I find it funny the things that excite me at almost 40 years old. A new paint job on the house, a new set of windows installed, gutters fixed, clutter cleaned up and organized, and so on. Basically, anything that makes my home clean and cared for causes me to get giddy like a teenager. I know I am not the only one. And if I am don’t tell me.
Something else that makes me happy is when I find a recipe my entire family loves, is incredibly easy to make, AND can cook all day in the slow cooker. Yep those three things will send me floating on cloud 9.
This new slow cooker meatball sub recipe is all those things and more. It is delicious, has minimum prep, and can easily be made ahead of time. Seriously, you guys will love this recipe.
In the past, I made meatball subs but baking the meatballs in the oven then simmering them in a sauce. Then I would place the meatballs in a roll, sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top, and broil until melted. Now this did not take a lot of time and was quite easy to do. But this slow cooker recipe is way easier and results in a super moist and tender meatball.
For this slow cooker recipe you don’t have to cook the meatballs ahead of time. At first, I was going to, but decided to make it first without that step. I wanted simple. I was a little nervous but I went for it anyway. I roll each meatball and place in the bottom of the slow cooker.
I used a bread and water “paste” when making these meatballs. I learned this trick from the America’s Test Kitchen Slow Cooker Cookbook. In the paste, I mixed in the seasonings and bread crumbs so I did not have to mix the meatballs too much. It will look a little wet but don’t worry this paste will create a very moist meatball.
Once the meatballs were in, I poured a jar of pasta sauce over the top. I used a 25.5-ounce jar of Wegmans Organic Roasted Garlic Pasta Sauce. It comes to about 2 ½ cups of sauce. You can use any sauce you like.
Then I set the slow cooker to low and let it do it’s magic for 7 hours on low. If you are at work all day these should be fine on warm for an hour or so until you get home.
After the meatballs are done, I placed 3 on a bun, and sprinkled some mozzarella cheese on top. The cheese melted on its own so no need to place in broiler. So easy! It was the perfect weeknight recipe.
My kids LOVED these meatball subs. Loved them!
- 1 lb 95% lean ground beef (I used Wegmans organic grass-fed beef. You can also use ground turkey)
- 1 slice whole wheat bread
- 3 tablespoons 1% milk
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon Worchestire sauce
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ cup unseasoned italian bread crumbs
- ¼ cup grated romano cheese
- 1 (25.5 ounce) jar of spaghetti sauce (or 2½ cups homemade)
- 6 whole wheat hotdog buns
- ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- In a medium bowl combine the bread and milk together until combined and it forms a "paste".
- Add in egg, worchestire sauce, basil, oregano, garlic, granulated onion powder, salt, pepper, breadcrumbs, and romano cheese. Mix until completely combined.
- Mix in the ground beef until the paste mixture is evenly distributed.
- Roll into 18 meatballs and place on the bottom of the slow cooker.
- Pour sauce of top.
- Cook for 7 hours on low in slow cooker.
- Place 3 meatballs in a roll, sprinkle1½ tablespoons cheese on top, and enjoy.
Make ahead instructions
This can be made ahead of time by prepping meatballs, flash freezing, then storing in a bag in the freezer. Place meatballs in the slow cooker frozen and continue with recipe. You might need to add some extra time if meatballs are added frozen. You can also make the recipe completely ahead of time and freeze in portions. Warm up on stove or microwave.
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I never make comments on any blogs I use. However, these meatballs were some of the best meatballs I have ever had. My almost 1 year old has not been eating meat for me lately and he LOVED them! I didn’t use them for a sub – but for pasta with meatballs and sauce. I used them for after the Buffalo Bills game today!! It was the perfect recipe! Thank you so very much!!!
So glad you like them. I agree they are soooo tasty! Love that you are from Buffalo. Me too! GO BILLS!
Love you blog all in all 🙂 and would love to try these too. Am however gluten intolerant. What do you suggests replacing the bread and crumbs with?
Can’t wait to try this, but I am confused about the bread crumbs. It says unseasoned Italian bread crumbs…are you supposed to use the plain unseasoned ones or the Italian seasoned ones?
I use plain but you can use either.
How many points for just the 3 meatballs, no bread? Thank you! Love your recipes!!
Oh my goodness! I made these meatballs with ground turkey (it’s what I had on hand), and they were so good and moist. Everyone devoured them and had no idea they were eating turkey meatballs. Thanks for another hit recipe for my family!
Anyone want to wager a guess if this will work with a LARGE crock pot FULL to the brim with meatballs? I’m cooking for a parent event and want to plug this in and forget about it during school.
Any sense what happens if you double this? Is it ok if the meatballs don’t all lie on crockpot bottom?
Great recipe!
I totally planned on doing these in the crockpot but waited too late in the day to get started so I did them in the skillet. The whole family enjoyed them! Thanks for a great recipe.
This has become a regular on my meal plan! From the time I leave in the morning until I’m home at night, it’s almost 10 hours, so I use my crockpot timer a LOT. The first time I made them (I use turkey), they tasted a little burnt. So, when I made them the next time, I made the meatballs the night before and froze them so they were frozen when I put them in the crockpot in the morning. It solved the problem and they were great! They’re even approved by my picky 4-year-old!