Ever since I made the Killer Meatballs, David has been practically begging me to make them for meatball sandwiches. Having not been too keen about the whole meatball sandwich idea, I drug my feet.
Meatball sandwiches have never really appealed to me. They look so messy and the bread has to be soggy from the sauce poured onto it… but I tried one last week for the first time. You know what? It was GOOD!
So good that I just had to share the recipe for these meatball sandwiches I made for David.
After he suggested “make us some meatball sammitches” for the hundredth time, I decided I would make the damn sandwich to shut him up! I mean really, just because I made him a meatball sandwich, didn’t mean I had to eat one. I could just pour them over some good old-fashioned pasta instead. So last week, David got his “meatball sammitch”.
Juicy oven-baked meatballs filled with Italian herbs and ricotta cheese simmered in thick warm marinara sauce, then placed onto a hoagie bun, topped with mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. You’ll love this recipe too.
Let’s make some meatball sandwiches!
How To Make Meatball Sandwiches
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Soak the bread in the milk in a medium bowl, set aside.
In a separate bowl, add the beef with the shallots, garlic, ricotta, parsley, basil, Parmesan, salt, and egg. After the bread has soaked up the milk, remove it from the bowl and ring out the remaining liquid, and discard (or give it to your cat). Mix the ingredients thoroughly.
Form the meat mixture into 2-inch balls using a scoop to mold each one uniformly. Place them on a broiling pan and bake, until golden on the outside (about 20 to 30 minutes).
While the meatballs are baking, add crushed tomatoes, sauce and spices to a large dutch oven or pot and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat.
When the meatballs are done, add them to the sauce. Cover and simmer for no less than 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
During the last 10 minutes of cooking, slice hoagie rolls open, leaving a hinge. Bake the rolls at 325 degrees F for 10 minutes or until heated through.
Remove bread from the oven. Sprinkle some mozzarella cheese onto the inside of the warmed hoagie roll; spoon 3 to 4 meatballs per roll, depending on the size of your rolls. Ladle over some sauce and top with more mozzarella cheese. Serve with extra sauce and parmesan cheese if desired.
So it turns out, I do like meatball sandwiches, I just had to make them myself. It also turned out that we had some meatballs and sauce left over and decided to finish it off on top of some fettuccine the next day for supper. So, not only did I get a tasty sandwich, but I also got my pasta.
Perhaps it will be a while before David begs me for meatball sandwiches again, but if he does, I’ll gladly make some!
p.s. Read more about how a scoop is a useful tool in the kitchen. Click HERE!
Meatball Sandwiches
Ingredients
The Meatballs:
- 1 ½ cups day-old bread diced
- ¼ cup whole milk
- 1 pound ground beef (Chuck – 80/20)
- 1 shallot minced
- 1 clove garlic minced
- ¾ cup ricotta cheese
- 1 ¼ cup fresh parsley chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh basil chopped
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese grated
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 egg
The Sauce:
- 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
- 15 ounces tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
The Sandwiches:
- 4 hoagie rolls
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese shredded
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese grated, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Soak the bread in the milk in a medium bowl, set aside. In a separate bowl, add the beef with the shallots, garlic, ricotta, parsley, basil, Parmesan, salt, and egg. After the bread has soaked up the milk, remove it from the bowl and ring out the remaining liquid, and discard. Mix the ingredients thoroughly. Form the meat mixture into 2-inch balls using a scoop to mold each one uniformly. Place them on a broiling pan and bake, until golden on the outside (about 20-30 minutes).
- Add crushed tomatoes, sauce and spices to a large dutch oven or pot and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat.
- Add cooked meatballs to the sauce. Cover and simmer for no less than 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- During the last 10 minutes of cooking, preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- Slice hoagie rolls open, leaving a hinge. Bake the rolls at 325 degrees F for 10 minutes or until heated through.
- Sprinkle mozzarella cheese onto the inside warm hoagie rolls. Spoon 3-4 meatballs per roll, depending on the size of your rolls. Ladle over some sauce and top with more mozzarella cheese. Serve with extra sauce and parmesan cheese if desired.
Julie is HostessAtHeart says
This is a great looking sammitch! I am always looking for dinner inspiration, and don’t know why this hasn’t been on the radar. Will be now! Great looking recipe.
Debbie Spivey says
Thanks, Julie. This is Chef Michael Symon’s Yia Yia’s recipe for the meatball ingredients. They are so moist and flavorful. You will love them! 🙂
Julie is HostessAtHeart says
I love some of his recipes. I will be pittimg them on my menu.
chefbirdsong says
That would definitely feed my boys well!
Debbie Spivey says
And then some… 😉
Rachel says
These are my weakness! Very messy, but worth the sauce all over your face.
Debbie Spivey says
A lot better than I imagined. I didn’t get to messy…lol!
Anna Buckley says
These look delicious. What a good idea to scoop and broil meatballs first. Hope David said thank you!
Debbie Spivey says
He sure did! 😉
They may have a tad more flavor if you brown them in the pot before adding the sauce, but with all that sauce, it probably wouldn’t make a difference.
DesignsbyJeanneR says
Never thought of making them for dinner…great sammitch idea!