that it’ll be better fresh out of your kitchen with meatballs made from scratch! Trust me, making these meatball sub sandwiches yourself is going to be so much better! It’s surprisingly easy to do, so save yourself the trip and the cash and let’s get to making our epic meatball subs right from the comfort of your own kitchen!
What Meat Should I Use for Meatballs?▼
Meatballs are traditionally made with a combination of beef and pork. However, you can make these meatballs with meat of your preference, such as beef, pork, chicken or turkey. I was actually going to make these meatballs with beef and pork, but oddly enough the grocery store didn’t have any pork! So this recipe will feature all-beef meatballs, but I totally recommend you try the beef and pork combination!
What bread should I use for meatball sub Sandwiches?▼
For the Best Italian Meatball Sub Sandwiches, you want a soft, large bun. You could use typical hot dog buns, but I don’t think they’d be as satisfying! In this recipe, I’m using Portuguese buns. Another good bun option are Hoagie buns. You could also use Ciabatta buns, but those are slightly crustier so you won’t get the same softness from the former two options. If you don’t have anything else, standard hot dog buns will work just fine!
I’m using store-bought Portuguese buns. If you want to make your own bun for this Subway meatball sub recipe, then by all means go for it! That would really be epic and insanely delicious! Let me know if you’ve made this sub with your own bread!
What The Subway Meatball Sub Toppings?▼
These meatball subs will be topped with mozzarella and provolone cheeses. These cheeses are the dynamic duo for a meatball sub that will have lots of cheese pulls and tons of flavor! Mozzarella on its own is stringy, but does not have much of its own flavor.
Tips for the Best Meatball Sub Sandwiches!
- Use the freshest meat to prepare the meatballs, if you use high quality ingredients you will taste the goodness.
- Soak the Panko breadcrumbs in milk until completely mushy and drain any excess milk. These breadcrumbs helps make the meatballs fluffy, light and helps to keep them juicy.
- Use fresh parsley, as much as I would like the convenience of substituting with dried parsley, it just does not work. Fresh parsley is one of the key flavors in these meatballs and irreplaceable.
- Be generous with Parmesan cheese, the creaminess helps round out and also helps with binding the flavors and add a wonderful nutty flavor.
- The buns should be soft enough to create a pocket for our toppings once you have cut the slit down the center.
- While broiling the subs, you can broil until the buns are lightly charred or stop before this stage. I love the char, because these Portuguese buns taste just like a napoletana once charred! Yum.
- The subs can also be broiled in an air fryer if you set it to Air Broil mode and bake for 5-7 minutes.
Tools Needed
Subway Meatball Sub Ingredients
This Italian Meatball Sub recipe has three components:
- Meatballs
- Marinara Sauce
- Sub sandwich itself
Let’s review the ingredients we’ll need for each component. Remember, the FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD is at the bottom of this post! Scroll down so you can print it and save it for later, and so you can easily scale the quantities depending on how many sandwiches you want to make!
For the Meatballs
- Ground beef: I understand what it’s like to be on a budget, but I really recommend you use the best beef you can find. From my experience, the tenderness and taste of the meatballs really is dependent on the quality of the meat. A tip to save on money is to go to a butcher and ask them to cut the portion you need. That way there’s no food waste, and you’ll get the freshest meat!
- Ground pork: Optional, but I like to use both. Swap half the beef for ground pork and the meatballs come out richer and more tender, because the pork brings the fat that lean beef does not have. Straight beef works perfectly well if that is what you have.
- Egg yolk: These help to bind the meatballs.
- Breadcrumbs: I would recommend you use plain Panko breadcrumbs, as these hold the meatballs best.
- Milk: I can’t make meatballs without milk! You’ll want to soak the Panko breadcrumbs in milk before making your meatballs to get light, fluffy meatballs.
- Parsley: You can use fresh or dried parsley, but I recommend fresh parsley for a fresher flavor. This adds a fragrant flavor to the meatballs.
- Onion: This is optional, but some red onion really adds a nice strong flavor to your meatballs.
- Garlic cloves: Minced garlic is just mandatory for some tasty meatballs and to add flavors in general!
- Olive oil: For cooking.
- Seasoning: All you need is salt and pepper here because the parsley does so much!
- Cheese: Parmesan cheese is an essential for me!
For the Marinara Sauce
- Italian/San Marzano type tomatoes
- Salt to taste
- Garlic cloves, minced
- Red chili flakes, to taste
- Olive oil
For the Meatball Subs
- Buns
- Mozzarella and provolone cheeses
- Chili oil
- Basil
Make the Most Amazing Meatball Sub Sandwiches
For the Marinara Sauce
- Place the tomatoes in a food processor and pulse for a few seconds to break down the tomatoes.
- Heat olive oil in a medium sauce pan. Add garlic and chili flakes and sauté for 30 seconds.
