I love finding creative ways to use my air fryer. It’s even better if I find a simple recipe to make too. That’s exactly what this Air Fryer Meatball Parm Sub is. It’s simple, yet delicious.
This idea comes from the meatball subs at Subway. My husband loves them, so we wanted to find a way to recreate them at home! I consider it a copycat Subway Meatball Parm Sub.
I personally love to use air fryer frozen meatballs in the recipe, but you can always make your own meatballs from scratch or even air fryer turkey meatballs as well.
There’s something about throwing food into an air fryer for just a few minutes and having a fully cooked meal without much prep that warms my busy mom’s heart.
This is also an air fryer recipe that satisfies the entire family. While my kids don’t eat sandwiches (weird, right?), my daughter will eat the meatball parmesan sub completely deconstructed.
We give her the meatballs, sub roll, and even the parmesan cheeses all separate. It’s a strategy I highly recommend to any moms who are struggling with picky eaters.
I made this recipe in the Cosori Air Fryer. It has a square basket which makes toasting the buns at the end super easy. I find with the circular baskets I must do that in batches instead of all at once.
I highly recommend the Cosori Air Fryer to the point that it’s the only one I currently use. It’s a more budget-friendly option for the size and quality as well.
How to Make an Air Fryer Meatball Parm Sub
- Preheat your air fryer to 350 degrees.
- Place frozen meatballs in the preheated air fryer for 9-11 minutes shaking the basket halfway through the cooking time. If using fresh meatballs, use these directions to air fry them.
- Remove meatballs from the air fryer and carefully place it into a bowl and toss with the marinara sauce and dried oregano seasoning.
How to Assemble the Meatball Parm Subs
- Add meatballs to sliced open sausage or sub rolls and take the remaining sauce inside the bowl and spoon 2 tablespoons of marinara on top of each sub.
- Top sub sandwich with freshly grated parmesan cheese. While you can use the store-bought grated kind, I find the freshly grated Parmesan cheese gives a fresher flavor to this sandwich.
A block of fresh Parmesan cheese will also last about 3-4 weeks stored in the fridge, so you can continue to add it to pasta dishes, soups, salads, chicken, and more.
You can even add it to the breadcrumbs of Air Fryer Chicken Tenders for added flavor!
- Turn your air fryer to 350 degrees and slowly place the meatball parmesan subs inside the air fryer and cook for 1-2 minutes until cheese is melted and sauce is warm.
- Remove the Air Fryer Meatball Parm Subs from the air fryer, top with additional parmesan cheese if desired, and enjoy!
How Do You Reheat a Meatball Sub?
- Preheat your air fryer to 320 degrees. It’s important to cook your temperature low so the bun does not become too toasted and the meatballs will cook from the inside out.
- Place full sub into the air fryer and cook for 3-5 minutes until the sub is warmed thoroughly.
- Enjoy!
More Meatball Recipes
- Air Fryer Meatballs
- Air Fryer Turkey Meatballs
- Air Fryer Frozen Meatballs
- Instant Pot Frozen Meatballs
- BBQ Grape Jelly Meatballs
More Air Fryer Recipes
Air Fryer Meatball Parm Sub
Ingredients
- 8 frozen meatballs
- 2 sub or sausage rolls
- 1 cup marinara sauce room temperature or warmed
- 2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
Instructions
- Preheat air fryer to 320 degrees.
- Cook the frozen meatballs for 9-11 minutes shaking halfway through until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees.
- Remove the meatballs from the air fryer and toss in the marinara sauce and oregano.
- Add meatballs to sub rolls and spoon on 2 tablespoons of marinara sauce on top remaining from the bowl.
- Top sub sandwich with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
- Turn air fryer to 350 degrees, slowly place meatball parm subs inside the air fryer, and cook for 2 minutes until the cheese is melted and sauce is warmed.
- Carefully remove subs from the air fryer, top with more Parmesan cheese if desired and enjoy!
Nutrition
This nutrition information is based on the exact products I used in this recipe. Brands and sizes of products could alter exact nutrition and should always be calculated independently.