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Barbecue Meatball Subs

By Danae

on Jun 09, 2014, Updated Jul 08, 2024

5 from 2 votes

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Do you have any recipes that bring back memories from your childhood? That’s exactly what these Barbecue Meatball Subs do for me.

When I was young my sister and I would come up to Colorado for a week or so during the summer and visit our grandparents. Our grandparents always made a point of planning special things for us to do while we were visiting. I remember trips where they took up to the top of Pike’s Peak in the Cog Railway, hiking on top of Mt. Evans, on a train to Wyoming, to the Olympic Training Center and the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, tours of Hammond’s Candy, McDonalds (yes, I’ve seen the kitchen of a McDonalds, we’ll leave it at that), camping in the mountains, and picnics at a park called Inspiration Point near their house. I feel so fortunate that I was able to spend so much time with them and that they put the effort in to giving my sister and I so many unique and special experiences. Coming up to Colorado during the summer was so nice since we grew up in Arizona. Getting out of those 110 degree temperatures was such a relief. I loved having barbecues in the evening when we would sit out in the backyard with the cool breeze surrounded by my Grandma’s beautiful garden and fruit trees. Aside from her Macaroni and Cheese, these Barbecue Meatball Subs were one of my favorite meals she made for us.

I loved that she took the time to not only make the meatballs but the sauce as well. We ate the saucy moist meatballs on a toasted sub roll or bun. Sometimes we would add a slice of cheese and sometimes not, either way the subs were delicious! There is something about barbecue sauce, meat, and summer that all go together so well.

For the most part I kept this recipe just as she made it, with the exception of I used lean ground turkey to make my meatballs and she always used lean ground beef. She also used saltine crackers in hers and I used panko breadcrumbs.  I also cut back slightly on the amount of ketchup in the sauce and found that it was still sweet enough and made just the right amount of sauce to cover all the meatballs without having them swimming in it. I chose to add some thin slices of provolone on top of our subs and put them under the broiler just until the cheese is browned and bubbly. Just a tip, if you put them under the broiler watch them like a hawk! Lets just say that I burned the top of the rolls on my husband’s subs, poor guy had to have open faced subs. However, that didn’t keep him from snarfing them down in a matter of minutes! The next time you have friends or family over for a barbecue or picnic try making these Barbecue Meatball Subs. Paired with warm weather, sunshine, and the cool breeze, they make the perfect outdoor summer meal!

5 from 2 votes

Barbecue Meatball Subs

Prep: 20 minutes mins

Cook: 15 minutes mins

Total: 35 minutes mins

Servings: 6 sub sandwiches

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Barbecue Meatballs Subs are the perfect outdoor summer meal!

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Ingredients 

1x2x3x

For the Meatballs

• ▢ 1 pound lean ground turkey or beef
• ▢ 1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs
• ▢ 1/3 cup non fat milk or milk of choice
• ▢ 1 egg
• ▢ 1 t. Worcestershire sauce
• ▢ 1/2 T. dry onion flakes
• ▢ 1 t. dried parsley
• ▢ 1/2 t. kosher salt
• ▢ 1/4 t. dried thyme
• ▢ 1/4 t. black pepper
• ▢ 1/4 t. garlic powder

For the Barbecue Sauce

• ▢ 1/3 cup ketchup
• ▢ 1/3 cup chili sauce I used Heinz Chili Sauce
• ▢ 1 clove of garlic minced
• ▢ 2 T. brown sugar
• ▢ 1 T. yellow mustard
• ▢ 1 T. fresh lemon juice
• ▢ 1 T. Worcestershire sauce
• ▢ 1/4 t. celery seed
• ▢ 1/4 t. kosher salt

For the Subs

• ▢ 6 sub rolls
• ▢ Provolone cheese slices optional

Instructions 

To Make the Meatballs

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil.
• Spray the foil with cooking spray and set aside.
• In a large bowl combine all of the meatball ingredients and gently combine the meat mixture with your hands.
• Using and ice cream scoop or measuring spoon, scoop out about 2 tablespoons worth of meat and roll into a ball.
• You should be able to make about 24 meatballs.
• Place the meatballs on the foil lined cookie sheet and bake on the middle rack of the oven for about 10-12 minutes.

To Make the Barbecue Sauce

• In a medium sized saucepan over medium heat combine all of the sauce ingredients.
• Whisk them together and bring to a boil.
• Once the sauce is boiling, lower the heat to low and let it simmer for about 5 minutes.

To Assemble the Subs

• Once the meatballs come out of the oven, put them into the barbecue sauce and toss to coat them.
• Cut the sub rolls in half lengthwise and put 4 meatballs plus a little sauce on each roll.
• Top with a slice of provolone cheese.
• With the oven set to broil, place the sub sandwiches on a cookie sheet in the oven and broil them just until the cheese is melted and golden brown.

Notes

If you choose to melt the cheese under the broiler keep a close eye on it as the bread can burn very easily (I learned the hard way).

Tried this? Leave a comment below!