This post contains affiliate links, as an affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no cost to you.
What is a Meatball Sub?
A meatball sub is a quick and easy meal you can make for your family that is a great 30-minute meal. There are savory meatballs at the bottom, your favorite spaghetti sauce in the middle, and a delicious, melty layer of mozzarella on top. It’s the kind of dish you are going to have as a staple backup for your meal plan
Using whatever your favorite meatball from the grocery store is and adding the mozzarella makes this a meal with a good amount of protein in it that is both a kid-friendly meal and an adult-friendly one.
Using frozen meatballs makes this an affordable meal. You can snag a bag of these for just a few dollars; they stay stashed in your freezer until you are ready to use them, and you can use whatever buns you have around. We like to use hot dog buns so it has more of the sub-style feel, but really, you can use whatever you want!
Meatball subs are a quick and easy meal you can make when you forgot to pull meat out of the freezer, have only a few minutes between school and your activities, or you just want a comforting quick meal.
Why You’ll Love Meatball Subs
A cheesy cheese pull from the broiled mozzarella, the sweetness from the spaghetti sauce, and the savory from the meatballs make a meatball sub a great meal for anyone in the house.
The best part of meatball subs made this way is that they are so quick to make. You can easily have a meal on the table from start to finish in 30 minutes and only use one pan to do it! Because meatball subs are such a quick dinner, these will help you stay out of the drive-thru, saving you grocery money, and help you keep on track.
Tips for the Best Meatball Subs
Make sure you are practicing the dump-and-bake method of cookery for these meatball subs. This makes them the best because it makes it quick :). You do not have to dirty more than one pan for this meal, and you can seriously just dump and go with the meatballs.
To ensure the bread doesn’t get soggy when you add the sauce and the meatballs, brush your buns with some garlic butter and toast them in the oven or in the air fryer (click here for the one we use, it’s a lifesaver and fits enough for the whole family in one batch). To keep this meal a one-pan meal, take the meatballs off and set aside while you toast the bread.
Budget Friendly Tips for Making Meatball Subs
Beacause meatball subs only use 3-4 ingredients, they are an extremely budget friendly meal naturally. But there are a couple of ways you can save even more on groceries by making this recipe.
Using hot dogs buns that are leftover from the barbeque is a great way to stay budget friendly and save on grocery money while making a delicious meal for your family. Or really if you don’t mind the shape you can use whatever type of bun or bread you have on hand. Just crisp them up for the meatball sub with some garlic butter and a quick pop in the oven.
If you are able and have a big enough freezer, a family size bag or Costco/Sam’s Club size bag makes the meatballs the most cost efficient. This would be a great way to meal plan too, you always know you have a quick back up recipe in the freezer for those nights when your original plan doesn’t work out, it happens no judgement!
Meal Prep and Storage Tips for Meatball Subs
Meatball subs are a quick and easy dinner you can put on the table in 30 minutes or under, so the meal prep tip I have for you is to always have the 3-4 ingredients on hand! They are so fast to prep naturally and can be a dump and go sheet pan meal because of it.
If you want to have the meatball subs ready to go to make life even easier than a dump and go, you can always put the meatballs and the sauce into a crock pot and set it and forget it.
Although making foods homemade like the meatballs and the sauce, it is extremely easy to grab a bag of meatballs and your favorite jarred sauce. We prefer spaghetti sauce for this but any type of tomato sauce you have on hand can work, just add some Italian spices and you are good to go!
If you want to make meatballs homemade you can always freeze them and have your own convience package of meatballs. This would be a great thing to add to your freezer meal prep if you want to make them homemade.
Check out more tips on my blog page for Meal Prep for Beginners here!
Other Recipes You Might Like
Club Sandwish – Budget Friendly Meal for Anywhere
Gourmet Grilled Cheese – A Quick Way To Make Grilled Cheese Better
Turkey, Bacon, Avocado Sandwich – Perfect Summer Meal
Ingredients
Method
- Cook meatballs according to package instructions. Next, toast hot dog buns if you would like.
- Put 3-4 meatballs per hot dog bun. Cover with 2-3 tablespoons of sauce. Then sprinkle with mozzarella.
- Place in the air fryer or in the oven on broil for a few minutes until the cheese has started to melt and get golden brown.