We love a meatball sub as much as anybody, but they can be a bit of a mess. These meatball sub bites pack all the flavor of a meatball sub into poppable and craveable muffin-sized portions. Just make a quick and easy batch of homemade meatballs, coat them in tomato sauce, and wrap them up inside pizza dough with some mozzarella cheese before baking until golden brown! Perfect for a game day app.
A Better Way to Eat a Meatball Sub
We're always tinkering with the form factor of foods to try to improve the eating experience. We love the taste of a meatball sub, but they can be super messy and a bit heavy.
These are super easy to make for a crowd (we bake them in a muffin tin) and we really tried to make the meatballs as simple as possible, with just a few ingredients you probably already have on hand. These are one of our recent favorites, and they were devoured pretty much instantly when we tested them and shot them for Instagram.
If you're looking for some more fun appetizers, check out our Homemade Cheez-Its or Cacio e Pepe Air Fryer Gnocchi.
xoxo, Lexi & Beth
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Key Ingredients Needed for these Meatball Sub Bites
- The panade (breadcrumbs + milk): This is the difference between a meatball and a ball of ground beef. Soak it first, then work it in. Skip it and even good beef bakes up tight and dry.
- Ground beef: 80/20 keeps things juicy through two bakes.
- Pizza dough: We used a store bought frozen pizza dough and thawed it out, then let it proof in the oven for a little bit. You can also just leave it in the fridge overnight to thaw, then let it sit at room temp for about 2 hours.
- Pizza sauce: You're using about half to coat the meatballs and half for dipping, so grab a jar rather than a small can.
- Mozzarella: Shred your own off a block if you can. Pre-shredded is coated in anti-caking starch that keeps it from melting quite as smoothly here.
How to Make these Meatball Sub Bites
- Make the meatballs. Soak your breadcrumbs in milk for five minutes first. That's your panade, and it's what keeps your meatballs moist.
- Mix it into the beef with the egg, Parmesan, garlic, salt, and pepper just until combined; overmixing is the enemy of a tender meatball. Scoop into 14 balls and bake at 425°F for about 15 minutes. They'll look slightly underdone — that's intentional, since they're headed back into the oven wrapped in dough.
- Assemble the bites. Toss the warm meatballs in about half the pizza sauce (save the rest for dipping) until coated, not drenched. Roll the dough into a 12x10-inch rectangle and cut into squares. Press a square into each cavity of a greased muffin tin, tuck in a pinch of mozzarella, add a saucy meatball, then one more pinch of cheese. Gather the dough corners up and over the meatball, one at a time, to seal it in.
- Second bake and garnish. Bake at 400°F for 18 to 20 minutes, until deeply golden and the centers hit 160°F. Brush with melted butter and a dusting of Parmesan and chopped parsley right out of the oven, and serve warm with the reserved sauce for dipping.
Top Tips from the CK Test Kitchen!
- Don't skip the panade. If you've never made a meatball before, this makes all the difference. If you've ever wondered, "what's the difference between a meatball and a ball of ground beef?", this is it. It works its way in between the beef, and just makes the whole thing soft and tender.
- It's OK to slightly underbake the meatballs on the first pass. We don't want them overcooked, and they'll go back in the oven once they're wrapped in dough. So we intentionally underbake them to start, then finish them off on the second bake.
- Don't roll the dough too thinly. Once the meatball is placed over the dough, you can always pull and stretch the dough corners to get over the top of the meatball. Dough that's too thin might rip on the sides and bottom of the bite.
- Storage: These reheat well, which makes them a solid make-ahead for game day. Store leftovers airtight in the fridge for 2-3 days days, or freeze the baked bites for up to 3 months. Reheat in a 400°F oven or 375˚F air fryer rather than the microwave (it re-crisps the dough instead of steaming it soft).
More Game Day Snack Recipes You'll Love
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Recipe
Meatball Sub Bites
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat your oven to 425˚F. To a small mixing bowl, add the breadcrumbs and milk together, stir, and let the mixture rest for five minutes. It should look like thick oatmeal, so add milk a tablespoon at a time if it looks dry.
- To a large mixing bowl, add the ground beef, panade, egg, parmesan, garlic, salt, and pepper. Mix gently by hand just until combined.
- Using a 3 tablespoon scoop, scoop into 14 meatballs and roll them into shape.
- Bake the meatballs 425°F for about 15 minutes. Slightly underbaked is fine; they'll be going back into the oven later.
- Toss the meatballs in about 4 ounces of the pizza sauce, setting the other half of the sauce aside for dipping later. They should be coated, not drenched.
- Cut the dough. Roll to ~12×10" and cut into squares.
- Grease a muffin tin. To make one of the meatball sub bites, add a square of pizza dough into one of the muffin slots, then place a pinch of shredded mozzarella on the bottom, a saucy meatball on top, and a pinch more mozzarella over it. Gather the corners over the top of the meatball, one at a time.
- Bake at 400°F for about 18-20 minutes, until deep golden and 160°F+ in the center. Brush with butter and parmesan before serving.
Stacey says
Can you use a pastry dough for these?
Lexi Harrison says
Hi! I'm not sure if the texture of a pastry dough would be well suited for this – you really want something that has a bit of chew and softness like pizza dough. It would probably still work fine, just might not taste quite as good!
Jayne says
My family demanded I make these again for this weekend's upcoming tailgate. Any suggestions for re-heating and keeping warm?
Kim says
Little tedious, but worth it. The whole family enjoyed this!
Lexi Harrison says
Really glad you enjoyed!