Beef | Main Dish | Recipes | slow cooker
ByJamie Sanders
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This Easy Crockpot Meatball Sub Recipe is a perfect dinner idea for busy nights. What I love is you can use frozen meatballs plus a couple of other pantry staples, and you’ll have a satisfying dinner on the table with less than 5 minutes of prep work!
Don’t want to mess with the Crockpot? Don’t worry, I got you covered and have included instructions for how to put these meatball sandwiches together on the stovetop.
Table of Contents
- Why Make these Meatball Subs
- Ingredients at a Glance
- Instructions
- Recipe Tips
- Stovetop Instructions
- FAQ’s
- Side Dish Suggestions
- Printable Recipe Card
Crock pot Meatball Sub Recipe
My slow cooker has been getting quite a workout lately with our busy weeknight schedule!
My son attends a martial arts program after school a few days a week and has to be picked up by 6:00 o’clock. 6 PM is right in the middle of when I’m normally prepping dinner. So having dinner already going in the slow cooker has been a lifesaver to me these last few weeks.
Why Make these Meatball Subs
- Tastes great! – Everyone loves Meatball Subs, even the pickiest eaters!
- Meatballs are a freezer staple – Meatballs are great to keep in the freezer for quick meals.
- Easy – So easy to make in the Slow Cooker. I use store-bought frozen meatballs, but if you have extra time, you can, of course, make your meatballs yourself.
- “Dump Dinner” – I promise it doesn’t get any easier than chopping up an onion, dumping a bag of meatballs, and a jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce in the slow cooker. (Don’t forget to use a liner, so cleaning is quick and easy too!)
The meatballs stay in the Crockpot for a few hours. This works well for me as I can toss everything together in the slow cooker after lunch and they’re ready to be made into a meatball sandwich when I get back home from picking my son up from his martial arts class.
Ingredients in this Crockpot Meatball Sub Recipe
Want to give these Meatball Sandwiches a try? Add these ingredients to your shopping list:
- 1 red onion
- 1 20 oz (ish) bag of frozen meatballs
- 1 24 oz jar of your favorite tomato pasta sauce
- Italian spice blend
- Sandwich buns
- Mozzarella cheese
How to Make Meatball Subs in the Crockpot
It’s super easy to cook the meatballs in your slow cooker.
- Slice the onion and place them in the slow cooker. Add the meatballs and pour the pasta sauce over the meatballs and sprinkle everything with the Italian seasoning.
- Set the slow cooker on low for 4 to 5 hours or on high for 2 to 2.5 hours. After the cooking time, gently stir the meatball sub mixture to thoroughly distribute onions sauce and meatballs.
- Sprinkle a handful of cheese on the bottom of bun/sandwich roll, top with meatballs, plenty of sauce and more cheese if desired.
Recipe Tips:
- Though you can’t really tell from pictures, these meatball subs are super cheesy.We do love cheese around here and it’s not a meatball sub without mozzarella cheese. I put the cheese under the meatballs so it melts right into the bread.
- You can use as much or as little cheese as you’d like on your subs.
- For an extra toasty, melted cheesy meatball sub, place the subs under your broiler until the buns are toasty and the cheese is melted and browning.
How to Make the Subs on the Stovetop:
Making the meatballs on the stove stop is just as easy as making them in the slow cooker.
- Slice the onions and sautee them over med-high heat with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil for 3 to 5 minutes or until soft.
- Reduce the heat to medium and add the meatballs, sauce, and Italian seasoning.
- Cover and bring to a simmer.
- Reduce the heat to med-low, remove the cover and simmer another 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
These are definitely going to be a weeknight staple going forward!
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Love slow cooker recipes too? I have a bunch more slow cooker recipes here.
FAQ’s
What Kind Of Bread Is Best Crockpot Meatball Subs?
Any roll-type bread, such as those meant for hoagies or subs will work fine. I’ve even been known to use hot dog buns, but hot dog buns do fall apart more easily.
When serving small children, I look for smaller rolls that will hold about 3 to 4 meatballs on each sandwich. Smaller rolls help reduce the risk of spaghetti sauce-stained clothes (and spaghetti hair) since they’re much easier to hold and eat.
You could also just put the meatballs in a bowl and eat them with a fork. (Which is what I do when trying to stay low carb!)
What Toppings Are Good On A Meatball Sub?
Ok, if you have small kids, probably no additional toppings are needed. (In fact, you may even find yourself picking out the red onions!)
But for those of us with a more “progressive” palate a few topping ideas would be:
- Black olives
- Pickled banana peppers or jalapenos
- Diced pepperoni
- Freshly grated Parmesan
- Bell pepper slices (pickled or fresh)
- A sprinkle of red pepper flakes fo a bit of a kick.
How great would a meatball sub “Bar” be at your next game day get-together?
How Many Meatballs Per Sandwich
Depending on the size of your tools and meatballs, I would plan for about 4 meatballs per sandwich.
How to Store Leftovers
Store the meatballs and sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
What to Serve with Meatball Subs
Ok, so in all reality, on nights when we’re pressed for time I will most likely pop open a can of pinto or green beans or serve carrots and hummus as the side with this meatball sub recipe.
But if you have time to prepare something extra, the kids especially love when I make corn on the cob in the microwave or when I take the time to make their favorite pasta salad recipe.
A couple of other family favorite side dishes that would work great with these subs are:
- Loaded Mashed Potato Bake
- Zesty Parmesan Ranch Baked Potato Wedges
- Easy Baked Beans
- Apple and Walnut Salad
- Apple, Pear and Cranberry Coleslaw Recipe
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Tried this Meatball Sub Recipe?
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Easy Crockpot Meatball Subs Recipe
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- Author: Jamie Sanders
- Prep Time: 5 min
- Cook Time: 4 hours
- Total Time: 4 hours 5 minutes
- Yield: 6 subs 1x
- Category: main dish
- Method: slow cooker
Ingredients
Scale
- 1red onion, sliced
- 1 20 oz (ish) bag of frozen meatballs
- 1 24 oz jar of your favorite tomato pasta sauce
- 2 tsp Italianspice blend
- Sandwich buns
- mozzarellacheese
Instructions
Instructions:
- Add onionto slow cooker top with frozen meatballs.
- Pour pasta sauce over meatballs and sprinkle Italian seasoning over sauce.
- Cook on low of 4 to 5 hours or high for 2 to 2.5 hours
- After cooking time, gently stir to thoroughlydistribute onions and meatballs.
- Sprinkle a handfulof cheese on the bottom of bun/sandwich roll, top with meatballs, plenty of sauce and more cheese.
- For extra melty cheese, you can place the subs under your broiler until the buns are toasty and the cheese is melted and browning.
Enjoy!
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