Name: Smoked Meatball Sub
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 105 min
Ingredients: 1 lb Ground Pork; 1 lb Ground Beef; 1 cup Mozzarella (cubed into small pieces); ½ cup Bread Crumbs; 2 tbsp Minced Garlic; 2 tbsp your favorite BBQ Rub; 1 Fresh Egg; Hoagie Rolls; 3 cups Marinara Sauce; 2 cups Mozzarella Cheese; 1 tbsp Italian Seasoning; 1 tbsp Parmesan Cheese

Smoked Meatball Sub assembled and ready to serve.

If you’re hosting a new group of friends or family, you’ll want to cook a meal everyone will love. And who could object to gooey cheese, meatballs, marinara sauce, and soft bread? Meatball subs are a classic dish that are a real crowd pleaser, and this Smoked Meatball Sub recipe amps up the flavor by smoking the meatballs.

Why You’ll Love Smoked Meatball Subs

This Italian meatball sandwich is an amazing dinner for any group. Each sub sandwich combines the most indulgent smoked meatballs with melty cheese and marinara sauce, served on warm bread rolls. It might become one of your favorite meals to serve for any group!

A shot of a sliced meatball with cheese oozing out.

Not only are these subs easy to make, they are juicy and packed full of flavor. The recipe takes 45 minutes of prep and 1 hour of cook time to serve 4! Also, feel free to adjust the meatball recipe to suit your preferences if needed.

You can easily add another egg if they are too dry, or add more breadcrumbs if they’re too wet. Regardless, make sure to cook them to 165F. I also torched my cheese to melt it, but feel free to broil it if that’s easier for you!

For other Italian like dishes, check out Matambre A La Pizza, Steak and Cheesy Pasta and Grilled Steak Crostini.

Smoked Meatball Sub Ingredients

This is a straightforward, easy meal to cook for even the pickiest of guests. It incorporates my favorite meatball recipe made of ground pork and ground beef, mozzarella cheese, bread crumbs, minced garlic cloves, your favorite BBQ rub, and an egg.

A shot of the finished smoked meatball sub.

All you need to make it a full meatball sub are some hoagie rolls, marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, Italian seasoning, and parmesan cheese.

How to Make Smoked Meatball Subs

The Prep Work

All the meatball ingredients outside of the ground pork and beef.

To make your homemade meatballs, add your bread crumbs, minced garlic, BBQ rub and egg to a large mixing bowl. Mix together until the consistency of wet sand, then let set for 5 minutes. Next add 1 lb of fresh ground pork and 1 lb ground beef and mix thoroughly.

Mixing in the beef and pork with the other meatball ingredients.

Remember, you can always add another egg to the meat mixture if the meatballs are too dry, or add more bread crumbs if too wet.

Next, form the ground meat and egg mixture into 3-4 oz meatballs with 1-2 pieces of cubed mozzarella in the middle. Pro Tip: use mozzarella pearls for your Smoked Meatball Sub filling since they’re all similar in size. I took about three of them per meatball. They’re a bit easier to use than torn mozzarella and it helps to ensure the same amount of cheese in each meatball.

Adding the mozzarella pearls into the middle of the meatballs.

Now, place all the meatballs into the fridge to set for 30 minutes and preheat your smoker for indirect cooking at medium-low heat (about 300F).

For more fun sandwiches, check out my Cheese Stuffed Sausage Sandwich, Smoke Fried Bologna Sandwich and Chopped Brisket Sandwich.

Smoking

The smoked meatballs finishing up their cook.

Add your meatballs to the smoker, checking with a digital thermometer until their internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F (about 30-45 minutes). Once the meatballs are done, place them into a skillet or foil and cover with marinara sauce. Place back on the smoker to cook for another 15 minutes until warmed. When done, pull off and keep warm.

Adding marinara to the smoked meatballs in a skillet on the smoker.

Slice each sub roll open and then add your meatballs with some sauce. Garnish with Italian seasoning and parmesan cheese. Finally, top your meatball sandwiches with 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese apiece and broil until the cheese melts and the rolls are golden brown.