Easy Baked Cheesy Meatball Sub Sandwich

Name: Easy Baked Cheesy Meatball Sub Sandwich
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 40 min
Ingredients: Canned French Bread Dough; 18 cooked meatballs; 1½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese; 1 tablespoons shredded parmesan cheese; ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning; ¼ cup olive oil; Pinch of salt; Marinara sauce for dipping

This meatball stuffed sandwich bake is cheesy and full of flavor. Such an easy and fun meal to make.

Jump to Recipe

This easy baked cheesy meatball sub sandwich is similar to a meatball stromboli except all of the traditional flavors of chicken parm sandwich bake. These are our favorites when we want an easy dinner, but something different. We also serve these on game day or when we have parties, which every one loves!

Table of Contents

sliced easy baked cheesy meatball sub sandwich on a wooden board with a bowl of marinara

A mozzarella and meatball baked sandwich may not sound special, but you will quickly change your mind once your teeth sink into that first bite. Plus, it feeds 6 people at a time and you only need 7 simple ingredients.

What is Easy Baked Cheesy Meatball Sub Sandwich?

This meatball sub recipe combines crispy French bread with juicy meatballs and melty mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Baked to perfection in the oven, these meatball sandwiches are then dipped into flavorful store-bought or homemade marinara sauce. An easy weeknight meal for the whole family to enjoy.

Why You’ll Love This

Notable: crispy meatball sandwiches with an amazingly cheesy center dipped in delicious marinara sauce
Main Ingredients: canned French bread dough, cooked meatballs, shredded mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, olive oil, salt and marinara sauce
Cooking Method: oven baked
Nutrients: good source of protein with 14g per serving
Cooking Time: 10 minutes prep time, 40 minutes cooking time
Pairs well with: marinara sauce, pesto, fresh green salad, Caprese salad
Special Equipment Needed: sheet pan, mixing bowl, pastry brush

sliced easy baked cheesy meatball sub sandwich

hand dipping a slice of baked cheesy meatball sub into marinara sauce

Ingredients

You may have all of these ingredients for this meatball marinara sandwich recipe in your refrigerator or pantry and not need to make a trip to the local grocery store! If this is your first time making this meatball sub recipe you might want to read the possible variations before deciding on your ingredients.

Easy Baked Cheesy Meatball Sub Sandwich Ingredients

Canned French bread dough
18 cooked homemade meatballs
1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 tablespoon shredded parmesan cheese
½ tsp Italian seasoning
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Pinch of salt
Marinara sauce for dipping

Variations and Substitutions

Bread: For ease, we are using canned French bread dough, but you can use homemade pizza dough as well.

Cheese: In case you are out of mozzarella, substitute provolone cheese if you like. Moreover, you can use slices of mozzarella or other sliced cheese instead of shredded.

Meatballs: Choose from our Air Fryer Meatballs, Chicken Meatballs, Italian Meatballs, Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs, or Turkey and Spinach Meatballs. Or you can use pre-made cooked frozen meatballs for convenience.

Oil: You can use your favorite, we like olive oil.

Dipping Sauce: Make our easy marinara sauce or use a jar of store bought. Additionally, ranch dressing or barbecue sauce also make great dipping sauces.

Try some of these fun variations:

Hawaiian Rolls: Instead of French bread use Hawaiian Sweet Rolls to make sliders or experiment with ciabatta rolls. If you have hamburger buns on hand, those could work too.
Add Veggies: Toss in spinach, olives, and maybe even your favorite kind of peppers.
Chicken Tenders: Use breaded chicken tenders instead of meatballs.

ingredients for easy baked cheesy meatball sub sandwich

WHAT TO MAKE NEXT: If you loved this easy cheesy meatball marinara sub recipe, try our Easy Dump and Bake Meatball Pasta Casserole Recipe. This scrumptious combination of noodles, marinara, meatballs and mozzarella cheese comes together in only 10 minutes and bakes to al dente perfection in the oven.

Recommended Tools

Links to our favorite tools are affiliate links. If you purchase something through the link we may get a tiny portion of the sale.

Sheet Pan — Make sure to line your baking sheet with parchment paper, in case any melted cheese oozes out during baking. That way clean up is easy!

