These Crockpot Meatball Subs are made with a crusty baguette, hearty marinara sauce, juicy slow cooker meatballs, and gooey mozzarella cheese!
Why you’ll love these
- Family Approved. Juicy, saucy meatballs smothered in gooey mozzarella cheese…who doesn’t love that?!
- Easy. Homemade sauce and meatballs truly couldn’t be easier thanks to cooking low and slow in the crockpot! This recipe, as written, uses homemade sauce and meatballs, HOWEVER, for a really quick and easy recipe use jarred pasta sauce and frozen meatballs!
- Versatile. Serve the slow cooker meatballs as a sandwich, over pasta, as an appetizer, on pizza, as sliders, you name it!
Ingredient notes
Sauce
Make the sauce using the ingredients below OR take a short-cut and use you favorite jarred variety! You’ll likely need 1-2 jars.
- Butter – unsalted or salted butter are great. Oil such as olive oil or avocado oil will also work.
- Onion – use whatever you have on hand: yellow, red, white, or a shallot.
- Garlic – fresh or pre-minced, jarred garlic are both great.
- Spices: Dried Basil, Italian Seasoning, Red Pepper Flakes, Salt, and Pepper – omit the red pepper flakes, if desired. Throw in a pinch of nutmeg if you’d like or use whatever blend of seasonings you like in your sauce.
- Tomatoes: Paste, Peeled and Crushed, and Sauce – this combination of canned tomatoes is pretty forgiving. Don’t have paste? Omit it. Have diced tomatoes? Use those instead of the peeled and crushed, just blitz them in the food processor before making the sauce. Don’t have tomato sauce? Use tomato purée.
- Sugar – brown sugar or granulated sugar are both fine. Honey may also work.
Meatballs
Make the meatballs using the ingredients below OR take a short-cut and use frozen! You’ll likely need 1 (32-64 oz) bag.
- Buttermilk – or any milk you have on hand, mixed with a splash of lemon juice or vinegar.
- Bread – use white sandwich bread for the best flavor and texture. I’m talking wonder bread! Any “regular” sandwich bread should work just fine.
- Onion – use whatever you have on hand: yellow, red, white, or a shallot.
- Garlic – fresh or pre-minced, jarred garlic are both great.
- Parmesan – freshly shaved from the cheese section or the finely grated kind found in the pasta aisle will both work. Romano and asiago would also be delicious.
- Egg Yolks – be sure you’re using large egg yolks. Save the egg whites for my healthy egg muffin cups!
- Spices: Oregano, Basil, Salt – throw in some red pepper flakes or black pepper for a bit of a kick.
- Bacon – I like using regular (not thick) bacon for these meatballs to keep them from being too greasy. Any flavor of bacon is fine.
- Ground Meat: Beef and Pork – I like the combination of beef and pork, but feel free to use one or the other. I typically use 80/20 beef.
Sandwich
- Bread – the choice is yours! Italian hoagie, ciabatta roll, French bread, baguette.
- Cheese: Mozzarella and Romano – if you can, splurge on the fresh ball of mozzarella for the freshest flavor and gooey texture. Sliced mozzarella or provolone are also great. Use pre-shredded if you’re in a pinch.
How to make
Be sure to see the recipe card below for full instructions!
- Sauce: Whisk together sauce ingredients into slow cooker, then cook for 8 hours.
- Meatballs: Make the meatballs, broil, then finish cooking in the slow cooker for 1 hour.
- Sandwich: Assemble the sandwiches with bread, meat, and cheese, then devour and enjoy!
Best bread for meatball subs
- Rolls: Hoagie/Italian/Ciabatta – Hoagie and Italian rolls are relatively sturdy, but are still pillowy soft in the center. Ciabatta rolls are chewier.
- Baguette – these will hold up really well for saucy lovers, because it’s hearty and chewy enough to stand up to a ton of sauce.
Pro tip
Whatever you use, be sure to toast the bread for extra texture and flavor. If you want to really take it over the edge, try using my garlic bread as a vessel!
How to make with frozen meatballs and jarred sauce
If you want to make meatball subs with frozen meatballs, be sure to use fully-cooked meatballs. They can be homemade or use 1-2 (32 oz) bags of your favorite frozen and fully cooked meatballs. Place sauce, again, use homemade or store-bought (about 1-2 jars) into a greased 6 quart crockpot, then stir in the frozen meatballs. Cover and cook on HIGH for 3 hours or LOW for 6 hours.
How to serve
This recipe was intended to be served as a meatball sub, but you can also serve the meatballs and sauce with pasta, on pizza, and more!
