All the flavors of a great meatball sub are combined in this easy casserole! Made in one pan, and using frozen/pantry items, it’s a favorite among both kids and adults!
This Meatball Sub Casserole is one of my favorite meals to cook for my family. We really love one pot meals, and this one is always a winner… like my Cheesesteak Pasta and Chicken Parmesan Pasta! This is one of my One Pot Meals I know you’ll want to keep on hand!
This post was originally sponsored by Cooked Perfect Meatballs.
MEATBALL SUB CASSEROLE
If you love a great meatball sub, you’ll love this bubble up bake! Made with everyday ingredients, and in one pan, this meal is ready and on the table in less than an hour.
How are you all doing with the COVID-19 pandemic? This is such a confusing and ominous time, and I think most of us are still spinning and trying to figure out how to shift our lifestyle to cope with bare grocery shelves, lack of schooling, and restaurants closing (at least in my area).
I just wanted to say that I’m here for you – and I’ve gone through my entire recipe collection to catalog all the recipes that are freezer-friendly. This is a great time to not only make some freezer meals for yourselves, but for your elderly neighbor, or a friend who’s pregnant, etc.
You stay home, stay safe, and I’ll keep working on recipes for when the world settles down again… we all have to eat right?
HOW TO MAKE MEATBALL SUB CASSEROLE
- Cut each biscuit into 8 pieces. Cutting them this small allows them to fully cook, as well as make them more bite-sized.
- Add biscuit pieces to oven-safe skillet. I love using my cast iron for this, but a regular 13×9 pan will work as well.
- Top with marinara and seasonings. For ease of preparation, I love to use my favorite bottled brand, but if you have homemade on hand, you can use that.
- Stir to coat biscuits in mixture.
- Nestle in the meatballs. I prefer to use thawed meatballs here, so nothing gets soggy.
- Cover with 1/2 the cheese. I like to only use half now, so when the last half gets added, it’s nice and gooey.
- Cover with foil. To help the cheese not stick to the foil, spray one side of the foil with cooking spray and cover with the sprayed side down.
- Bake for 30 minutes, then uncover, top with last 1/2 cheese and bake 15 minutes more. Baking it covered for most of the time ensures the biscuits will be cooked all the way through.
The best part about this meatball sub bubble up bake is that during that 45 minute cook time, it’s totally hands off! All you have to do is uncover the skillet about 30 minutes into the cook time.
So you can hang out with your family, go oversee the homework, fold some laundry, or just go sit down and relax!
WHAT TO SERVE WITH THIS CASSEROLE
To go alongside this meal, I like to serve a Caesar salad.
Since the bubble up bake has bread in it, I usually don’t serve bread, but if you’re feeling like you need some extra garlicky goodness in your life, this cheesy garlic bread is our family’s go-to!
VARIATIONS OF THIS RECIPE
- GARLIC HERB – For extra flavor, melt 2-3 tablespoons of butter and stir in some minced garlic and dried Italian seasoning. Toss biscuit pieces in garlic herb butter before adding to skillet.
- HOMEMADE MEATBALLS – I love using frozen meatballs for convenience, but every now and then I like to switch it up and make my own. I use this meatball recipe, and bake at 400 F degrees for 20 minutes.
- TOPPINGS – Feel free to add any additional toppings you like! Mushrooms, peppers, etc.
MAKING MEATBALL SUB CASSEROLE AHEAD OF TIME
I’ve not tried to assemble this casserole ahead of time and refrigerate it, so I can’t say for certain if that would work well.
FREEZING
This recipe is great to make and freeze! Bake about 10 minutes less than directed, then cool completely and freeze.
To thaw, place overnight in the refrigerator, and then bake at 350 F degrees for about 20 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.
STORAGE
Leftover should be refrigerated in an airtight container and consumed within 5 days.
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT FOR THIS RECIPE
- Cast Iron Skillet – I use my cast iron pan for SO many things, you love it!
I hope you all give this meatball sub bubble up bake recipe a try… I’m sure you’ll love it!!
