My boys LOVE this! It is quick and simple! I am always asked to bring this to Super Bowl&reg; parties and family events!

Meatball Sub Casserole

(16 garlic bread

(24 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce

Italian-style frozen meatballs

mozzarella cheese

Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).


Heat garlic bread with spread side up on a baking sheet in the preheated oven until warm and golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Set aside to cool.


Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).


Bring spaghetti sauce to a boil in a large pot. Place frozen meatballs into sauce. Reduce heat to low and simmer until meatballs are heated through, about 20 minutes.


Tear garlic bread into bite-size pieces and spread into bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish. Pour spaghetti sauce and meatballs over garlic bread, coating bread with sauce and distributing meatballs evenly. Spread mozzarella cheese over top in a layer, followed by a layer of Parmesan cheese.


Bake casserole until cheese has melted, 20 to 25 minutes.


I seriously wanted this to be as great as it sounded, but I thought, "hmm bread under sauce for 20+ minutes sound gloopey". I should have listened to my inner voice. My spaghetti sauce was delish, my homemade meatballs were delish--I should have served them BESIDE some garlic bread. I would cook &amp; cut my garlic bread into bigger squares and serve them under the meatballs &amp; sauce just no extra cooking step.

Whole family loved it. Because of all of the people who complained in the reviews that the bread became soggy, I cooked the garlic bread twice.  Once as directed, then I cut it into bite sized pieces, and lowered the heat to 350 and let it cook again while the meatballs cooked (about 15-20 minutes).  I also only used one jar of sauce (trust me, it's plenty of sauce still).  Then I added an extra cup of cheese to the meatballs and sauce, stirred that in, poured the sauce over the bread bites, topped with the 2 cups of cheese and finished as directed.   Let sit 5 min, and *boom* instant family favorite.

I decided to make this recipe because my son had been begging me for something with meatballs in it. My biggest concern was the bread coming out soggy (I see I'm not alone). I decided to remedy this by cooking the bread separately and then putting the crisp bread on the plate with the meatball sauce over the bread! It was a huge success!!! My son has a new favorite! Another option would be to dip the bread into the sauce.

This is a great idea! Thanks! I added more flavor by making homemade meatballs and sauce and I mixed up some mozzarella cheese with some garlic herb spread and spread that on the bread (I used a baguette from the bakery-not the frozen bread). Baked it until the cheese was bubbly and then I topped that with the meatballs and the sauce and some more mozzarella along with a little bit of italian bread crumbs and then baked until the cheese melted. It was really quick, easy and delicious! Thanks!

It is fast and tasty alternative to pasta.

This was a quick and tasty meal. I am not sure how it will reheat as the bread was starting to get soggy, but overall very good. Next time I will add some peppers and onions. Thanks for a great recipe.

I made it as directed as it was pretty good. As some of the other reviewers wrote I was concerned a bout the bread becoming soggy and it did. I think next time I make it I will keep the bread on the side then spoon it over the bread at the table.

I lined garlic bread around dish and put sausage with meatballs in center easy and great.

Great base recipe and fine on it's own, but it sounded a little thin. I added onion, spinach, basil, oregano, thyme, and a little wine to give the sauce some depth. It ended up being nice and thick. It was a hit!

I made this tonight! Very good and easy.  I used my own meatballs that I made the night before.  I used ciabatta rolls instead of regular french garlic bread- crusty. So I baked it first , well done , so it could hold up well in the sauce. Thanks for the receipt!!!

Loved it! I used jalapeno bagels instead of the french bread and added Frenches Fried onions to the top right before it was done. My son who doesn't normally like casseroles loved it

This one is a keeper. Only problem I had was the garlic bread got soggy, which is probably normal. :) Think I will make it again but maybe do it a little different by putting the meatballs in the bottom of the baking dish and the garlic bread on top.

It was way better than I was expecting! (Tasted pretty dang good.)

 I decided to use actual bread rather than the ready made garlic bread. I used some  bread that you get in the bakery from food lion, shredded it up into reasonably sized pieces, and drizzled melted butter over top. I was planning on sprinkling garlic powder over the butter but all I had was onion powder and that was great. I later heated the bread with aluminum foil over it and after it was sufficiently baked I continued with the recipe. 

