These hearty, delicious pellet grill meatball subs are a crowd-pleaser! These sandwiches are perfect for a decadent, flavor-packed meal.

These smoked meatball subs are incredibly flavorful and ready to eat in under 90 minutes. They are perfect for game-day parties and casual weekend gatherings. If you’re lucky, you might even have leftovers! We designed this recipe using a pellet grill, but you can adapt it for any grill or smoker.

Ingredients

• Ground beef: Use either 90/10 or 80/20
• Sweet Italian sausage: sub with spicy Italian
• Bacon
• Bread crumbs: unseasoned or plain
• Eggs: you’ll need 2 large eggs for this recipe.
• Italian seasoning: sub with a mix of dried oregano and basil
• Red or white onion
• Worcestershire sauce
• Garlic
• Red pepper flakes: optional
• Salt
• Sub sandwich rolls: 4-6, 6-inch sandwich rolls (hoagie rolls or baguettes)
• Marinara sauce: You’ll need a 23-ounce jar or make your own marinara.
• Mozzarella or provalone slices

How to make meatball subs

• Combine the meat: Gently fold together the meatball ingredients. Do not over-mix to avoid tough, dry meatballs.
• Make the meatballs: Form the mixture into 2-inch meatballs. Place them into a large parchment-lined aluminum tray or baking sheet. Do not overcrowd them.
• Prepare the smoker: Set your pellet grill to 200 degrees F.
• Smoke: Place the pan of meatballs on the grill grate, close the lid, and smoke them for 20 minutes.
• Bake: Remove the pan from the smoker and increase the heat to about 350 degrees F. When fully heated, return the tray with meatballs, close the lid, and bake until they reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
• Simmer in marinara: Heat marinara on the stove in a large pot. Add the smoked meatballs to the pot and simmer for 10-15 minutes or more over medium to medium-low heat.
• Assemble sandwiches: Toast the rolls with some butter or olive oil. Add 3-4 meatballs per sandwich and a little extra sauce with 1-2 cheese slices.

How to set-up for a charcoal unit

• As mentioned above, this smoked meatball subs recipe was created using a pellet grill. We started the smoke-cooking process at 200 degrees, and after 20 minutes, we increased the heat to 350 degrees F. to finish cooking the meatballs.
• For charcoal unit, like a kamado cooker or kettle, prepare a two-zone cooking area. Use your charcoal chimney to light the charcoal. Then bank all of your hot coals on one side of your grill. This will function as your direct or hot cooking area, while the side without the coals will be your cooler or indirect cooking space. Cook the meatballs over indirect heat for 15-20 minutes, then transfer over direct heat until they have cooked through (165 degrees F).
•  Wood Recommendation: alder, oak, pecan, or cherry.

Tips for the best meatballs

• Gently combine the meatball ingredients. Do not over-mix to avoid tough, dry meatballs.
• Don’t crowd the meatballs in the smoker. Give them room to cook evenly.
• Let these smoked meatballs heat in the marinara for 10-15 minutes. Turn off the heat, and serve your sandwiches. If preparing this dish ahead of time, place the marinara with meatballs into a slow cooker and set to warm.
• Use one large or two smaller disposable aluminum pans for this recipe.
• Sub the ground beef with ground turkey, or try our Red Pepper Chicken Meatballs for a non-red meat option.

Print

Pellet Grill Meatball Subs

These smoky meatball subs are incredibly delicious and are perfect for Super Bowl parties and casual weekend gatherings!

Course Main Dish

Cuisine American BBQ, American Food

Keyword meatball sandwich, meatball subs, meatballs on smoker, pellet cooker meatballs, pellet cooker recipes, smoked meatballs

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes minutes

Servings 6 servings

Calories 799kcal

Ingredients

• For sandwiches:
• 4-6 sub sandwich rolls 6-inch
• 1 23-ounce jar of marinara or more if you like it saucy
• 8-12 mozzarella or provolone slices
• For Meatballs:
• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
• 1 pound sweet Italian sausage
• 3 strips bacon finely chopped
• 1/2 small red or white onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2/3 cup bread crumbs
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes adjust to your liking

Instructions

• Gently combine ground beef and sweet Italian sausage with the remaining meatball ingredients. Do not over mix to avoid tough, dry meatballs.
• Form mixture into 2 inch meatballs and place them on a large parchment-lined aluminum tray or smoker-safe baking sheet. Do not overcrowd the meatballs; they need room to cook evenly.
• Set your pellet smoker to 200 degrees F., or follow the cooking temperature recommendations for your particular smoker.
• Set the tray with meatballs on the grill grate, close the lid and let the meatballs smoke for 20 minutes.
• Remove the tray of meatballs and increase the heat to of your pellet smoker to 350 degrees. Once up to temp, place the meatballs back, close the lid, and cook for an additional 10 minutes, or until they reach and internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
• Remove the tray from the grill, and set it onto a heat-resistant surface. Carefully remove the meatballs, place them into a large pot with the marinara. Simmer on the stove top over medium to medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes to let the flavors combine.
• Assemble the sandwiches: Toasting the bread with a bit of butter or olive oil. Next, add 3-4 meatballs per bun and a little extra sauce with 1-2 slices of cheese. You can also serve these smoked meatballs over pasta.
• Store leftover meatballs in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up 4 days. Reheat in a pot on the stovetop with extra marinara, or in the microwave.

Nutrition

Serving: 1sub | Calories: 799kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 43g | Fat: 57g | Saturated Fat: 23g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 24g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 210mg | Sodium: 1303mg | Potassium: 649mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 340IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 298mg | Iron: 5mg

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