Open Faced Meatball Sandwiches

These delicious Open Faced Meatball Sandwiches are the ultimate comfort food! This recipe is an easy dinner idea but it’s also great for feeding a crowd on gameday.

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How can you go wrong when you’ve got meatballs, tomato sauce and cheese? There are literally dozens of ways you could take these same ingredients and turn ’em into different recipes…and I bet each and every version would be delicious! The obvious version would be something involving pasta, but today we’re trading in that pasta for a loaf of Italian bread. We’re making Open Faced Meatball Sandwiches!

Have you ever used mayonnaise when making grilled cheese sandwiches? Mayonnaise has a higher smoke point than butter which means it’s less likely to burn before the cheese inside melts. You can also cook that grilled cheese at a little higher temperature which in turn leads to a nice golden brown sandwich. I must admit that I was always skeptical of the mayo on grilled cheese thing…until I tried it.

Open Faced Meatball Sandwiches

Why are we talking about grilled cheese sammiches when this post is about Open Faced Meatball Sandwiches? Well, I used that mayonnaise trick for this recipe. Since we’re making a bunch of slices of bread loaded with meatballs and cheese, we need to use the oven rather than a single skillet. However, the trick is to leave the sheet pan in the oven while it preheats. Once it’s hot, we lay the slices of bread mayo-side down onto the sheet pan. (Use a piece of aluminum foil to make clean up easy.)

And it’s not just mayo here. A thin layer of mayonnaise is spread onto each slice of bread, and then a generous sprinkling of seasonings goes on top. I’m not kidding when I say these Open Faced Meatball Sandwiches have so much flavor!

These Open-Faced Meatball Sandwiches remind me a bit of smørrebrød – the iconic open-faced sandwiches found across Norway, Sweden and Denmark. Smørrebrød typically use buttered rye bread as the base and the toppings are different – think pickled herring, onions and cucumbers. But the general concept remains – tasty bread topped with even tastier toppings.

For the meatballs in this recipe, I used my go-to meatball recipe. I use these exact same meatballs for everything from Spaghetti & Meatballs to Meatball-Stuffed Garlic Bread. They’re delicious! Whenever I’m making these meatballs, I usually go ahead and make a double or triple batch. Then we just freeze the extras for later – nice and easy. Of course, you could use store-bought Italian-style meatballs if you prefer. (I higher recommend the homemade ones, though!)

Once you’ve got the bread and the meatballs, all that’s left is a quick spoonful of marinara sauce and a generous sprinkling of Parmesan and mozzarella. Send those open faced sandwiches back to the oven for a few minutes until the cheese melts, and you’re all set. We pulled out this tray when we had friends over…and the sandwiches disappeared faster than greased lightning!

These Open Faced Meatball Sandwiches make for excellent party food. Whether you’re hosting a game night with friends or just turning on a football game, I promise these will be a huge hit! We enjoyed these so much that we made them again for dinners the next week. We ate 1-2 slices each and filled the rest of our plate with roasted veggies and side salads.

How to Store Leftovers

These Open Faced Meatball Sandwiches will definitely taste best when they’re fresh. However, if you happen to have leftovers, you can ‘deconstruct’ these sandwiches by taking the meatballs off the top. Store the meatballs and the slices of bread in separate airtight containers in the fridge. Then just reheat them separately in the oven or toaster oven. (The meatballs will take a little longer to heat than the bread.) I do not recommend freezing the leftovers here.

If you’re looking for an easy recipe for a crowd, I highly recommend making a batch of these Open Faced Meatball Subs. Just go ahead and have the ingredients on hand for a second batch, though…you’ll need ’em. Cheers, friends!

Did you make this Open Faced Meatball Sandwiches recipe at home? Leave a comment or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog) – I’d love to see your version!

Open Faced Meatball Sandwiches

These delicious Open Faced Meatball Sandwiches are the ultimate comfort food! This recipe is an easy dinner idea but it's also great for feeding a crowd on gameday.

5 from 4 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 40 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Servings: 16 servings

Calories: 342kcal

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Ingredients

For the Meatballs

• ⅓ cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs
• 2 Tbsp milk
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• ½ medium white onion finely diced
• 8 oz. ground beef
• 8 oz. ground pork
• 1 large egg lightly beaten
• 2 Tbsp minced fresh Italian parsley
• 1 tsp garlic minced
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp black pepper
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
• 2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

For the Sandwiches

• 1 loaf soft Italian bread or French bread cut into ½” slices
• ¼ cup mayonnaise
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• ½ tsp onion powder
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• ¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 cup marinara sauce
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• ¼ cup chopped Italian parsley

Instructions

For the Meatballs

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
• Using a medium bowl, combine the bread crumbs and milk; let soak for 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, add the olive oil to a medium frying pan and place over medium heat. Once hot, add the diced onions and cook for 6-7 minutes, or until onions begin to soften.
• Transfer onions and soaked bread crumbs into a large mixing bowl. Add all of the remaining meatball ingredients (beef, pork, egg, parsley, garlic, salt, pepper, oregano, red pepper and Parmesan cheese). Mix until just combined. (Tip: Take care not to overmix or the meatball may be tough.)
• Shape mixture into 12 balls and place meatballs 1” apart on prepared baking sheet.
• Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until meatballs are no longer pink in the center.

For the Sandwiches

• Place empty sheet pan in the 400°F for ~10 minutes. (Note: For easy clean-up, line pan with aluminum foil.)
• Meanwhile, lay sliced bread on a large cutting board. Spread mayonnaise evenly on top of slices.
• Using a small bowl, combine garlic powder, salt, onion powder, pepper and red pepper flakes. Sprinkle this mixture evenly on top of the mayonnaise. Press the seasoning mixture lightly so that it sticks to the mayonnaise.
• Carefully remove the hot baking sheet from the oven and place the sliced bread mayonnaise-side down onto the pan. Bake for 5 minutes.
• Remove pan from oven and flip each slice of bread over.
• Place a spoonful of marinara sauce on each slice and then sprinkle mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses evenly on top.
• Slice meatballs in half and add 2-3 to each slice of bread.
• Return bread to the oven and continue baking 5-7 more minutes, or until cheese has completely melted.
• Garnish with chopped Italian parsley before serving.
• Serve hot.

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