People often think of meatball subs as a lunch food but pair it with some spicy wedges or a salad, and you’ve got yourself a well-rounded dinner!
Protein is covered in the meatballs, which gives you lots of options for side dishes. They can be as simple as a caesar salad, or fancier like honey siracha Brussels sprouts.
Whether you just have a craving for a meatball sub or maybe you have leftover meatballs you don’t feel like eating with spaghetti, whatever your reason, we’ve got you covered with 24 ideas for sides for meatball subs.
What’s really awesome about this recipe is that they are baked instead of fried, which suddenly makes them a whole lot more healthy. They are still crispy because of the oven heat, and even have protein content thanks to the strong cheese! They also only have five ingredients, and it’s likely you’ll already have all of them, so there is no excuse not to try these out.
The Gay Globetrotter brings us a delicious and nutritious recipe for cucumber salad. Sometimes you may feel like eating something light on the side of a meatball sub, and a salad like this is easy to whip up and has barely any calories in it at all. Plus, you’ll be super hydrated after all that cucumber!
Platings and Pairings show us a fancier cucumber salad recipe. It’s actually very simple to make but sounds fancy, and looks beautiful. Chopped Persian cucumbers, tomatoes, and red onion, topped with fresh herbs. It is inspired by the Shirazi salads found in Southern Iran.
The Endless Meal shares how to take a light and refreshing salad, and spice it up with Mexican flavors. Salad isn’t something you usually connect with Mexican food, but it makes more sense when you realize it’s been inspired by Mexican street corn. It mixes cucumber with corn, cotija cheese, and a tasty dressing.
A slightly different take on a usual Greek salad, Foodie Crush uses mainly chopped cucumber which is mixed with red onion and feta. It’s then topped with fresh dill and mint, giving a really unique salad that’s very refreshing and nice and light to eat on the side of a sub.
The last in the cucumber theme! Keto Coking Christain shares how to create a Thai cucumber salad. In Thailand cucumber, carrot, green mango, and green papaya are often used in spicy salads. The flavors are spicy, sweet, tangy, and of course, with a sprinkling of peanuts.
When you think of sides for subs, fries or wedges are a natural choice. The Chunky Chef shows us how to create wedges that are beautifully seasoned with paprika and garlic. She shares the secret for crispy wedges: spread them out on the baking tray so the hot air can circulate properly. These are also double-baked, making them the crispiest wedges in town!
KFC may be named after chicken, but the wedges and fries are so tasty it’s got to be them that keeps the chain in business! Dinner Then Dessert worked out it’s 10 times cheaper to make these at home than hitting up the drive-thru, and that was motivation enough to concoct this recipe. One of the secrets here is to deep fry them twice…
Coleslaw is another classic pairing for a meatball sub. Dinner Then Dessert shares an easy and classic recipe using shredded cabbage and carrots, and whipping up a dressing of mayo, lemon juice, vinegar, and a little sugar to balance the flavors.
If you want a variation on a traditional coleslaw, No Spoon Necessary shares a great recipe. It uses jalapeno for a lot of the flavor, which just so happens to be a flavor that pairs fabulously with meatballs. If you’re up for the challenge, definitely try this out over a normal ‘slaw.
If cabbage isn’t your thing, bags of broccoli slaw are readily available these days. Flavor The Moments uses almonds, cranberries, and apples to give a wonderful crunch and pop of flavor. It’s a good side dish for lots of meals, so any leftovers can be used the next day.
Insanely Good Recipes shares Ina Garten’s potato salad recipe because if it’s good enough for Ina, it’s good enough for us. The potatoes are boiled until tender, taking care not to overcook them. While they drain and cool down, the dressing can be whipped together using buttermilk and mayo, with two kinds of mustard mixed in.
From A Chef’s Kitchen brings us a completely different type of potato salad. No creamy dressings, this French-style potato salad is made with vinaigrettes and plenty of fresh herbs. It’s definitely a lightened-up version of a creamy potato salad as we’d think of one, but doesn’t sacrifice flavor.