Instructions

This section shows how to cook this meatball sub recipe in the oven, with step-by-step photos and details about the technique. For full step-by-step instructions, photos and nutritional information see the recipe in the recipe card below.

PREPARE: Firstly, preheat the oven to 350ºF. Then, line a baking sheet with parchment, aluminum foil, or spray with cooking spray.

UNROLL THE DOUGH: Find the seam on the french bread and unroll it on the baking sheet into a rectangle. Afterwards add a drizzle of olive oil onto the dough and use a pastry brush to spread it out.

ADD CHEESE AND MEATBALLS: Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese on to the bread dough, leaving room around the edges. Afterward, line the meatballs up down the center.

chicken meatballs lined up on middle of dough

ROLL: Roll the French bread dough over and pinch the edges to seal. Then brush on a little more olive oil on the top and add the Italian seasoning, parmesan cheese, and salt.

COVER AND COOK: Wrap the pan loosely in aluminum foil. Bake for 20 minutes then remove the foil and cook for another 15-20 minutes until it’s firm to the touch and golden brown. If you like, brush the top with olive oil, butter or garlic butter for the last couple minutes in the oven.

SERVE: Garnish this classic sandwich with fresh Italian parsley or basil leaves and serve with ranch dressing, barbecue sauce, or marinara.

WHAT TO MAKE NEXT: In case you love the combination of Italian food and tender meatballs then you’ll love our Easy Fettuccine Pesto. This delicious comfort food with meatballs makes a healthy and delicious meal for busy weeknights that the whole family will enjoy.

Andrea says….

We’ve used this method to make a lot of different types of sandwich fillings. Pesto chicken is one of my favorites!

Recipe Tips

Follow these tips to make the best meatball sub sandwiches.

Tip: The dough can be very sticky. When folding it over on itself, use the parchment paper to lift the side you are folding. Then carefully peel back the parchment paper away from the dough.
Tip: Do not add sauce to the French bread before cooking. This may make the sandwich soggy inside.
Tip: If needed you can broil to brown the top if you are worried it’s going to over cook.

What To Serve With Easy Baked Cheesy Meatball Sub Sandwich

We love to eat this meatball marinara sub recipe all by itself. But sometimes you need to serve it as a meal. Try one of these delicious recipes:

Sauce: Serve classic cheesy meatball subs with homemade pasta sauce, such as our best Marinara Sauce with Red Wine.

Salad: A great way to serve these juicy meatball subs is with a fresh salad. A green salad like our amazing Italian Salad or Strawberry Avocado Salad. Or even a Caprese Salad with tomatoes, mozzarella and basil or Antipasto Salad.

Sides: Traditionally, meatball subs are served with onion rings, Fries or Potato Wedges. It would also taste great with a fruit salad, like Stef’s Peach Burrata Salad.

More Meatball Sandwich Recipes

If you also love turning meatballs into scrumptious sandwiches, then our amazing Meatball Calzones, Hawaiian Roll Meatball Sliders and Meatball Sub Bombs are perfect for you.

How To Store

Refrigerate: Store meatball marinara sub leftovers in an air tight container, ziploc bag, or aluminum foil in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Freeze: Let the chicken parmesan sandwich leftovers cool completely before slicing into smaller servings. Then freeze in a freezer safe container or freezer bag for up to 2 months.

Defrosting: Thaw in the refrigerator overnight or reheat from frozen.

How To Reheat

Place frozen meatball sub sandwiches in the oven or air fryer at 350 degrees and heat until they are warm all the way through.

meatball sub sandwich slices with a cup of marinara sauce

Common Questions

How to reheat a meatball marinara sub sandwich?

You can reheat these in the microwave, oven, or air fryer at 350 degrees. If you use the microwave the crust will not be as crispy as it was when it was served fresh.

Can you make cheesy meatball sub sandwiches gluten free?

In this case, you would need to use a gluten free bread and make sure the bread crumbs you use are gluten free.

What else can you put on a chicken parm sub?

Spinach or a spring mix would pair well, along with other veggies like onions and peppers. If you don’t want to add more toppings you can serve them with a simple salad.

What other types of bread can I use to make baked meatball sandwiches?

In case you don’t have canned French bread dough, you can try using French rolls, hoagie rolls, sub rolls, hot dog buns or slider buns.

marinara, meatballs, mozzarella, parmesan

5 from 3 votes