Everybody loved it! I have to say, I wasn't so sure about the bread but it actually turned out amazing. Giving it four stars because I  did modify the recipe a little bit. I definitely recommend this for a simple dinner night! Enjoy.

Wow! Amazing , easy &amp; yummy! I used turkey meatballs and gluten free baguettes for a healthier option. Awesome!

Family really enjoyed this.  We made it twice. Once exactly to the recipe and another time with some changes.  I found the original to be a bit too soggy for us.  We like sauce but not too much.  So I changed it around a bit the 2nd time we made it. We used Texas Toast instead of garlic bread and used 1 jar of sauce.  Will make this over and over again but with less sauce and Texas Toast! Thanks for a great recipe

Super Cheesy and YUMMY. My opinion with the Parm is to put it on after bake and to make that garlic bread super (crouton) hard so the sauce doesn't make it soggy.

Added mote cheese then recipe called for also onions and black olives.:)

Yes,  I definitely will make this again. It is so quick and easy to throw together. Plus, I added some sour cream on top when I served it in our dish.

I told my hubby about this recipe and he made it for Mother's day. I love it and it turned out beautifully! It goes well with Sauteed green beans !

Excellent.   I halved the recipe.  Very easy to do.  I also made it vegetarian (not vegan).  I used Quorn "meatballs", Simple Truth tomato basill sauce , Julian's multigrain garlic bread.  Absolutely delicious!!!  Hubby went back for big seconds.  When I told him they weren't MEATballs, he  didn't know.

it was good, but bread got soggy and needed more flavor..maybe put a couple spices into it next time.

it was nice I added some spice to it to jazz it up a bit. didnt go down too well with the kids as they didnt like soggy bread

Cubed and toasted regular French bread loaf with olive oil, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Proceed with recipe. Excellent for a week night meal.

Meh. This concept is great. But the bread got mushy. I'll try it again but put the bread on the outside of the casserole and the sauce, meatballs and cheese in the middle.   This way you'll get some soft and some crunchy pieces.

I used instructions to the letter and honestly meatball subs are soggy. When people commented about this I was like????? I will however next time make my own meatballs as the quality of the frozen I used was not amazing and while it didn’t take from it it added nothing special!

This was good. The bread got a bit soggy, but I don’t think that affected my enjoyment of the dish. My recommendation is for the meatballs- the meatballs will NOT heat through from frozen in 20 minutes on a simmer. I let them simmer for like 40 minutes and they were still cold. Crank the heat up while simmering the meatballs and get the job done in probably even less than 20 minutes.

Big  hit for game day! I used garlic knots instead of garlic bread, put together with everything hot, put in oven long enough to melt cheese under broiler (so no soggy bread)

My husband goes and gets the ingredients on his own showing me he really loves this dish! Thanks!

Excellent casserole.  Save yourself from washing an extra pot.  Instead of bringing the sauce to a boil in a pot, just dump the frozen meatballs and sauce into your baking dish, add the cheese layers and bake an extra 10 minutes, 30-35 minutes.  Like others, cooked the garlic bread separately.  Yummy and easy.

This was a huge hit at the house with my husband and kids. I made homemade meatballs and used rao sauces. I did the French bread separately like everyone suggested but next time I’m

Just made this...should have read more reviews. The bread was soggy. Flavor was good, quick and easy, but we were looking forward to the bread part...after all the recipe is called Meatball Sub casserole.

Simple, and quick. Good for a "don't wanna cook night". But it's common sense, don't cook the bread with the meatballs and sauce. Cook the garlic bread separately then combine when you serve it, or you will end up will very nasty soggy bread.

We did individual versions because I had some homemade bread to use up and we couldn’t do meatball subs. I ripped the bread up first and put pats of butter and minced garlic on top and microwaved that to melt the butter. Then mixed the bread and butter around  to absorb all of it.

This was good. It was heavy and I feel like a bloated toad, but overall it tasted great. Next time, I will add some black olives because mine got stolen this time.

