An Asian twist on an Italian favorite, these Easy Teriyaki Meatball Subs are the perfect tummy warmer for chilly fall days! Juicy and delicious teriyaki meatballs topped with a light and tangy, slaw salad, and drizzled with more yummy teriyaki sauce! These meatball subs are a smash hit, and the perfect meal to enjoy after fall yard cleanup!  Your new go-to fall favorite! 

 

 

What happened?? Where did summer go?? Seems like just last week it was 94º and humid, and last night it got down into the mid 40º’s!! The temps have been going up and down so much I don’t know whether to turn the heat on or get the fan back out of the attic! 

It’s days like this where I’m about exhausted, yet still want something filling and delicious for supper. Something EASY that I don’t have to fuss with too much! A nice, hot, sub sandwich, but something different…

A bottle of teriyaki sauce was staring me in my frown, and that’s when I came up with the idea to make an asian-style sandwich! A nice, big, juicy sub with teriyaki meatballs! That would certainly hit the spot!  I didn’t have any cabbage or cole slaw mix, but a brand new head of lettuce sounded just fine to me. A nice “salad” to top it off sounded like a solid plan! 

So, let’s get started, shall we? I’m starving, how about you?!

 

 

I love making meatballs, and there’s a few little tricks to the trade so they go a lot faster and come out juicy and tender. And not like little bouncy, rubber, super balls! I have found that if you break up the ground beef well, into very small pieces, and keep it spread out and loose in the bowl, you can mix in the ingredients MUCH more quickly and easily.

The less you handle the meat while mixing, the less tough the result. We want these babies nice and tender!

 

 

 

So, just break up the meat, add your meatball ingredients, and shape it into 12 balls.

I used to fry meatballs in a pan on the stovetop, but got tired of chasing those little suckers around and around until my little arms were about to fall off. I’ve found that baking them is MUCH easier, and the results are always perfect!

You can place them right on a sprayed baking sheet, or line it with foil first for easier cleanup. Do spray the foil, though, so that they don’t stick. (You can also use parchment paper if that’s what you prefer. You don’t have to spray that, though.) 

 

 

 

 

Then just bake them until almost done, baste them with teriyaki sauce, bake them 5 minutes longer, and that’s it! 

 

 

 

 

 

I wanted these subs to have a bit more to them than just the meatballs on rolls, though. And cheese didn’t sound like the answer. (That sounded kind of gross, actually.) So, I thought a nice slaw or salad, keeping it very simple so as not to take away from the meatballs, would be the perfect solution! 

I had a nice head of lettuce that I shredded finely. I wanted a delicate salad, but if you’d like it heartier, you could always chop the lettuce instead.  The finer you shred it, the more light and delicate the salad. 

 

 

 

 

I also had some sweet petite baby carrots on hand, and definitely wanted some sweetness in there! Regular carrots work just fine, too, but they might be a bit bitter. If they make your salad bitter, you can always add a little pinch of sugar to the dressing/sauce. 

 

 

 

 

I would have preferred to have a bag of cole slaw mix for convenience, but, alas, my magic wand was in the shop. (Giving it a tune-up for Halloween, ya know.) 

So, you can definitely use this if you prefer. But, gotta tell ya, the lettuce actually worked out surprisingly well. So either way, you’re fine. 

 

 

 

I also added red onion and sliced water chestnuts that I further julienned. I didn’t add anything else, keeping it super simple. Just enough to compliment, but not overpower. But you can play with this any way you’d like. You can change out the red onion for green onions, or add extra ingredients like finely chopped fresh broccoli, chopped cashews, or even some mild or hot sliced peppers! This is YOUR sandwich, so make it how ever you want! 

I decided to keep the “dressing” super simple as well. Think “v/o italian dressing” but asian-style! I simply used rice vinegar and sesame oil, salt and pepper, and that was it. You can add a drop or two of hot sauce such as sriracha for a little kick if you’d like. And you can of course add a little ginger and garlic, too.

But I was really glad I didn’t. The simplicity worked extremely well. Compliment the salad and not overpower was the rule I stuck to  throughout, and I wouldn’t change a thing! 