- In a sandwich. Toast your favorite crusty bread, scoop on a generous portion of meatballs and sauce, then top with mozzarella.
- Baked into pasta. Dice the meatballs into smaller pieces and replace the bolognese with this in my baked ziti recipe!
- On pizza. Pizza dough + this sauce + diced meatballs + tons of cheese.
- As sliders. Use my pizza sliders for inspiration!
What to serve with meatball subs
Whether you’re serving your meatballs sandwiched between bread or over pasta or, here are some yummy side dish ideas!
How to store
Store leftover meatballs and sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days or in the freezer for 3-4 months.
To reheat, thaw in the fridge if frozen then microwave, bake, or warm on the stove.
– Jennifer
Crockpot Meatball Sub
These Crockpot Meatball Subs are made with a crusty baguette, hearty marinara sauce, juicy slow cooker meatballs, and gooey mozzarella cheese!
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 9 hours
Yield: 36 meatballs
Equipment for this recipe
(equipment shown are affiliate links)
Ingredients
Sauce
- 1 (28 oz) can peeled and crushed tomatoes
- 2 (15 oz) cans tomato sauce
- 1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 yellow onion finely diced
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon salt more or less to taste
- 2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Meatballs
- ⅓ cup buttermilk
- 4 slices white sandwich bread cubed
- 1 yellow onion finely minced
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- ¼ cup finely grated parmesan
- 4 large egg yolks
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 4 slices bacon finely minced
- 1 (16 oz) package ground beef I use 80/20
- 1 (16 oz) package ground pork
Sandwich
- your choice of bread we like baguette or ciabatta rolls
- sliced mozzarella
- grated romano/parmesan cheese if desired
Recipe Video
Instructions
Sauce
- Grease 6 quart crockpot with cooking spray, then add in crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, brown sugar, butter, onion, garlic, salt, basil, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, and pepper.
- Stir to combine, cover, and cook on LOW for 7 hours or HIGH for 3 hours.
Meatballs
- Stir together buttermilk and cubed bread in a large bowl and allow to soak for 10 minutes.
- Add in yellow onion, garlic, parmesan, egg yolks, salt, oregano, and basil and mix until combined. Set aside.
- Gently incorporate the finely minced bacon, ground beef, and ground pork, using your hands so you don’t over-mix.
- Once fully combined, store the meatball mixture, covered, in the refrigerator until ready for use.
- Place oven rack on the top rung, and preheat the oven broiler, then line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat and set aside.
- Using a large cookie scoop*, scoop out 36 meatballs onto the prepared baking sheet.
- Broil for 8 minutes, rotating the pan 180 degrees halfway through (keep an eye on them as broiler temperatures can vary). The tops should be nicely browned and the internal temperature should be about 160 degrees F.
- After the sauce has cooked for 7 hours on LOW or 3 hours on HIGH, add the meatballs into your crockpot and cover the meatballs with the sauce.
- Set the crockpot to HIGH and cook for 1 additional hour, then taste and re-season, if necessary.
Sandwich Assembly
- Slice bread in half.
- Top with meatballs, thinly sliced mozzarella cheese, and Romano cheese.
- Broil until cheese is melty.
- Serve immediately with extra sauce for dunking, if desired and enjoy!
- Take 5 seconds to rate this recipe below. We greatly appreciate it!
STORING
Room Temp:N/A
Refrigerator:3-4 Days
Freezer:3-4 Months
Reheat:If frozen, thaw in fridge then microwave or heat on stovetop
*Storage times may vary based on temperature and conditions
Notes
*Mine is about 3 tablespoons or 1.5 oz
People Also Viewed
Nutrition Information
Nutrition Facts
Crockpot Meatball Sub
Amount Per Serving (1 meatball)
Calories 116 Calories from Fat 63
% Daily Value*
Fat 7g11%
Saturated Fat 3g19%
Trans Fat 1g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Monounsaturated Fat 1g
Cholesterol 42mg14%
Sodium 521mg23%
Potassium 306mg9%
Carbohydrates 7g2%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 4g4%
Protein 7g14%
Vitamin A 270IU5%
Vitamin C 6mg7%
Calcium 44mg4%
Iron 1.5mg8%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
*Note: Nutrition information is estimated and varies based on products used.
Keywords: crockpot meatballs, crockpot sandwich, homemade meatball sandwich, homemade meatballs, meatball sub sandwich, meatball subs, slow cooker marinara, slow cooker meatballs, slow cooker sandwich
Annie
Jennifer @ Show Me the Yummy