The clue is in the name, this salad from Chelsea’s Messy Apron’s goes with everything! Use it for your meatball sub, then use it the next day on the side of your burger. Take it to potlucks! This salad suits everything. It takes about 10 minutes to prepare and includes yummy ingredients like avocado and pumpkin seeds.
Simply Homecooked shared a fresh salad recipe, which uses spinach as the leafy green and adds a pop of both color and flavor with pomegranate. It also has thinly sliced apples for an added crunch, and feta to add some salt to the sweetness of the fruit.
If you like sweet food but shoulder the burden of eating savory foods for meals, then this salad from Ambitious Kitchen is for you. It’s still a salad, so acceptable for meals but has deliciously juicy peach slices thrown in.
Julia’s Album takes it up another level and adds blueberries to this salad. It also features prosciutto, toasted pecans, and a tangy balsamic vinegar dressing. This is one to serve on the side of your sub in those lazy summer months, and have leftovers the next day.
Stepping back into the more savory side salads, Peas, and Crayons created a tasty salad flavored with lemon and parmesan. For some of us, balsamic vinegar just doesn’t cut it as a dressing, we need cheese! Parmesan is a great option because a little sprinkling gives a big flavor.
Wholesome Yum uses kale to throw together this crunchy salad. Almonds add to the crunch, and dried cranberries give an intense hit of flavor. Hemp seeds are sprinkled over the top to add some protein into the mix, not that you need it with the meatballs but added protein is a good thing! Just don’t forget to massage the kale or it’ll end up bitter. No really, that’s a thing.
Another crunchy salad recipe, this time using apples and carrots. This fruit and vegetable combination pairs beautifully together, not overpowering each other. Cooking Classy uses kale as the salad base, because of its superfood powers, obviously. The dressing is a lemony one, but of course, you could switch this out if you prefer.
Cesaer salad is a classic side dish, but this recipe from Simple Healthy Kitchen takes it a step further and adds roasted chickpeas. Why? Well, they are absolutely delicious for one, but make a much more nutrition-dense choice than croutons but don’t sacrifice that satisfying crunch.
Sweet, spicy, and garlicky, these sprouts from Shared Appetite are pretty special. Roasted until they become almost char-grilled, that’s only a part of the delicious taste. The flavor just explodes in your mouth with each bite, what a great way to add some veg to your meatball sub.
If you want to keep it simple but aren’t in the mood for a leafy salad, Joy Food Sunshine shares how to roast vegetables in a delicious balsamic sauce. You can use any vegetables you have on hand, but in this recipe, they use broccoli, red peppers, and sweet potatoes.
If you have the time to prepare these, you won’t regret it. Jalapenos pair delightfully with meatball subs, and so why not serve them on the side? Stuffed with cheese and bacon of course! Natasha’s Kitchen shares how to bake them to perfection!
24 Simple Sides For Meatball Subs
Ingredients
- Onion, cut into rings (I used red onion)
- Cheese strings, cut into 4 pieces each
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/3 cup bread crumbs or panko crumbs.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F, line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Cut your onion up into rings, to make one ring you need two pieces of onion and one has to easily fit inside the other. Cut each cheese string into 4 long pieces.
- Place your smaller ring inside your large one and then use 2 pieces of your cheese string and wrap between the two rings.
- Whisk your egg in a small bowl, and place your flour and bread crumbs onto separate plates.
- Very carefully dip your onion ring into your flour, then your egg and them roll in your crumbs. This can be a little tricky and you might have the odd ring fall apart, just do your best to put back together again..
- Place on baking sheet and bake in oven for 12 minutes, turn oven and bake another 8 minutes.
- The egg, flour and crumbs should be enough to cover 6-8 rings depending on size.
- I am not including nutritional info as it really depends what cheese strings you use, and the flour won’t all be used nor will the egg.. If your cheese strings are 2 SP each then each onion ring will be 2 SP if your cheese strings are 1 SP each then your rings will be 1 SP each, best served warm.
