Chicken Meatball Sub Sandwiches

These Chicken Meatball Sub Sandwiches are deeeeelicious. When I was little I had really weird food preferences and oddly didn’t like the typical meat and cheese sandwich-I literally wouldn’t eat a turkey and cheese sandwich so my mom would pack my lunch with a pickle, mustard, and cheese sandwich. So, every time my family went to Subway, my siblings ordered turkey or ham like normal kids, but I always opted for the Meatball Sub with black olives and lots of parmesan cheese.

I haven’t had a Meatball Sub in probably 10 years, but these Chicken Meatball Subs will be a regular on our weekly menu.

The key to these is to get good bread-I chose the twenty-five cent “bolillos” at our grocery store’s bakery. Amazing. They are soft and especially good the day you buy them. Paired with thick tomato sauce, parmesan, a spread of roasted garlic, caramelized onions, and chicken meatballs with lots of herbs-these are a hearty and healthy weeknight dinner.

A lot of people get intimidated by the idea of homemade tomato sauce. But, you can make a simple and flavorful sauce with just a few ingredients. I used a 140z can of diced tomatoes, some tomato paste, olive oil, garlic, a few herbs and voila! Less expensive and more flavorful than what you can buy in a jar. Of course to get even more flavor you can let it simmer for a few hours with a few more ingredients, but when you’re in a hurry, the simple recipe is great.

Ingredients: 

Serves 4 (easily halved for two-use the leftover meatballs for another dinner or lunch the next day!) 

4 sub rolls

12 chicken meatballs

1 cup tomato sauce

1/2 cup chopped sweet or yellow onion

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 bulb of roasted garlic

chopped parsley for topping

Roasted Garlic: 

Turn oven on 425 degrees. Chop off the top of the garlic bulb, drizzle with 1/2 teaspoon olive oil and wrap in foil. Put in oven on the rack and allow to roast for 30 minutes. Set aside.

Chicken Meatballs: 

1 lb ground chicken breast

1 egg

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 clove garlic, finely minced

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4  teaspoon pepper

To make:

In a mixing bowl, place chicken breast, crack in egg and mix together lightly. Add remaining ingredients, except olive oil, and mix with hands or fork to combine. Be careful not to over mix. Heat olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Make meatballs about 1.5 inches in diameter. Drop into oil and fry until chicken turns white about 8 minutes. It’s ok if they aren’t perfectly round as you’ll have to turn them on each side to cook through. Also, a little blackening is ok as well. Use a knife to cut into largest meatball to make sure there is no pink remaining.

For the tomato sauce: 

1 14oz can diced tomatoes

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley

1 clove garlic, minced

salt and pepper to taste

To make: 

Heat olive oil in a 1 quart pot over medium heat, add in all ingredients, mixing together to combine. Bring to a boil then allow to simmer for 10 minutes, mixing frequently. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.

For the Caramelized Onions: 

Chop 1/2 cup of sweet or yellow onion. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium low heat. Add onions and allow mix until translucent, soft, and slightly brown, about 10 minutes.

Put it all together: 

Cut sub rolls in half. Lightly toast in oven or toaster oven if desired (I didn’t do this). Spread 2-3 cloves of roasted garlic on the inside top of each sub roll. Spread 1/4 cup of tomato sauce on bottom inside of each sub roll. Add caramelized onion as desired onto tomato sauce. Place three meatballs on each sub and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Add a bit of chopped fresh parsley. Eat and enjoy!

P.S. You know you’ve made a great plate of food when your husband doesn’t speak until he’s finished the whole thing, “mmmm”-ing the whole way.

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