Crock Pot Meatball Sandwiches are classic tailgating food! They’re an easy dinner recipe that tastes amazing! If you can make a hamburger you can make Crock Pot Meatball Sandwiches!
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Hunt’s Tomatoes. The opinions and text are all mine.
When I think Sundays in the Fall I think of football, food and friends! I love warm comfort food on Sundays while I hang out with my friends and watch the games. I feel like football goes hand in hand with good comfort food, don’t you? I’m talking cheesy dips, sandwiches and crock pot dinners! It’s the greatest way to relax on the weekends and get yourself mentally prepped for the week coming up. It absolutely recharges me!
When I think comfort food I usually think of warm tomato dishes. I’m really not sure why that is but spaghetti, tomato soup, and meatball sandwiches come to mind! Meatball sandwiches are probably one of the most comforting foods! I mean, think about it, you’ve got bread, meat, marinara and melty cheese!! Is there anything better than that?!?!?!
I like pulling out the slow cooker for these, especially while watching the game because no one really wants to eat on a schedule! People can get up and get their sandwich when they’re ready. Plus, you can get everything done and set up before the game starts so there are no missed plays! They’re the best crock pot recipes!
I love keeping things as simple as possible and that’s why I’m so happy to have found Hunt’s Recipe Ready Tomato Paste! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been so frustrated that I’m only using a bit of a can! I’m not exaggerating when I tell you that Hunt’s Recipe Ready Paste has made me so happy I could sing from the rooftops! Each box is filled with several 2 tablespoon pouches of tomato paste!!! You guys, only 2 tablespoons in each pouch! I love this idea! Hunt’s Recipe Ready Paste is a game changer in the kitchen, trust me!
If I’m serving them up for friends I like to prep ahead as much as possible. Crock Pot Meatball Sandwiches make that so easy. You can literally make the meatballs the day before and then just pop them into the crock pot with the sauce the day of! If you do that you’ll roast the meatballs in the oven for about 30 minutes at 400 degrees. That way they can just be popped into the sauce. My husband actually prefers when I make them this way. If it’s all being done the day of, you can cook in the slow cooker but keep in mind the sauce will be a bit thinner.
Either way you cook them up they seriously are amazing! My husband told me I should open up a food cart and only sell these sandwiches! Make a batch this weekend and let me know what you think! They really are super tasty!
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Ingredients
Sauce
- 1 cup onion chopped
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1-2 tbsp pouch Hunt's Recipe Ready Tomato Paste
- 56 oz. can Hunt's Crushed Tomatoes 2-28oz cans
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 2 tsp dried basil
- 2 tsp dried parsley
- 2 tsp dried oregano
Meatballs
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup breadcrumbs
- 2 eggs beaten
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup finely minced Italian parsley
- 1.5 lb lean ground beef
- 1.5 lb sweet Italian sausage
- ½ cup onion finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic finely minced
Meatball Sandwich
- 6-8 sub rolls sliced horizontally
- 16 slices mozzarella 2 slices for each sandwich
Instructions
Sauce
- combine all sauce ingredients in the bowl of slow cooker and cover with lid
- turn slow cooker to high
Meatballs
- in a small bowl stir together breadcrumbs and milk, then set aside
- in a small bowl stir together eggs, salt, pepper, Parmesan cheese, and parsley
- add ground beef and sausage to the bowl with the egg/Parmesan mixture and mix until just combined
- top with breadcrumbs, onion and garlic
- mix everything until it is just combined but not over mixed
- form 1/3 cup of meat mixture into a ball and set on a baking sheet
- repeat with remaining mixture
- place meatballs into sauce in crock pot and cook on low for 7 to 8 hours or high for 4 to 6 hours
Meatball Sandwich
- spread sauce from crock pot on the inside of the sub roll
- place 3 to 4 meatballs inside the roll (depending on length of sub roll)
- drizzle with more sauce and cover the top of meatballs with mozzarella slices
- place sandwiches in oven to broil until cheese is melted
- enjoy!
Nutrition
Iris B. says
I made these for dinner tonight and they were absolutely delicious! Great recipe!
Aubrey Cota says
I’m so glad to hear that Iris. Thank you!
Joanna says
I was in a huge hurry so made this sauce and threw in some frozen meatballs from Costco. This sauce was absolutely fantastic. I just came back to print it out and put it with my favorites.
Aubrey Cota says
I love when there are such great time savers available. Thank you Joanna.
Pam says
Are you able to make the meatballs ahead of time?
Julie @Real Housemoms says
Yes! 🙂