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With this Meatball Sandwich recipe, you can enjoy delicious homemade meatball subs in a homemade marinara sauce, all made in the slow cooker for an easy dinner recipe.

When you make these tender meatballs from scratch, you can throw them in the slow cooker to let it do the heavy lifting for you and still get juicy homemade meatballs for easy sandwiches

Then you can enjoy one of your new favorite meatball recipes, even on busy weeknights, that taste even better than the subway meatball sub, and with all the delicious juicy meatballs, fresh mozzarella cheese, and sauce you want.

These are also great recipes to make for a game day when you have friends over or for any easy dinner on the holiday.  

budget friendly meal plan

Ingredients for the Ultimate Meatball Sandwiches:

Slow cooker meatball sub ingredients

Marinara Sauce:

  1. Tomatoes: For the best results, use canned crushed tomatoes
  2. Seasoning: Use a combination of dried basil, black pepper, kosher salt, and minced garlic
  3. Oil: Only a little bit of olive oil or avocado oil is needed
  4. Sugar: Adding some brown sugar is the best way to get extra flavor in the homemade sauce
  5. Water: Adding some water will get the best texture to the tomato sauce

Meatball Mixture:

  1. Protein: Using lean ground beef is perfect for the meatball sub recipe
  2. Egg: Use an egg to hold the meat together to get the best meatballs
  3. Bread crumbs: Get a container of Italian-style breadcrumbs to add even more flavor
  4. Seasoning: Just add minced garlic and some fresh parsley to the meatball mixture

Sandwich Ingredients:

  1. Rolls: We love to use hoagie rolls for building these sandwiches
  2. Cheese: Use shredded mozzarella cheese or provolone cheese

How to Make Ultimate Meatball Sandwiches:

Make sauce:

homemade marinara sauce
  1. Into a slow cooker, add the “marinara sauce” ingredients and whisk to combine.

Make meatballs:

  1. Into a large mixing bowl, add all of the meatball ingredients and mix to combine. 
  2. With a spoon or cookie scoop, grab a small amount of the meatball mixture and roll into a meatball. Make 16 meatballs total. 
  3. Place each meatball in the slow cooker side by side on top of the marinara sauce.

​Cook meatballs:

  1. Slow cook on LOW for about 7 hours or until the center is no longer pink. OR cook on HIGH for 5 hours.

​Make subs:

  1. Once cooked, set the oven to broil.
  2. Slice the hoagies in half lengthwise and place on a sheet pan. Scoop 4 meatballs with the sauce in each hoagie roll and sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top. Broil for 1-3 minutes or until the cheese is melty. Enjoy with a side salad!
Slow cooker meatball sub
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Slow Cooker Meatball Subs

Slow cooker meatball subs are a delicious and easy dinner recipe to make for busy weeknights that the whole family will enjoy!
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 7 hours
Total: 7 hours 15 minutes
Servings: 4
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Ingredients 

Marinara Sauce

  • 28 oz crushed tomatoes
  • 1 tsp dried basil
  • ¼ tsp black pepper
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 3 tbs olive oil
  • 1 ½ tbsp brown sugar
  • 3 tbsp minced garlic
  • ½ cup water

Meatball Mixture

  • 1 lb ground beef, 93% Lean , 7% Fat
  • 1 egg
  • ¾ cup Italian style breadcrumbs
  • 1 tbsp minced garlic
  • 3 tbs fresh parsley

Sandwich ingredients

  • 4 hoagie rolls
  • 1 cup mozzarella cheese

Instructions 

Make sauce:

  • Into a slow cooker, add the “marinara sauce” ingredients and whisk to combine.

Make meatballs:

  • Into a large mixing bowl, add all of the meatball ingredients and mix to combine.
  • With a spoon or cookie scoop, grab a small amount of the meatball mixture and roll into a meatball. Make 16 meatballs total.
  • Place each meatball in the slow cooker side by side on top of the marinara sauce.

​Cook meatballs:

  • Slow cook on LOW for about 7 hours or until the center is no longer pink. OR cook on HIGH for 5 hours.

​Make subs:

  • Once cooked, set the oven to broil.
  • Slice the hoagies in half lengthwise and place on a sheet pan. Scoop 4 meatballs with the sauce in each hoagie roll and sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top. Broil for 1-3 minutes or until the cheese is melty. Enjoy with a side salad!

Nutrition

Calories: 781kcal | Carbohydrates: 60g | Protein: 38g | Fat: 44g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 21g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 140mg | Sodium: 1395mg | Potassium: 1100mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 956IU | Vitamin C: 25mg | Calcium: 400mg | Iron: 8mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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How to store leftover meatballs:

Fridge: Pour the leftover meatballs into an airtight container and store them in the fridge for up to 4-5 days for the best results.

pinterest slow cooker meatball sub

Tips and tricks for making good meatballs:

Type of ground meat:

Lean meat is best for this dinner recipe. So, either lean ground beef, ground turkey, or even ground chicken would work great for this recipe.

How to know meatballs are done:

 Using a meat thermometer, poke the end into one of the meatballs and make sure the internal temperature is at least 165 degrees F and the inside is no longer pink.

Topping for meatball subs:

You can keep this part simple! Just a little melty cheese and maybe a sprinkle of Italian seasoning, oregano, or Parmesan cheese will do!

More sandwich recipes:

easy family meal plans

If you give these recipes a try, make sure to tag us on Instagram @julia.pacheco.cooking and let us know how much you liked the recipes!

About Julia Pacheco

Hello, I’m Julia Pacheco, and I’m so glad you’re here! I’m a published cookbook author with a passion for creating delicious, budget-friendly meals. My blog focuses on recipes that are accessible and enjoyable, because I truly believe in the power of food to heal, inspire, and bring people together. From early lessons in the kitchen with my mom to navigating life on WIC and food stamps, I’ve learned the value of making every meal count. Cooking has been my creative outlet, a way to connect with others, and it even helped me land my dream job.

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3 Comments

  1. Cena Visch says:

    The flavor on these was bomb. Only problem I had was the meat kind of disintegrated into more of a “meat sauce” than true meatballs IN sauce, lol, but it was still delicious. Next time I will pack them more tightly to see if that helps (or cook for less time) :).

  2. jmason says:

    How to do I do this with frozen meatballs? Do I heat of the meatballs separately or put them in the slow cooker? If so, do I still cook the sauce in slow cooker for the same amount of time? Thank you.

  3. Brittanny Taylor says:

    Thanks for helping me feed my family