Slow Cooker Barbecue Meatball Subs
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Slow Cooker Barbecue Meatball Subs are sub sandwiches filled with easy dump and go slow cooker barbecue meatballs!
The slow cooker has to be one of the greatest inventions of all time…maybe that’s why I own 2? I use it year round because it always makes meal time so much easier.
Sometimes I do some prep on the stove top beforehand, but not this time. These Slow Cooker Barbecue Meatballs don’t require you to brown the meatballs before adding them to the slow cooker, which saves you even more time.
And less dishes to wash, because that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it? 🙂
This meal does require you to make homemade barbecue sauce, but it really couldn’t be simpler.
I picked up some Hunt’s tomato sauce and tomato paste at the store, added a few other pantry staples to flavor up the sauce, and it was ready to go!
The best part about making your own barbecue sauce is that you can customize it to your liking, and you know every single ingredient that’s in it.
Here we’ve got Worcestershire sauce, honey, apple cider vinegar, onion powder, and garlic powder to go along with our Hunt’s tomato sauce and paste.
As for the meatballs, I love using ground turkey, but you can use any kind of ground meat. Turkey does have a tendency to become dry, so I’ve added some milk, panko breadcrumbs, and fresh onion to keep them nice and moist.
And here’s a little kitchen hack to make things easier — I grated my onion for the meatballs. Not only is it easier than chopping the onion, but the onion is in smaller pieces so there aren’t big chunks of onion in your little meatballs.
The grated onion also cooks up much more quickly while it helps keeps the meatballs moist and juicy.
To me, there’s nothing worse then biting into a meatball and encountering a big piece of onion that’s on the crunchy side, so this hack will keep this from happening!
I mentioned earlier that browning these slow cooker barbecue meatballs on the stove top isn’t required, because sometimes I just want to be able to pop everything into the slow cooker without doing a whole lot.
And you can also make the sauce ahead of time, and form the meatballs ahead of time as well!
This meal just aims to please. 🙂
Just mix up the ingredients in one big bowl, form them into 1 1/2″ meatballs, and pop the meatballs into your greased crockpot. I poured the sauce right over the top, and cooked them on high for almost 4 hours.
I grabbed my sub rolls in Walmart’s bakery department as well. When the meatballs were done, I simply preheated my broiler, split the rolls, filled them with meatballs, and placed them on a baking sheet.
I topped the meatballs with a bit more sauce and cheese, then placed them under the broiler until the cheese had melted and the roll was nice and toasty.
My kids were extremely excited about this meal — what’s not to love? It’s the perfect low maintenance meal for busy weeknights and it’s nice knowing that the whole family will love it as it really appeals to picky eaters.
More meatball recipes:
Love barbecue sauce? Try these recipes:
- BBQ Chicken Pizza by Budget Bytes
- Grilled BBQ Chicken
- Barbecue pulled pork sandwiches
- Slow cooker BBQ pulled chicken
- Turkey meatloaf with homemade barbecue sauce
Slow Cooker Barbecue Meatball Subs
Ingredients
For the barbecue sauce:
- 32 ounces Hunt's Tomato Sauce
- 6 tablespoons honey*
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Hunt's tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- salt and pepper to taste
For the meatballs:
- 2 lbs. lean ground turkey
- 1 small yellow onion peeled, halved, and grated
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
For the subs:
- 6 sub sandwich rolls
- 1 cup grated cheese
Equipment
Instructions
Prepare the sauce:
- In a medium bowl, whisk the tomato sauce, honey, vinegar, tomato paste, Worcestershire, garlic powder, onion, and salt and pepper to taste together until well combined. Set aside.
Prepare the meatballs:
- Spray the inside of your slow cooker with cooking spray.
- Place the ground turkey, grated onion, garlic, bread crumbs, milk, egg, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Crumble gently together with your hands until combined, being careful not to overwork the meat.
- Form the meat into 1 1/2" meatballs and place in the slow cooker.
- Pour the barbecue sauce over the meatballs, reserving about 1 cup for serving if desired.
- Cover and cook on low heat for 4-6 hours or high heat for 2-3 hours or until the meatballs are no longer pink in the center.
Prepare the subs:
- Preheat the oven broiler. Split the sub rolls and fill with meatballs and place on a baking sheet.
- Top with cheese, and broil until the cheese has melted and the bread is toasty. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- The sauce thins as the meatballs cook in the slow cooker, but it does thicken back up as it cools once the meatballs are done. Reserving about 1 cup of the sauce is a good idea to have some nice, thick sauce ready for serving right away.
- If you like your barbecue sauce sweeter, add more honey. The honey may also be substituted with your choice of sweetener.
