Meatball Parm Sub

Tired of pasta for dinner? Bake up a Meatball Parm Sub with juicy, tender eggless meatballs smothered in a classic marinara sauce with melted mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Serve on toasted sub rolls for an easy weeknight dinner.

One of the hardest parts about being an adult is menu planning each week.

Every time I struggle to figure out what future me wants to eat and end up resorting to the same meals over and over, which usually involves too much pasta.

I’m not very good at buying groceries on a whim and hoping I can come up with something; I’m a planner who needs to make a list.

Sometimes when I don’t know what I want, I’ll pick a protein for inspiration and roll with it. I haven’t had ground chicken in a long time, so I thought about what I could make besides my buffalo chicken chili.

Chicken parmesan meatballs immediately came to mind, especially after making my chicken meatball soup. Rather than making spaghetti and meatballs, I opted for making a Meatball Parm Sub.

They’re juicy, tender eggless meatballs smothered in a classic marinara sauce with melted mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Instead of serving them over pasta, I served them on toasted sub rolls.

I grew up eating a ton of meatball parmesan sandwiches from a certain sub chain, especially if I needed to pack lunch for band competitions on the weekends.

Spoiler alert – my meatball parm subs are way tastier.

Meatballs need a ton of flavor as they can get pretty bland pretty quickly, so I made sure to use plenty of onion, garlic, Parmesan cheese, and basil.

Why You’ll Love This Meatball Parm Sub

• They’re meatballs without eggs! Since I do a lot of small batch cooking, using a whole egg adds too much moisture. And I certainly don’t want to deal with any leftover egg whites afterwards.
• Can use either ground beef or ground chicken
• Baked instead of fried so they’re healthier AND you can use that time to make a side dish such as my green onion salad or even clean up.

Ingredients For Meatball Parm Subs

To make your meatball parmesan sandwich, you’ll need the following ingredients:

• Ground chicken: Can also use ground beef
• Panko breadcrumbs: Breadcrumbs help absorb the excess moisture so your meatballs aren’t falling apart. Panko is thicker and not the same measurement as fine breadcrumbs.
• Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses: It’s not a meatball hoagie without all that cheese!
• Mayonnaise: You can also use sour cream or Greek yogurt.
• Onion and garlic: Aromatics that bring lots of flavor in every bite
• Basil: An Italian herb to add some freshness
• Salt: Seasons the meat so you’re not stuck with bland, boring meatballs
• Marinara or spaghetti sauce: I use jarred to make dinner go faster, but feel free to make homemade.
• Sub rolls: Look for sturdy hoagie buns that are not hot dog buns.

How To Make Meatballs Without Eggs

Want to know my secret for making eggless meatballs?

Adding mayonnaise! All you need to do is add a tablespoon from a jar and voila – meatballs for dinner.

And yes I know mayo is egg-based which is why this substitute works so well. However if you’re looking for true meatballs without eggs, use sour cream or Greek yogurt. The creaminess will still bind the ground meat together.

How To Make Meatball Parm Sub

Here’s how to make this chicken meatball sub recipe:

1. Mix together chicken, breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, mayo, onion, garlic, basil, and salt.
2. Roll the meat into roughly 12 meatballs and place on a baking rack inside a roasting pan.
3. Bake at 400F for 10 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165F.
4. Add 3 meatballs to your sub roll with sauce then top with mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.
5. Bake for 5-8 minutes or until buns are toasted.

I highly recommend not building your subs until ready to eat. Refrigerate leftover meatballs separately in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

More Meatball Recipes

If you enjoyed these baked meatballs, you’ll enjoy these other meatball recipes:

• Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
• Sweet Chili Meatballs
• Teriyaki Meatballs

First published April 20, 2015