Was delicious  I had some string cheese left over from another recipe and threw chunks of it in as well making cheesy pockets.

I made this tonight! My family loves it! I did however use French bread.

So thankful for this easy recipe. The only change made was serving the garlic bread on the side. I? came down with a nasty cold and was still able to cook for the family thanks to this simple dish and they all loved it. Perfect for a busy weekday meal.

It was flavorful but the bread got super soggy. The gross texture outweighed the good taste for us. My boyfriend suggested maybe using croutons instead of the garlic bread IF I made this again... but I don't think I'll be trying this again.

This was so easy and tasty! I definitely will bring this dish to a potluck!

I made this for my family on Friday night and they loved it!!!

This is basically just meatballs. I wasn’t impressed and felt that there should have been more to it than eating meatballs.

It’s definitely missing something. I put the bread on top, then covered it with cheese. That helped, but still soggy. Next time I’ll cut back on the sauce, because there’s way to much. It would probably be better to use a pillsbury canned biscuits or croissant dough on top, as opposed to garlic bread.

My boys did not love this.  They didn't like the soggy garlic bread.  And the meatballs would be so much better if they were homemade.

This was very easy to make. My family liked this and they do want me to make it again.  I did cut the recipe in half because did not want a lot left over after reading reviews about bread being soggy.  I did not have that problem. . This was good but next time I think I will cut the meatballs in half.   Makes a good meal for busy weeknights.

My kids love meatball subs, so this was the perfect compromise.  Easy to assemble and full of flavor.  I did not have mozzarellas cheese so I used Italian blend and it was very tasty.

This was very simple and very quick to make. my whole family enjoyed it.

I made the recipe as written. It turned out okay. It was easy to make, and fairly quick. The issue I ran into (as many others did as well) was soggy bread. I like the idea someone had of putting the sauce and meatballs on the bread when serving instead of to bake. That might cut down on the sogginess. If we choose to make this again, I will try with that modification.

I added pasta into the casserole and I think it made it 100 times better but this is a really good recipe.

Made the dish and bread sticks got soggy. I knew this was going to happen but didn't listen to myself. Next time will keep the bread sticks on the side.

I would recommend serving over the garlic bread without cooking them together because the bread became soggy.

Hubby loved it. Easy meal to make. I made 1/2 the serving size so I won't have to deal with soggy bread leftovers. Will definitely make again. Probably add zucchini and onions.

I served it with the garlic bread on the side due to consistent soggy bread reviews. The boys loved it and I will make again.

Made this as a quick supper while we were running around for the boys sports and everyone loved it.  It is quick, easy, and lots of compliments.  The Garlic bread makes all the difference. I was a couple slices short, so decided to substitute a couple of buns.  You could really tell the difference between the buns and garlic bread...follow the recipe and you will be pleased.

We REALLY liked this recipe. My whole family loves meatball subs and then make it into a sub casserole OMG!!!

We loved it.  Such a  nice dish on a cold evening.

Not very impressed. Bread was soggy and it didn’t reheat very well. I probably won’t make this again.

I ended up making my own meatballs but otherwise was amazing

Not a fan.  Stick to spaghetti  &amp; meatballs with garlic bread on the side.  Soggy bowl of sauce

So, it’s meatballs in spaghetti sauce.  It was super easy, quick and my kids loved it.  So, I call that a win!  

I did not add the bread and poured the meatball sauce on top of the bread separately.  Will definitely make it again on those I don’t feel like cooking nights.

Simple to make and the teenagers both said I should make it again. Cant ask more than that for a weekday meal.

My family liked it a lot. Although, my daughter thought it was to mushy on the bottom. i might try to put the rolls on the top.

the flavor is great! we loved it. but we will cook our frozen bread longer next time that way it is crisper because once the sauce cooked on top of it about half of the bread became soggy and it was a hard texture to get past. lol! but other than that this was a hit!

I made the meatballs to go with spaghetti. I added a small chuck of cheese in the middle of each meatball. My family LOVED it.

made 1/2 recipe in my 7 x 11 pan, everyone liked this

This is one of the easiest recipes for a hungry group of kids. It looks great, smells amazing and tastes delicious. Best of all it is easy to make with ingredients you probably already have in the house. Well worth it.