- Add in the pulsed San Marzano tomatoes and salt. Bring sauce to a simmer. Lower heat and cook for 10-15 minutes or until your sauce reduces and has a thick consistency.
For the Meatballs
In a mixing bowl, add the breadcrumbs. Pour in the milk and mix well. Allow the breadcrumbs to rest until they completely absorb the milk, about 10-15 minutes.
To prepare the meatballs, add the beef, pork, onion, egg yolk, garlic, parmesan, and fresh parsley in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Add the soaked breadcrumbs into the mince, discarding any excess milk and combine well.
Divide the meatball mince into 6-8 equal portions. Using the palms of your hands, form the mince into round, even balls and place them on a plate or baking sheet.
Cooking the Meatballs
I remember growing up watching Hell’s Kitchen and one line that Gordon Ramsay said in one of the episodes has always stuck with me.
“If it’s brown it’s cooked, if it’s black it’s fudged”
If you know Ramsay as well, you know what that line really said. But it makes so much sense. There’s nothing worse that grey, boiled meatballs. Giving the meatballs a quick sear to brown them adds so much more flavor. Then, they can be finished off in the pan itself, or in the marinara.
Heat a pan on medium heat and add the olive oil. Cook the meatballs until evenly browned all over and completely cooked inside, about 12-15 minutes.
How Do I Know the Meatballs are Cooked?▼
The meat should no longer be pink once the meatballs have finished cooking. The meat should read a minimum internal temperature of 160 F in the thickest part by an instant read thermometer according to Health Canada.
You can also use a sacrificial meatball and cut it down the middle to check if it is completely cooked.
Assembling the Sandwich
Cut a slit down the center of the buns and place the buns over a wire rack on a baking sheet.
Spread 2-4 Tbsp of the marinara sauce.
Scatter mozzarella and provolone over the sauce and place 2-3 meatballs over the cheese.
Top with more marinara, mozzarella and provolone.
Make sure the oven rack is adjusted to the middle rack and place the baking sheet on the oven rack.
Change the oven to Broil mode and bake until the cheese has melted and the buns are toasted. You can toast until the buns have a slight char or stop right before it.
Top with fresh basil, brush the buns with chili oil and serve hot with marinara sauce to dip.
No Foil and No Cookie Scoop: Two Steps This Recipe Leaves Out
Most baked meatball sub recipes start by lining a baking sheet with foil. This one does not. The split buns go on a wire rack set over the baking sheet, and the gap underneath is the entire reason. Foil traps the steam coming off the marinara sauce, so the underside of the bun softens while the top is still browning. A rack lets that steam fall away and the bun toasts instead. If a wire rack is the one tool on the list you do not own, a bare baking sheet still beats foil.
There is no cookie scoop here either. The meatball mixture gets divided into 6 to 8 equal portions and rolled between your palms into round, even balls. A scoop gives you a packed puck with a flat bottom, and these meatballs are cooked in a pan in 1 tablespoon of olive oil rather than baked, so they need to be round to brown evenly on every side. Twelve to fifteen minutes over medium heat, turned as they color, and they are cooked through.
Six to eight meatballs across 3 Portuguese buns, at 2 to 3 meatballs per sub, is not an accident either. Any more than that and the bun will not close around them once the second layer of cheese goes on top.
Where Ground Pork Comes In, and What Keeps in the Fridge or Freezer
The recipe card asks for 8 ounces of lean ground beef, and the swap printed on it is a 50/50 beef and pork blend for a richer flavor and a more tender texture. The other listed swap is a 50/50 beef and veal blend, which gives a milder, finer-grained meatball. Ground pork is not there for flavor alone, it is there for fat. Lean beef on its own firms up as it cooks, and the pork is what keeps the middle soft across the 12 to 15 minutes in the pan. If you would rather not buy two packets to get one batch, this is the moment to use the butcher tip further up this page and ask for the two ground together in the portion you actually need.
The milk-soaked Panko works from the other direction. One cup of Panko breadcrumbs sits in half a cup of milk for 10 to 15 minutes, until it has absorbed the milk completely, and the excess is discarded before it goes into the mince. That is the difference between a light, fluffy meatball and a dense one, and it is why the breadcrumbs are the first thing you deal with rather than the last.
Both of the slow components are worth making ahead. The marinara uses a whole 28 ounce can of San Marzano tomatoes and each sub takes only 2 to 4 tablespoons of it, so there will be sauce left over whatever you do. It keeps for a few days in the fridge and tastes better on the second day. Browned meatballs keep the same way, and they go into the freezer happily once they are completely cool. What does not keep is the finished sandwich. The bun spends its last few minutes under the broiler with the cheese on top, and a sub that has been through that and then chilled is a sad thing. Make the meatballs and the sauce in advance, then assemble and broil to order.
