Crockpot BBQ Meatball Subs
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Game day food doesn’t get better than these easy Crockpot BBQ Meatball Subs! The meatballs are tender and flavorful, smothered in bbq sauce and topped with melted cheese for a meal that may just make you forget about the game!
**This recipe was originally published in February 2016. The photos have been updated, and the text has been modified to include more recipe information and step by step instructions.
I use my slow cooker year round, but this time of year it goes into overdrive. It doesn’t get easier than dump and go slow cooker recipes does it?
My avgolemono soup is wonderful to cozy up to on a cold day, and crockpot chicken and rice is so great for those hectic weeknights.
These Crockpot BBQ Meatball Subs are great for meal prep Sunday and happen to be the perfect game day food too!
They’re a win any way you look at them. 🙂
Why you’ll love this recipe:
- These meatball subs include tender, flavorful meatballs, tangy, sweet bbq sauce, crusty bread and melty cheese for a meal that the whole family will love.
- The meatballs don’t require browning…just dump them in the crockpot and cook with the barbecue sauce!
- This meal is great for meal prep and game day celebrations.
Recipe ingredients
This meatball sub recipe includes ingredients for the meatballs, as well as a few pantry staples to prepare your own bbq sauce. Of course you can opt to use your favorite brand of store bought barbecue sauce to make life easier.
The ingredients for both may be swapped out using what you have on hand as outlined below in the ingredient notes.
Ingredient notes
- Ground turkey. I love using lean ground turkey for these meatballs for it’s flavor, but it may be subbed with your favorite ground meat.
- Milk. Use your favorite dairy or non dairy milk.
- Breadcrumbs. The breadcrumbs are essential to adding moisture to the meatballs. I prefer to use panko, but your favorite brand will work. If you’re following a gluten-free or grain free diet, sub them with gluten-free breadcrumbs, quick oats or even almond flour.
- Egg. The egg acts as a binder to hold all the ingredients together. It should not be omitted or your meatballs will fall apart.
- Honey. The honey may be substituted with your favorite sweetener.
- Vinegar. Apple cider vinegar has a sweet, tangy flavor that’s great in barbecue sauce, but it may be substituted with white vinegar or white balsamic.
- Worcestershire sauce. This adds a wonderful depth of savory flavor to the sauce. Good substitutions include soy sauce, liquid aminos or tamari.
How to make crockpot bbq meatballs
The meatballs are an easy dump and go slow cooker recipe. They’re similar to my baked turkey meatballs in that the meatballs don’t require browning…simply roll the mixture into balls and they cook right up in the sauce!
This meatball sub recipe includes a couple of components and a bit of prep, but nothing is terribly time consuming.
Pro tip: Prepare the bbq sauce and roll the meatballs in advance to make this recipe go even more quickly.
Make the bbq sauce:
- Place all bbq sauce ingredients in a medium bowl.
- Whisk well to to combine.
Prepare the meatballs:
- Spray the inside of the slow cooker with cooking spray. Place the ground turkey, grated onion, garlic, breadcrumbs, milk, egg, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Gently combine with your hands, 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 or when a thermometer inserted into the center registers 160 degrees.
How to make meatball subs
Once the meatballs are done, it’s time to assemble the subs! Simply preheat the broiler and grab a baking sheet.
- Place the sub rolls on a baking sheet and fill with meatballs. Top the meatballs with the desired amount of sauce and grated cheese.
- Broil until the cheese has melted and the bread is toasty. Serve with additional bbq sauce and enjoy!
FAQs
Milk adds moisture to meatballs. Without milk and breadcrumbs, you’ll end up with a dense meatball.
Eggs are not added to meatballs for moisture…they are essential to bind the ingredients together.
Day old bread may be used, as well as crushed saltine crackers. If you’re following a gluten-free diet, try gluten-free breadcrumbs, quick oats or almond flour.
Meatball subs typically include sub rolls, meatballs, sauce and cheese. You can use homemade or even cooked frozen meatballs with plenty of marinara sauce or even bbq sauce. Top with provolone, mozzarella or your favorite cheese and bake or broil until melted, then add any additional toppings that you desire.
Crockpot bbq meatballs may be served as an appetizer, in meatball subs, or alongside mashed potatoes, polenta, potato salad or rice.
How to serve this recipe
This meatball sub recipe may be served up so many delicious ways.
I love serving them with classic coleslaw or broccoli slaw, or fresh salads such as my broccoli kale salad or spinach apple salad.
Some great veggie sides are corn on the cob, roasted green beans and baked zucchini chips.
And of course, these meatball subs are great with sweet potato fries and German potato salad as well!
Recipe notes
- Pro tip: Prepare the bbq sauce and roll the meatballs in advance to make this recipe go even more quickly.
- The barbecue sauce recipe may be substituted with your favorite store bought brand to save time.
- 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.
- The nutrition information includes all of the sauce, but you probably won’t need all of it for serving.
Love barbecue sauce? Try these recipes:
- BBQ Chicken Pizza by Budget Bytes
- Grilled BBQ Chicken
- Barbecue pulled pork sandwiches
- Turkey meatloaf with homemade barbecue sauce
If you try this recipe I’d love to hear from you! Leave a comment and rating below, or tag me at @flavorthemoments on Instagram!
Crockpot BBQ Meatball Subs
Ingredients
For the barbecue sauce:
- 32 ounces Hunt's Tomato Sauce
- 6 tablespoons honey or sub with your favorite sweetener
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Hunt’s tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce or sub with soy sauce, liquid aminos or tamari
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- salt and pepper to taste
For the meatballs:
- 2 lbs. lean ground turkey or sub with your favorite ground meat
- 1 small yellow onion peeled, halved and grated
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup milk your favorite dairy or non dairy milk
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt if using regular salt, use only 1 teaspoon
- 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. Gently combine with your hands, 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
- Pro tip: Prepare the bbq sauce and roll the meatballs in advance to make this recipe go even more quickly.
- The barbecue sauce recipe may be substituted with your favorite store bought brand to save time.
- 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.
- The nutrition information includes all of the sauce, but you probably won’t need all of it for serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
49 Comments on “Crockpot BBQ 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! 🙂
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 haven’t seen any other subs today…hmmm! A veggie sub sounds great, too!
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!
These cheesy meatball subs look amazing Marcie!! Yum!! I wish I had one for a midnight snack right now.
I’d love to share one friend!