Sunday Supper, Meatball Sub Casserole

the Painted Apron

2 years ago

There’s something wonderful about biting

into a saucy Italian meatball submarine sandwich,

but meatball sandwiches are pretty messy~

Instead of having marinara dripping down your chin

or on your clothes,

turn a meatball sandwich into a casserole!

This casserole has all the elements of a meatball sandwich

and eliminates the mess

It is basically a meatball sandwich baked in a dish

This is a great make ahead meal

and it starts with your favorite Marinara Sauce

I doctor jarred sauce up a bit

The Pioneer Woman said she uses a jar of Marinara occasionally

She said Ina Garten [both are Food Network chefs] does it too~

so it’s professionally approved!

I am all about time saving short cuts!

To make this even more quickly and easily,

use frozen prepared meatballs

Put the Marinara Sauce into the crockpot

with garlic powder & Italian seasoning

add a dash of sugar, it cuts the acidity of all that tomato

Let the sauce simmer in the crock pot on low for 3-4 hours

The meatballs are made with ground beef and Italian sausage

an egg, panko bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese

chopped onion, milk, Italian seasoning,

salt & pepper, and garlic powder

Mix it all together in a bowl and use a cookie scoop or a spoon

to make the 1 inch meatballs

Place your meatballs on a rack, sprayed with cooking oil,

over a foil lined baking sheet

Bake them in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes

French bread or rolls, mayo, cream cheese, grated Italian cheese

and garlic seasoning or garlic powder are the rest of the ingredients

Slice bread into thick slices or slice the rolls in 1/2

and place the bread in a prepared baking dish

Mix together the cream cheese, mayonnaise and garlic seasoning

(or use garlic powder, salt & pepper)

Spread 1/2 of this mixture on the roll bottoms or 1/2 of the bread slices

Put them in a sprayed casserole dish and top with grated cheese

Spread remaining cream cheese garlic spread mixture

on roll tops or remaining French bread slices

and sprinkle with finely grated Parmesan

Toast these later to serve along side casserole

When the meatballs are done

Arrange some on top of prepared bread in casserole

and freeze the rest for later use

Top with Marinara sauce

and more cheese

At this point the dish can be covered and refrigerated until later

At dinner time, bring dish to room temperature

and bake at 350 about 30 minutes until bubbly.

Serve with a knife and fork to eat the meatballs

with the toasted bread on the side

So much easier to eat than a meatball sandwich!

MEATBALL SUB CASSEROLE

A meatball sandwich in a dish!

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, Italian

Keyword Italian casserole, meatball sandwich, meatball sub casserole, meatballs

Servings 4

Ingredients

Meatballs

1 egg slightly beaten
1/3 cup dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
12 oz mild Italian sausage
8 oz ground chuck
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder
S&P

Casserole

16-20 meatballs
3 cups Marinara Sauce*
4 bakery Italian or french rolls or french bread loaf
4 oz cream cheese
4 oz Italian cheese blend with Parmesan Mozzerella & Romano
2 oz mayo
dash of garlic bread spice mix [Johnny Garlic’s]
finely grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

Meatballs**

Combine ingredients and shape into large meatballs, about 1” in diameter.
Place meatballs on a sprayed rack on a baking sheet lined with foil.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. Makes 28 meatballs

Casserole**

While meatballs are baking, prepare the bread. Slice rolls in half or slice loaf into 8 1” thick slices.
Combine cream cheese with mayo and garlic spice mix.
Spread the cheese mixture on one side of the cut rolls/ bread. Put the roll bottoms or half of the french bread slices into a casserole dish. Set roll tops or one half of the slices of french bread aside for toasting right before serving.
Sprinkle the roll bottoms or french bread slices with 1/2 of the Italian blend cheese.
Top bread with 4-5 meatballs and pour Marinara Sauce over all.
Top casserole with remaining Italian cheese blend and bake at 350 until bubbly, about 30 minutes.
Top remaining bread slices with finely grated Parmesan and serve with the casserole.

Notes

* I like to enhance the flavor of store bought Marinara sauce by throwing it in the crockpot for 3-4 hours on low and adding some Italian seasoning and garlic powder.

**to make this even easier, use prepared frozen meatballs, and skip the slow cooking of the marinara sauce and use the sauce directly from the jar

This recipe made about 28 1 inch meatballs

Share or freeze the remaining meatballs and sauce for a later date

I use the Marinara jars to store extra sauce,

spoon it back in,

leaving about 1 inch of space at top for expansion,

label and freeze