Let me know what you think of this recipe in the comments! If you’ve tried this recipe, be sure to post it on social media and tag it with #cookingwithanadi and mention me @cooking.with.anadi. Thank you!
Recipe by Anadi Misra
Sink your teeth into homemade Italian Meatball Sub Sandwiches loaded with juicy beef, pork, and poultry meatballs smothered in rich marinara and melted cheese. The ultimate comfort dinner!
Stovetop
Rate this recipe ✦
15 min
Prep
35 min
Cook
50 min
Total
3
sandwiches
medium
Level
Ingredients
Ingredients
Tap any quantity to scale
For the meatballs (makes 12 medium meatballs)
- (227 g) lean ground beef(or use half ground beef and half ground pork if you like, which is what I do)
- (30 g) Parmesan cheese
- (15 g) parsley(freshly chopped parsley)Shop →
- (60 g) Panko breadcrumbsShop →
- egg yolk
- (120 ml) milk
- medium red onion(finely diced onion)
- garlic cloves(minced garlic)
- (15 ml) olive oilShop →
- salt(to taste)Shop →
- pepper(to taste)Shop →
For the marinara sauce
Instructions
For the meatballs
- 1
Preheat the oven to 400°F
Preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C)
- 2
In a mixing bowl, add the breadcrumbs. Pour in the milk and mix well. Allow the breadcrumbs to rest until they completely absorb the milk, about 10-15 minutes.
In a mixing bowl, add the breadcrumbs. Pour in the milk and mix well. Allow the breadcrumbs to rest until they completely absorb the milk, about 10-15 minutes.
- 3
To prepare the meatballs, add the beef, pork, onion, egg yolk, garlic, parmesan, and fresh parsley in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Add the soaked breadcrumbs into the mince, discarding any excess milk and combine well.
To prepare the meatballs, add the beef, pork, onion, egg yolk, garlic, parmesan, and fresh parsley in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Add the soaked breadcrumbs into the mince, discarding any excess milk and combine well.
- 4
Divide the meatball mince into 6-8 equal portions. Using the palms of your hands, form the mince into round, even balls and place them on a plate or baking sheet.
Divide the meatball mince into 6-8 equal portions. Using the palms of your hands, form the mince into round, even balls and place them on a plate or baking sheet.
- 5
Heat a pan on medium heat and add the olive oil. Cook the meatballs until evenly browned all over and completely cooked inside, about 12-15 minutes.
Heat a pan on medium heat and add the olive oil. Cook the meatballs until evenly browned all over and completely cooked inside, about 12-15 minutes.
For the marinara sauce
- 1
Place the tomatoes in a food processor and pulse for a few seconds to break down the tomatoes.
Place the tomatoes in a food processor and pulse for a few seconds to break down the tomatoes.
- 2
Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan. Add garlic and chili flakes and sauté for 30 seconds.
Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan. Add garlic and chili flakes and sauté for 30 seconds.
- 3
Add the pulsed San Marzano tomatoes and salt. Bring sauce to a simmer. Lower heat and cook for 10-15 minutes or until your sauce reduces and has a thick consistency.
Add the pulsed San Marzano tomatoes and salt. Bring sauce to a simmer. Lower heat and cook for 10-15 minutes or until your sauce reduces and has a thick consistency.
To assemble the sandwiches
- 1
Cut a slit down the center of the buns and place the buns over a wire rack on a baking sheet.
Cut a slit down the center of the buns and place the buns over a wire rack on a baking sheet.
- 2
Spread 2–4 tbsp of the marinara sauce on the buns.
Spread 2–4 tbsp of the marinara sauce on the buns.
- 3
Scatter mozzarella and provolone over the sauce and place 2-3 meatballs over the cheese.
Scatter mozzarella and provolone over the sauce and place 2-3 meatballs over the cheese.
- 4
Top with more marinara, mozzarella and provolone.
Top with more marinara, mozzarella and provolone.
- 5
Make sure the oven rack is adjusted to the middle rack and place the baking sheet on the oven rack.
Make sure the oven rack is adjusted to the middle rack and place the baking sheet on the oven rack.
- 6
Change the oven to Broil mode and bake until the cheese has melted and the buns are toasted. You can toast until the buns have a slight char or stop right before it.
Change the oven to Broil mode and bake until the cheese has melted and the buns are toasted. You can toast until the buns have a slight char or stop right before it.
- 7
Top with fresh basil, brush the buns with chili oil and serve hot with marinara sauce to dip.
Top with fresh basil, brush the buns with chili oil and serve hot with marinara sauce to dip.
Did you make this recipe? Tag @cooking.with.anadi on Instagram and hashtag it #cookingwithanadi
Tested & written in Anadi’s kitchen
Recipe history
- April 16, 2026 — Reworked and refreshed for the 2026 relaunch — new photography, restructured and standardized ingredients & instructions.
Filed under
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