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
48 Comments on “Slow Cooker Barbecue Meatball Subs”
I definitely agree that crock pots are one of the best inventions! I use mine year round, but it feels just a little more special in the winter. And yes to less dishes, too! These subs looks delicious, Marcie! I’ve always wanted to make a dish like this! Sounds like the perfect combination of flavor and hearty ingredients. And I know my husband would adore these, too!
Thank you, Gayle, and I totally agree — it does feel more special using the slow cooker in the winter! The men in my house were very happy with these subs, too! 🙂
Did I miss national meatball sub day or something? I am seeing recipes for them everywhere at the moment 🙂 I am going to have to try a veggie version of this.
I haven’t seen any other subs today…hmmm! A veggie sub sounds great, too!
I love quick and easy meals like this! sounds very flavorful Marcie!
Thank you, Manali!
These slow cooker meatball subs look wonderful, Marcie. Love how easy is to make them.
Thank you, Anu, and I loved how easy they were, too! 🙂
Hi Marcie, always great to have some quick and easy meals like this up your sleeve, this is one the whole family would love.
It really is nice having meals like this, and my whole family did love this! Thanks, Cheri!
I’ve never grated my onions before- what a neat trick! These subs looks so hearty and delicious 🙂
Thank you, Medha, and the grated onion trick really came in handy here!
I am a MAJOR meatball lover. This is soooooooooo awesome. I can just taste it. Plus it’s a crowd
pleaser—–well the crowd I run with anyway. Lol.
Thank you, Carol! The crowd I run with loved it too. 🙂
I’m a relatively recently slow cooker convert, but I seriously LOVE it! These meatball subs look absolutely incredible and I wish I could gobble one down for dinner tonight 🙂
I’ve been super lazy lately and have been using my slow cooker even more! haha Thanks, Rachel!
Wow girl these look absolutely sensational. I need to set up a cheat day for these!
You’re so sweet — thank you! They would definitely be worth a cheat day. 🙂
Why have I never thought to grate an onion?! That is such a great idea, Marcie! These meatball subs also look fantastic too, especially with that barbecue sauce.
Thanks, Danielle! I did shed a few tears grating my onion, so next time I need a hack for that. haha
I have never made meatballs before because I always thought it was so much work! This is definitely the easiest I have ever seen to make them and definitely going to be my favorite! #client
These are the easiest meatballs I’ve ever made for sure — thanks, Amber!
These look SO good, Marcie! I can’t believe it, but I’ve never eaten a meatball sub before…I definitely need to try these, especially because they are made in the slow cooker 🙂
I think I’ve made subs once before and why I stopped there I have no idea! The slow cooker definitely made them easiest ever, too. Thanks, Denise!
These meatball subs look so easy and that homemade bbq sauce sounds delicious! Slow cooker meals are my favorite, and I love that I don’t even have to brown the meatballs before adding them to the slow cooker! This is a recipe I can handle even on my busiest days. 🙂
Thanks, Kristine! I went real lazy girl on these and didn’t brown the meatballs and they turned out great…slow cooker meals really are the best!
Nice presentation and the photography!!!
Thank you so much, Puja!
What a great slow cooker meal! Love easy meals like this!
Thanks, Jessica! Meals like this are such a lifesaver during the week!
These balls are so wonderful ♥
summerdaisy.net
Thank you, Summer!
I went for years without owning a crock pot, and now I can’t understand why! It’s so clutch in the kitchen. I have the biggest craving for a meatball sub right now — love that tip about grating the onion!
It’s funny because I bought a crock pot when I got married and rarely ever used it. I can’t use it enough these days — the fix it and forget it thing is nice during the week! Thanks, Alyssa!
These look delicious, Marcie! So juicy and flavorful! Love that you made them in the slow cooker too – such a lifesaver for busy weeknights!
Thank you, Kelly, and I don’t know what I would do without my slow cooker! Hope you’re having a great week! 🙂
Oh my gosh! I love your kitchen hack. The grating. Cool! I would never have thought of it. These look delicious.
Thanks, Rachael! 🙂
My husband loves meatball subs – guess I know what I’m making soon Marcie!
The men in my house loved this, Deb — I hope yours does, too! 🙂
These look awesome! I can’t wait to add them to my dinner menu!
Thank you, Julie!
I don’t’ use my slow cooker nearly enough – and, I know what I’m making for dinner one night next week! 😀
I’ve really been making use out of it a lot more lately and it’s been so nice! Thanks, Jamie!
We love meatball subs, and this looks like a winner. Pinned. I love your grater…mind telling me where you bought it? We will be making these soon. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, Mary! I bought my grater years ago, probably at bed, bath, and beyond or Target.
We love meatballs….especially in subs! These look awesome!!
Thank you, Cathy! These were a hit with the kids!