Homemade Meatball Subs (with cheese stuffed meatballs!)
These Subs are made with an Easy Marinara Sauce and Juicy Homemade Meatballs that are stuffed with mozzarella cheese!
Servings: 5 subs
Cost: £3 / $4
Equipment
- Large Skillet & Wooden Spoon
- 2 Large Baking Trays
- Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Cheese Grater
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 20 Cherry Mozzarella Balls (see notes)
- 9oz / 250g Ground Beef (15%+ fat)
- 9oz / 250g Ground Pork (15%+ fat)
- 2 thin slices White Bread, decrusted & cubed
- 1/4 cup / 60ml Milk
- 1/4 cup Fresh Parsley, finely diced
- 1/2 cup / 40g Parmesan, finely grated
- 1 medium Onion, grated
- 1 Egg, beaten
- 2 cloves of Garlic, grated or minced
- 1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 1/2 tsp Dried Oregano
- 3/4 tsp Salt
- 1/4 tsp Pepper
Marinara Sauce
- 24oz / 700g jar of Passata (see notes)
- 1 medium Onion, finely diced
- 2 cloves of Garlic, finely diced
- 1 tsp each: Dried Basil, Dried Oregano, Sugar, Chilli flakes (or less for milder sauce)
- Salt & Black Pepper, to taste
- Olive Oil, as needed
Subs
- 5x 6" Baguettes, sliced open & lightly toasted (see notes)
- 1 cup / 100g Cheddar, grated (or as needed)
- handful of small Basil Leaves
Instructions
Meatballs
- Soak bread in milk, onion, garlic and Worcestershire sauce & mush with fork. Stir in parsley, parmesan, oregano, egg & seasoning. Gently work in your pork & beef (don’t over mix or they will end up tough), then form 20 meatballs with mozzarella in the centre. Lightly spray with oil then pop under the grill for 10mins or until golden on the outside. Flip once half way and shake about to evenly cook. Timings will vary based on power of grill/how close they are to it, so just be vigilant.
Sauce
- Fry onion/garlic until soft then pour in Passata. Stir in seasoning and leave to simmer for 10-15mins. Add meatballs (with some pan juices) and simmer for another 5-10mins, or until the sauce thickens.
Video
Notes
a) Perfect meatballs - For a more in depth post about how to get awesome homemade meatballs, check out my soft and juicy meatballs!
b) Cherry Mozzarella Balls - You'll get these at most grocery stores. They could also be called mini bocconcini balls. If you can't get your hands on either then just buy a ball of mozzarella and cut into pieces about the same size as a small cherry tomato.
c) Tomato Passata - In the US I believe this is called Tomato Puree (i.e just pureed tomatoes). NOT Tomato paste, which is much more concentrated, so make sure you don't use that.
d) What Baguette to use? - I usually use white baguettes around 6" in size. Also make sure you use one that's on the softer side. If you start with a baguette that's firm and crusty, it's going to come out hard and chewy once they're cooked.
e) Toasted Baguettes - To lightly toast them just drizzle with olive oil and pop under the grill for a few mins. Make sure they're only lightly toasted though, otherwise they'll come out burnt when you've grilled the cheese.
f) Make Ahead Meatballs - I recommend making the meatballs completely (in the sauce) then cooling, tightly covering and storing in the fridge (3-4days, reheat on stove) or in the freezer (1month, thaw in fridge then reheat on stove).
g) Calories - per sub, using 1 tsp olive oil for frying and using white 6" baguettes.
Nutrition
Serving: 1sub | Calories: 865kcal | Carbohydrates: 68.76g | Protein: 57.46g | Fat: 41.01g | Saturated Fat: 18.285g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3.486g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14.198g | Trans Fat: 0.736g | Cholesterol: 155mg | Sodium: 2265mg | Potassium: 1040mg | Fiber: 5.2g | Sugar: 13.63g | Vitamin A: 3200IU | Vitamin C: 25.6mg | Calcium: 570mg | Iron: 7.9mg