Name: Weeknight Simple Meatball Subs
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1 Air Fryer Parmesan Garlic Meatball Recipe; 1 pack Hoagie Rolls (6 rolls); 1 jar Marinara Sauce; 6 slices Mozzarella Cheese; ¼ cup Parmesan Cheese (evenly distributed on sandwiches)

These meatball subs come together quickly with the help of a little preplanning, and features one of our favorite things to eat: meatballs! This Weeknight Simple Meatball Sub recipe is full of flavor, budget friendly, and on the table in less than 30 minutes with some help from a little pre-planning, makes this the perfect weeknight meal.

meatball subs and french fries on a cutting board

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This meal prep recipe comes together so fast with the a little early planning over the weekend. I encourage anyone to plan their meals ahead and prepare your protein for the week. It has helped my little family out a lot during busy times to still be able to get good food on the table fast.

This meal showcases our favorite meatball recipe. I’ve cooked, cooled, and froze this meatball recipe to have ready for these simple weeknight meatball subs on this busy evening (yes, these were literally consumed by all of us immediately after these pictures were taken!).

The subs came together, with a side of french fries, in less than 30 minutes. Clean up was so fast, too!

Why you’ll love this Weeknight Simple Meatball Subs

Less than 30 minutes – Parmesan Chicken Meatballs are used in this recipe and were prepped and frozen ahead of time, helping dinner come together quickly.

Delicious – Short on time but not short on flavor, these subs did not taste like I prepped the meatballs ahead of time!

Budget friendly – This recipe is easy on the budget and inexpensive to make.

A Kid Favorite – My kids love anything handheld! If they can eat it with their hands, it is a total hit over here!

Supplies needed to make Weeknight Simple Meatball Subs

These stainless steal pots and pans are so pretty and an inexpensive set to use daily in the kitchen (I have the matte white with gold handles!).

Ingredients

Meatballs – I prepared our favorite meatballs over the weekend and froze them. They helped dinner come together so fast on such a busy evening!

Jarred Marinara Sauce – Any of your favorite jars will do!

Soft Hoagie Rolls– You can also use small sub rolls in place of hoagie rolls.

Sliced Mozzarella Cheese – Any cheese will really do well here, but we love mozzarella for this meal!

Parmesan Cheese – If no other cheese is used, parmesan cheese is always a must!

Pick any side – I added crinkle cut french fries to keep this meal so simple. The air fryer cooked the french fries while my stove heat up the meatballs!

The full recipe, along with the ingredients, can be found below.

How to make Weeknight Simple Meatball Subs

frozen meatballs with marinara sauce being poured over in a pan

First, grab your bag of frozen meatballs from the freezer. No need to thaw them! Pour your frozen meatballs into a pan.

Then, grab your favorite jar of marinara sauce and pour that over the meatballs. Spaghetti sauce will work here, too! Evenly coating and distributing your frozen meatballs into the pan with the sauce will help ensure the heat reaches everything quickly so you can have dinner on the table in no time!

Next, place a lid on the meatballs and cook on medium heat until the meatballs are hot in the center. You can check on them frequently to ensure they aren’t sticking to the bottom of the pan, being careful not to break any of them up while checking them.

Finally, it’s time to plate everything up! Add your heated meatballs to your sub rolls, along with the sliced cheese and parmesan cheese. Don’t forget the french fries!

Tips

I encourage you to prepare your meat ahead of time if you can. It will save on so much time later in the week when things get busy!
I used my recipe Air Fryer Parmesan Chicken Meatballs and cooked them according to the instructions on that recipe. I let them cool and then placed them in a freezer bag and placed them in the freezer to use later in the week!
If you can’t find hoagie rolls in your grocery store, you don’t have to use them. Small sub rolls, hot dog buns, and slider buns work here, too!
You can prepare the meatballs to be a little smaller to stretch even further, filling even more hungry tummies! Just add more rolls to your grocery list.
Have a little extra time? Pan toast the buns! Add a little butter (or mayo) to an open roll and toast them on a pan, buttered side down.

FAQs

The key ingredients are made-ahead-meatballs, hoagie rolls, and sliced cheese. I like to add a sprinkle of parmesan cheese on top of the meatballs in the pan once the cooking is complete and on top of our sandwiches just before serving!

The subs are best eaten immediately once plated! If you save them after placing them in the bread, your bread may get soggy.

You don’t have to use hoagie rolls! You can use slider buns, hot dog buns, or even sub rolls. You can also enjoy the meatballs in sauce over spaghetti noodles.

Absolutely! These are uncomplicated sandwiches. If you have store-bought frozen meatballs in your freezer, by all means use them!

I used our favorite marinara sauce from Aldi, but you can use any of your favorite sauce here instead of marinara. Even better – if you have homemade sauce to use! Being short on time most evenings, we grab for the jarred sauces!

Recipe

meatball subs and crinkle cut french fries spread out on a cutting board

Weeknight Simple Meatball Subs

Cooked from our favorite Air Fried Buttery Parmesan Chicken Meatballs.

These meatballs make the best meatball subs! They are so delicious and so easy to cook and freeze for the week ahead! This meal comes together super fast with a little preplanning. No need to thaw the meatballs, just toss your frozen meatballs in a pot with your favorite marinara and warm them up! Add them to soft sub rolls with a slice of provolone or mozzarella cheese and you have an incredibly delicious dinner that came together so fast!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Total Time 30

Course Air Fryer, Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 6

Ingredients

1 Air Fryer Parmesan Garlic Meatball Recipe
1 pack Hoagie Rolls 6 rolls
1 jar Marinara Sauce
6 slices Mozzarella Cheese
¼ cup Parmesan Cheese evenly distributed on sandwiches

Instructions

Grab your prepared meatballs from the freezer – no need to thaw!
Add them to your pan, along with your jar of marinara sauce. Evenly distribute your marinara sauce on the pan and around your meatballs.
Turn your stove onto medium heat and place a lid on your pan. Check and stir frequently to prevent your meatballs from sticking, ensuring you've heated your meatballs all the way through.
Once your meatball is hot in the center, turn the heat of your stove off, and begin filling your hoagie rolls with sliced cheese and meatballs.
We love to serve ours with french fries that cook in the air fryer while our meatballs heat up on the stove.

Notes

Tips

We used our recipe Parmesan Chicken Meatballs and froze them for this recipe, but any of your favorite meatball recipes or store bought meatballs will do!
When prepping the meatballs, you can make the meatballs even smaller, giving you more to distribute through more sub rolls. This stretches your meat even further!
Any side would be good with this! We suggest french fries, pasta salad, or even a baked potato if you aren’t short on time.

Keyword air fryer, Aldi, Aldi Dinner, chicken, dinner, Kid favorites, Less than 30 minutes, meal prep, one pot, one skillet