Meatball Sub
This recipe is one of my favorite ever!!! Okay listen, until recently I did not know meatball subs were so controversial. I was out with some friends and somehow the topic came up, and people have strong opinions. Either loving a meatball sub, or hating it. Full transparency… growing up I liked to get them from Subway. Which does make me cringe a little bit, but I knew I could make an incredible homemade version! I actually partnered up with Fresh Baguette to make this recipe and it was so fun. I first found their bakery when I moved to Alexandria back in the summer and I have been obsessed ever since. I used their Parisian baguette and it was incrediblllle for this sandwich.
Homemade meatballs - Homemade meatballs are a must for a good meatball sub. I used a similar version of my meatloaf recipe, but obviously it has some differences! These are so simple to make, and are so moist (sorry I know everyone hates that word, but not as much as they hate dry meatballs).
Parisian baguette - You don’t necessarily have to use this baguette, but I highly recommend. If you are going to go to the trouble of making this sub, you want to serve it on really good bread.
Pecorino Romano and fresh mozzarella cheese - Yeap, not one, but two different cheese used in this recipe. Pecorino Romano is literally baked into the meatballs and more is used on top of the sub. Fresh mozzarella is melted on top because you can’t have a meatball sub without it.
Tomato basil sauce - You can make your own tomato sauce if you’d like, but I used this Primal Kitchen tomato basil sauce and it has such a good flavor.
Homemade garlic butter - That’s riiiight. We didn’t just stop with the homemade meatballs, we also made homemade garlic butter for this sub. It really takes the flavor to the next level.
Fresh basil - Adding fresh basil to the sub is a crucial last step. You can never have too much basil, ever.
Meatball Sub
Ingredients
- 1 lb beef, pork, & veal mix (you can purchase this at most grocery stores)
- 1 egg
- 1/4 tsp onion flakes
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/4 tsp dried basil
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp fresh parsley chopped fine
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup fresh shaved pecorino Romano
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 jar tomato sauce
- 1 head garlic + 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tsp fresh parsley chopped fine
- Dash of salt
- Mozzarella cheese
- Additional pecorino romano
- Fresh chopped basil
- Bread - 1 Parisian baguette
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix together all ingredients for the meatballs, except olive oil and jar of tomato sauce, in a bowl. Shape into ~14 (1 1/2”) meatballs. Heat olive oil in cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Place meatballs in skillet and brown on each side, about 10 minutes total. Transfer skillet to oven and bake for 12 minutes. Remove from oven and place over low heat, pour in tomato sauce and let simmer 5 minutes.
- For the garlic butter, cut off the bottom 1/4 of the garlic head. Place in foil and drizzle with olive oil and make sure it’s coated evenly. Wrap up in the foil and bake at 400°F for 45 minutes. Squeeze garlic cloves out into the butter, parsley, and salt - mix well.
- Use a serrated knife to cut the baguette in half both width wise and then length wise. Spread out the garlic butter on the inside of all 4 slices of bread. Place them on a baking tray and bake at 350°F for 5 minutes. Remove the top pieces of bread from tray. Load up bottom pieces with meatballs, sauce, mozzarella cheese, and additional pecorino Romano. Broil for ~1-2 minutes, watching carefully so the cheese doesn’t burn. Top with basil and replace the top piece of bread. Cut sandwiches in half again width wise to make 4 subs - enjoy!