We are making for dinner and could not find frozen french garlic bread, so we use the already made french bread it turned out super! Love this quick recipe during the week! This one is going on my cook book!

Awesome! Highly recommended by even the pickiest eater in the family who doesn't normally like meatballs.

Followed the instructions of the recipe and came out with the results you see in the picture. It was amazing. It was easy to make and delicious.

I also cooked the bread separately and spooned the meatballs on top after. It was awesome!

A big hit with my picky family! Next time tho, i will try it with the garlic bread on top of the meatballs! bread was way too sloppy!

It's yummy I put bread only on bottom of pan.

I made homemade sauce and meatballs. They were great. Disappointed that the bread did get soggy. Probably won't make it again...

very quick and easy. will definitely make again.

I made this for dinner today and it was delicious.  I did not find that the garlic bread was soggy. I used garlic bread from the bakery.

I would give this a 4 and a half just because I don’t think that the Parmesan adds anything to the dish. That’s just my opinion though.

You have to make sure the garlic bread is nice and golden brown so it doesn’t get all sloppy under the sauce. No BS, I used a heat gun to shore things up a bit before letting it cool and tearing it up. Very tasty recipe as written. Super simple and quick.

The family loved this! I put the leftovers in the fridge and they were eaten by the next morning. The only thing I would change is add a little bit more bread at the bottom. Yum!!

So easy to make, I used prego sauce which I didn’t like it was sweet. I will make again with a different sauce but overall very good

Burnt mine a little bit, but SUPER good!!! Loved it. The only reason I put 4 stars rather than 5 is because of the soggy garlic bread at the bottom. Would be really good with garlic bread on the side, or even in the top! Over all, super easy and super good.

Super simple to make. The bread gets a bit soggy and has a consistency issue my 4 year old picked up on and wouldn’t eat the bread. I think next time we’ll skip the casserole and just do sandwiches.

My family and I really enjoyed it. I suggest that you cook the bread hard, not burnt. So, that when you add the sauce, it won't make it too soft.

Okay so in all truth, I didn't really follow this recipe at all; I was just inspired by it! My creation came out perfectly though, and it was a big hit with my family. I made homemade meatballs (with Italian seasoning), simmered in marinara, and then spread across freshly baked bread with homemade garlic butter. 

I utilized a higher temperature and shorter cooking time (adding my cheese topping for only the final handful of minutes until golden). 425° for 20 mins. It turned out deliciously crispy all around the edges and on the bottom, no sogginess at all!

SO yummy and will definitely make it again!

Casserole itself turned out just like the pics looked. However bread was mushy.  Not a fan and I won’t be making again :(

I’m trying to find new meals for my kids and this was a huge hit!!!

I really liked this.  It was simple to make. Some are saying the bread gets soggy and some right under the sauce does. But most of the bread stays crispy.

The idea and flavor of this were great, however in the future I would definitely make sure to really get that garlic bread super toasty and dried and also bake longer to prevent sogginess.

I made it according to the recipe.  I found it was too much sauce, soggy bread and not as good as I thought it was going to be.  Won't make it again.

Perhaps bagels would have been a better choice - as others have noted the bread got soggy on the bottom but it was OK and got 3 stars for ease of preparation and quick to prepare.  But in terms of leftovers I think only the meatballs and sauce will be usable which is OK - I'll serve on hoagie buns and discard the remaining (soggy) bread.

whole family loved it. used red lobster cheddar garlic biscuits instead of garlic bread and after it was done cooking we topped it with crushed Doritos.... that's our chip of choice with meatball sub's. it was amazing. quick and easy and loved so much that there were no leftovers

I liked the recipe because it was quick and easy to get in the oven, but I wouldn’t bake the dish with the bread in the casserole next time. Would definitely serve on the side. I used Gardien meatless meatballs and my homemade sauce.

meatball sub casserole

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Total: 1 hours

Servings: 8

Cost: $2.21 /serving

Author : sarabrola

Ingredients

Instructions

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