This post may contain affiliate links. Read disclosure policy
Crockpot Meatball Subs are the kind of meal that feels fancy but couldn’t be easier to make. A little hands on prep, a lot of slow cooker love, and you’ve got dinner! These cheesy, saucy subs are perfect for a busy night or for the next big game!
Grab a napkin. These guys are saucy in the best way.
Melty Mozz + Juicy Meatballs!
Do I like to pretend I’m a dainty lady who would never devour a plate of hot honey wings or eat a saucy sandwich that is likely to drip all down your shirt, but let’s be real…
I love both. A dainty eater, I am not.
Covered in sauce? Yes. That describes me perfectly, actually.
Our recipe here makes giant, tender meatballs that are made with both beef and pork for the best flavor.
We do bake them for a teensy bit in the oven to brown them up and make sure they hold their shape and then they get nestled in a crockpot full of of our doctored up marinara sauce.
Pile them onto toasty hoagie rolls, smother them in extra sauce, and top it all off with fresh mozzarella that melts into gooey goodness.
These crockpot meatball subs are everything you want in a weeknight meal—they’re easy to make, packed with flavor, and completely satisfying.
♥ 3 Reasons You’ll Love Our Slow Cooker Meatball Subs:
Hands-Off Cooking: Let your slow cooker do the work while you tackle the rest of your day.
Family-Friendly: Who can resist a cheesy, saucy sub? Even the picky eaters will be on board.
Perfectly Balanced: Toasty bread and browned meatballs meet a rich, savory sauce and melty cheese—it’s pure magic.
Ingredient Notes:
For the meatballs:
Ground Meat – We’re using a combination of ground beef and ground pork for these homemade Italian style meatballs. You can use all beef, if preferred, but I don’t recommend using all pork.
Italian Style Breadcrumbs – These work well as both a binder for the meatballs and to add flavor!
Parmesan – We’re using powdered Parmesan to go into the meatball mixture for both flavor and as a binder, similar to the breadcrumbs.
Garlic & Onion – Freshly minced garlic and onion are a simple way to add extra flavor to the meatballs. In our testing, we found that finely minced onion adds the best flavor and texture.
Parsley – We add plenty of chopped parsley to go into the meatball mixture!
For the sauce:
Marinara – We start with Rao’s Marinara. I think it has the best flavor but it can be a bit pricey too. Use any jar of sauce that you like.
Crushed Tomatoes – A can of crushed tomatoes will enhance the rich tomato flavor in the sauce and add some oomp.
Garlic – We love fresh garlic flavor and so we’re adding it to the sauce too!
Seasoning – The sauce is seasoned with salt, onion powder, red pepper flakes, and a little bit of sugar. This won’t end up spicy or sweet – just a nice balance of rich goodness.
For the subs:
Hoagie Rolls – We like hoagie rolls for making these subs but you could use pretty much any type of sandwich bun or roll. These can easily be turned into crockpot meatball sliders with some Hawaiian rolls!
Butter & Garlic Salt – We’ll toast these up for both flavor and texture.
Fresh Mozzarella – I love sliced fresh mozz for ultimate gooey melty goodness. You can use sliced or shredded mozzarella if that’s what you have, though.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Crockpot Recommendation!
In the market for a new slow cooker? We love this 7 quart Crockpot. It’s simple to use, cooks evenly, and is very budget friendly. Plus, it has a 4 1/2 star rating with over 5,000 reviews on Amazon!
Step by Step Instructions:
Combine all of the meatball ingredients in a large mixing bowl with your hands. Don’t overmix.
Separate the meatball mixture into 12 equal sized pieces and roll into meatballs. Bake on a prepared baking sheet for 10 minutes.
Add all of the sauce ingredients to a 6 quart slow cooker and stir well to combine.
Remove the meatballs from the oven and place them in the crockpot with the marinara sauce. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours.
Butter the insides of the hoagie rolls and toast them on a large baking sheet under the broiler.
Top each sandwich with meatballs, sauce, and cheese and then pop it back under the broiler to melt the cheese.
Helpful Tip!
Storage & Freezing:
If you’ve got leftover crockpot meatballs and marinara sauce let it cool a bit before transferring to an airtight container and storing in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Bread should be stored separately.
The meatballs and sauce can be frozen as well either together or separately in a freezer safe container or bag for up to a few months.
Let it thaw overnight before reheating. You can reheat in the oven, microwave, crockpot, or the stove.
Karly’s Tips:
Make-Ahead Friendly: Prepare the meatballs in advance, bake as directed, cool a bit and freeze them. Just toss them in the slow cooker with the sauce when you’re ready to cook.
Keep It Simple: I don’t think it’s difficult to doctor up a jar of sauce, but you can definitely just dump in 2 jars and call it a day. No shame. 😉
Leftover Sauce:
These crockpot meatball sandwiches are nice and saucy, but we always end up with way more sauce than we can spoon onto a sandwich.
Serve some up for dipping, but be sure to save some for tossing with pasta.
While there won’t be any meat in the sauce, it is very richly flavored thanks to the meatballs it cooked with. It’s delicious for twirling up a forkful of spaghetti!
More Italian Inspired Recipes
- Italian Pasta Salad
- One Pot Spaghetti
- Alfredo Sauce
- Mac and Cheese Casserole
- Air Fryer Chicken Parmesan
- Italian Beef
Crockpot Meatball Subs
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
- 1 pound ground beef
- ½ pound ground pork
- 1 cup Italian style bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup powdered Parmesan
- ¼ cup chopped parsley
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 small onion minced
- 1 large egg
For the sauce:
- 28 ounces marinara sauce
- 15 ounces crushed tomatoes
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon sugar
For the subs:
- 4 hoagie rolls
- 4 tablespoons butter softened
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
- 8 slices fresh mozzarella cheese
- 1 tablespoon parsely minced
Instructions
To make the meatballs:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a rimmed baking sheet with non-stick spray.
- Add the ground beef, pork, bread crumbs, Parmesan, parsley, garlic, onion, and egg to a large mixing bowl and combine well with your hands. Do not overmix.
- Separate the mixture into 12 equal sized chunks and roll into meatballs.
- Place meatballs on prepared baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes.
To make the sauce:
- Add all of the sauce ingredients to a 6 quart slow cooker and stir well to combine.
- Remove the meatballs from the oven and place in the slow cooker with the sauce.
- Cover and cook on low for 4 hours.
To make the subs:
- Open the hoagie rolls and butter the insides of each roll.
- Sprinkle evenly with the garlic salt.
- Place opened hoagie rolls on a large baking sheet under the broiler and broil until as toasted as you’d like. Keep a close eye on the bread as it will go from toasted to burnt very quickly.
- Remove the bread from the oven and add 3 meatballs to each sandwich. Top with a spoonful of sauce.
- Top each sandwich with 2 slices of fresh mozzarella. Return to the broiler for 1 minute to let the cheese melt a bit.
- Sprinkle the sandwiches with fresh parsley and serve.
Christine says
For some reason meatballs never come out good for me . I made these for my sons birthday with high hopes that they would turn out good . They were better than good. Best meatballs I’ve ever made, we loved them. This will be my go to recipe now.
Karly says
Yay!! Love to hear that!