 

The rolls are important, too. Because the meatballs are hearty, juicy, and wet-coated, and there’s a dressed salad on top to boot, you don’t want anything that will get soggy and fall apart. Soggy bottoms are not fun. 

You also don’t really want anything TOO hearty or it will be too chewy, dense, and take away from the tenderness of the meat and the delicate salad. 

A nice, soft, Italian roll, especially the ones from Aldi, work extremely well!  Those are my go-to, or you can make homemade ones like mine below out of frozen bread dough! I just use Rhodes, and they always impress! 

 

 

 

 

You can just warm them, steam them, or lightly butter them and toss them on the grill or a griddle pan to toast them. Either way the subs come out delicious. It’s just a matter of personal preference for this particular sandwich. You can’t go wrong either way. 

 

 

 

 

 

The assembly is a no brainer! Just place on 3 meatballs, add a little salad on top or the side, and drizzle with a little more teriyaki sauce! I added just a bit of fresh-cracked pepper over the tops, too! If you’d like a little crunch for fun, sprinkle them with a few crunchy Chow Mein Noodles! And that’s all there is to them! SO. SILLY. EASY. What a lifesaver when you’re tired! 

We couldn’t get over how delicious these were! And since it’s just the two of us, the leftovers were a BREEZE. I just nuked the meatballs until hot, placed them into the rolls, warmed them a little bit more to heat the rolls, then added the leftover salad, and WAH. LAH. It took literally like 5 minutes, SO EASY when you need it!

So, be sure to save or print this recipe for Easy Teriyaki Meatball Subs! They’re truly perfect for a chilly autumn evening! Filling enough, yet perfect for a nice light supper, too! And absolutely DELICIOUS!!! Take care all, and have a Happy Halloween! Love and Peace. 

 

 

 

 

 

Yield: 4 sub sandwiches

Teriyaki Meatball Subs

Prep Time: 45 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

A brand new take on the old fashioned meatball sub! These Asian-style Meatball Subs with Teriyaki Sauce and an Asian-Style Slaw is just the ticket to the orient that's been missing from your life! Step out of the box and enjoy a soon to be new favorite!

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Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground beef, preferably 80/20
• 1 extra large egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup Italian-style dry breadcrumbs, I use Vigo with Romano Cheese
• 1 1/2 tsp. dried minced onions
• 1 tsp. regular soy sauce, not low sodium
• 1/2 tsp. worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 tsp. salt, or to taste
• 1/4 tsp. coarse ground pepper
• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
• (more coarse ground pepper before baking)
• 1 bottle teriyaki sauce, to coat meatballs
• Slaw/Salad:
• 2 cups shredded lettuce
• thinly sliced red onion, grated carrot, sliced water chestnuts julienned, (all to taste)
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar, plain or spiced
• 1 Tbl. sesame oil, more or less to taste
• salt and pepper to taste
• Rest of Ingredients:
• 4 soft italian rolls, split, steamed/warmed or toasted/grilled (your preference)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375º.
2. In large bowl break up ground beef into small loose pieces (for easier, quicker mixing).
3. Add next 8 ingredients, toss meat to combine, then gently mix with hands until mixture is well combined but not overworked.
4. Cover large baking sheet with foil and spray. Divide meat into 12 even chunks and roll into balls. Place balls onto prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle tops with more coarse ground pepper.
5. Pop baking sheet into preheated oven, and bake for 35 minutes until nicely browned. Baste meatballs with teriyaki sauce well. Return to oven and bake 5 minutes more. Remove baking sheet from oven, Remove meatballs to plate and loosely cover.
6. FOR SLAW/SALAD:
7. Finely shred lettuce (can sub cabbge if preferred), about 2 cups, and add to medium bowl. Add some red onion (can sub green onions if preferred), carrots, and water chestnuts, as much or little as you like. Toss ingredients to mix.
8. In small bowl, whisk together rice vinegar, sesame oil, and a little salt and pepper. Taste and adjust to your liking. (*Add a little sriracha if you prefer a hot sauce.) Stream over salad and toss lightly to mix and coat.
9. TO ASSEMBLE:
10. Warm or grill insides of rolls, place 3 meatballs inside each, top with slaw salad, and drizzle with more teriyaki sauce if desired. Serve with fried rice and enjoy!