Quick and Easy Meatball Sub: Healthy and Delicious

Why you should try this quick and easy meatball sub recipe:

I've said it before and I'll say it again. WORK SMARTER, NOT HARDER! This applies to work, setting Outlook junk email filters, and the kitchen, using ingredients that make meal prep a whole lot easier for you. Sure, you can buy ground meat and spoon together homemade meatballs, but if you don't have that sort of time after a long day of work, why not use meatballs already made for you? Save the laborious recipes for a Sunday, yeah?

I've made this recipe quite a few times and have been adapting it as I go. I'm going to share the bare bones, i.e. necssities to make the meatball sub, as well as additions you're welcome to incorporate to boost the vitamins and minerals found in this meal.

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First and foremost, you've got your primary ingredients: sub bread, meatballs, pizza sauce, and mozzarella cheese. Without these, you don't have a meatball sub!

Then you have your extras: mushrooms, oregano, a second type of cheese such as provolone, a veggie for the side such as green beans. Use none, or use all of these extras. I highly recommend the last, or any sort of vegetable that you and/or your family enjoys to have on the side of your sub for a nutrient boost.

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Here are a few swaps you might consider based on your food preferences, or if you have leftover ingredients that you would like to use up.

1. Swap chicken meatballs (from the refrigerator section of Trader Joe's) for the Italian Style frozen meatballs. You can also use the frozen turkey meatballs in place of the beef.

2. Swap mozzarella cheese for provolone, or add both.

3. Swap a softer sub bread for the baguette, seen in the main photo (delicious!)

4. Leftover pasta sauce for pizza sauce

I LOVE using pre-trimmed green beans. Not only are they a snap (or lack of, get it?) to roast along with any meal, they are a great source of fiber and hold up well to use for leftovers.

Details:

Serves: 4

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

1 package green beans, pre-trimmed
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1 bag mozzarella cheese or sliced provolone
2 ciabatta demi-baguettes (or your sub bread of choice), sliced 3/4 of the way through and in half to create two servings per baguette
1 bag of Italian Style Meatballs, fully cooked
1 container pizza sauce

‍Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Toss green beans with olive oil, salt, and pepper and place on a baking sheet.

3. Once pre-heated, place the green beans into the oven for 15 minutes.

4. Cook meatballs according to package instructions. I recommend using an air-fryer because it's SO quick! Once cooked, slice each meatball in half.

5. Toast baguette or sub bread if desired.

6. Assemble the meatball sandwich by smoothing 1 spoonful of pizza sauce on the bottom half of the open-face baguette, followed by 3 full meatballs (6 halves), another spoonful of pizza sauce atop the meatballs, and lastly, 1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese.

7. Place sandwiches on a second baking sheet and warm in the oven for 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

8. Remove both the sandwiches and green beans from the oven, plate, and enjoy!

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Optional steps for a vitamin D boost:

1. Wash and thinly slice mushrooms.

2. Preheat pan with oil of choice.

3. Saute over medium heat, stirring regularly, for about 6-8 minutes. Mushrooms should have decreased in size by least half and the moisture has cooked out of the pan.

4. While assembling meatball subs, place mushrooms onto of meatballs, prior to adding cheese.

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Nutrition:

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