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AND DON’T FORGET, IF YOU’VE MADE THIS RECIPE, LEAVE A COMMENT AND PLEASE GIVE IT A STAR RATING LETTING ME KNOW HOW YOU ENJOYED IT!
Recipe originally published in 2017 and has been updated in 2020 with additional information.
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
- 1 can 8 count refrigerated biscuits
- 14 oz bag Frozen Italian Style Meatballs, thawed (I use the 1/2 oz size meatball, which has about 28 meatballs in the bag)
- 1 1/2 cups marinara sauce
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- fresh basil or parsley, minced (optional - for garnish)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F degrees and spray a large oven safe skillet or 3 qt baking dish with non stick spray. Set aside. Lightly spray one side of a piece of aluminum foil with non stick spray and set aside.
- Remove biscuit dough from can and slice each biscuit into 8 pieces. Add to greased skillet or baking dish.
- Top with marinara sauce, garlic powder and Italian seasoning. Stir around to mix seasonings into sauce and coat dough in sauce.
- Nestle thawed meatballs into and on top of the dough pieces. Cover with half the shredded cheese, and cover skillet or dish with foil, sprayed side down.
- Bake for 30 minutes, remove foil, add remaining cheese, and bake another 15 minutes until bubbly and cheese is melted. If desired, broil a minute or two.
- Serve hot, garnished with fresh herbs, if using.
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Chef Tips
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Sharon says
Can I double biscuits with same amount of meatballs or will that make it too bready? I have 6 people but would like generous helpings? I have made a similar pepperoni pizza bubble bake before that used 1 can of grands and didn’t feel like it made enough for 6 serverings.
The Chunky Chef says
It will throw off the ratio of biscuits to meatballs, but as for it being too bread-y, that’s a personal preference, so I can’t say what you would think of it. Personally I would double the biscuits and maybe 1.5x the meatballs 🙂
Mandee says
Honestly, this is so yummy and my family (toddler to school age kids + us parents) loved it. I never comment on recipes online, but if you aren’t sure about this, try it! When I cut the biscuits and placed them in the 9×13, I squished them a little to make sure it would be crispy on bottom and done in time for soccer practice. It almost worked! But I did need to add 5ish more minutes of cook time. We served with grapes, grapes, a slice of bread, and Caesar salad so we’d have plenty leftover after serving our family of 5.
Couple modifications I want to try next time:
• use homemade biscuit dough
• set out marinara for dipping (we like meals extra saucy!)
• add fine diced green peppers
El says
Added garlic, onion, zucchini and minced carrots to sauce. Biscuits made it way too bready. Will try again with penne pasta.
Lisa says
This was SPECTACULAR! I was concerned because I don’t use frozen meatballs or jar sauce but it was really delicious. I did sautée mushrooms and onion and added it with the meatballs. My hubby really liked this! Thanks again Chunky Chef!
Bridget says
This was a great and simple weeknight dinner for the kids after practices. I didn’t read the idea of mini meatballs, so had full
Size. I think I’ll try the mini next time or double the big ones. It’s best with a taste meatball in each bite.
EM says
This was easy and yummy. I am 9 days postpartum and we don’t have much food, although I did have all the ingredients to throw this together. It was super quick and it turned out delicious. I feel like whenever I have dough recipes It’s never fully cooked so I did add a few minutes longer just in case and it turned out perfect. Served with Caesar salad.
Katie says
Way too much bread for a meal. Needs more sauce. I added onions and mushrooms which gave it more flavor.
Christine says
How many people does the meatball bake serve? I’m having 12 people. The recipe only asks for one container of 8 biscuits.
The Chunky Chef says
I’ve estimated it serves about 6 people, and yes, it only uses 8 biscuits. Each biscuit is sliced into 8 pieces though. For future reference, the amount of servings in each recipe is always in a light green colored bar in the recipe card, right underneath the recipe name, cook time, etc 🙂
Linda Hacker says
Wondering if you could use Italian Bread instead of biscuits?
The Chunky Chef says
Possibly, but I haven’t tried the recipe using Italian bread, so I can’t be certain without rigorous testing. If you do some experimenting, I’d love to know how it turns out 🙂