If you like a hearty meatball then you will love this lower carb open faced meatball sandwich recipe! It is a quick and easy weeknight dinner ready in as little as 20 minutes and makes dinners a breeze!
An open faced meatball sandwich recipe made healthier, loaded with meatballs, tossed in pasta sauce and topped with melted cheese- this recipe sure makes meals effortless! Especially when using frozen meatballs😊.
Don’t you just love when dinner is ready in less than 30 minutes?! When 3:00 rolls around sometimes I just dread having to think about getting dinner ready. But this meatball sandwich recipe is one that is a sure-bet my whole family will gobble it right up and I never get complaints at the table! EVER. Or at least yet😊.
Ingredients - Open-Faced (Gluten-Free) Meatball Sandwich Recipe
Here's is what you need to make meatball sandwiches.
- Gluten-free bread loaf. Use as many slices as you want. Most gluten-free bread slices are about 150 calories for 2 slices and 20-30 carbs. My kids and I each eat 1 slice and load our open faced sandwiches with tons of meatballs and sauce. My husband eats two halves loaded with extra Parmesan (bless him and his high metabolism😊).
- Frozen Meatballs. Grab a bag of your favorite frozen mini or medium sized meatballs! For gluten-free, make sure the frozen bag says "gluten-free". Most meatballs are made with breadcrumbs.
- Marinara Sauce. Use a full jar mixed with meatballs to heat. My homemade marinara sauce loaded with vegetables is a good one to use too if you want more “hidden” veggies in the dish.
- Cheese. Sprinkle your favorite cheese on top right before baking. Suggestions are shredded mozzarella, Parmesan, cheddar, or dairy free cheese shreds.
- Fresh Parsley. For garnish and aids in digestion!
We make this dinner on repeat because it is soooo simple to make! Here's how.
How to make an open faced meatball sandwich
- First heat the meatballs and marinara sauce in a pan. Use a full jar of sauce and for the meatballs, the amount depends how hungry you are. I like to use small meatballs (about 4-5 per bread slice) but if you are using medium sized ones you will want less (2-3 per bread slice) which also depends on family member size. Cover and heat on medium-high for about 10 minutes or until heated through.
- Next up toast the bread in a toaster while the sauce is heating. I do not know why I started doing this but I feel like it keeps the bread from not getting soggy right away.
- Line a baking pan with parchment paper and add the toasted bread. Top each slice with desired amounts of meatballs with loads of sauce! Sprinkle your desired amount of cheese on top then bake the slices on the pan for about 5 minutes until the cheese is melted.
So easy, right?!
Meatball sandwiches come in all forms and are a great way to use up leftover meatballs from pasta night! You can also transform this meatball sandwich recipe by creating it into a BBQ meatball sandwich using gluten-free BBQ sauce recipe in place of marinara sauce. The main focus though is the meat, those glorious round meatballs and robust sauce flavors!
Is a meatball sandwich healthy
Good question😉. It can be if you use the right ingredients with the concept of “less is more”. Less bread and less cheese = a healthier meatball sandwich. Everything in moderation, right? Right😊.
For a healthier version feel free to swap out meatballs for vegetarian meatballs or turkey meatballs. To keep this dinner quick and easy, you can make meatballs ahead of time and store them in the freezer to use when needed or use frozen store-bought meatballs for convenience. This Italian oven baked meatball recipe is fantastic to make in advance and use for this recipe. For this recipe I used a bag of frozen store bought small meatballs because sometimes life is just too busy to make them homemade.
I highly suggest using grass-fed organic meat meatballs or meat without added hormones (such as Butcherbox meat) if you make homemade meatballs, since added hormones in the meat can alter your hormones. After-all, you are what you eat! But don't feel bad, I do it too- just try to find the best quality and preferably organic.
What is more to love (in my opinion) is using less bread for a lower carb meal and making the sandwich open faced so you can pile up as much meat and sauce your beautiful heart desires!
My 7 year old has an uncontrollable desire to devour meat when it is presented to him. So any time I make this recipe, it is a dinner-winner! In fact, my whole family is obsessed with these open faced meatball sandwiches and I hope yours loves them too!
This meal is quick, easy and the solution to a surefire dinner the whole family can enjoy!
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Open Faced Meatball Sandwich Recipe
Ingredients
- 26 ounce jar marinara sauce
- 1 bag frozen meatballs (about 4-5 small meatballs per bread slice) or (2-3 medium size meatballs per slice)
- 8 slices gluten-free bread
- 1 cup shredded cheese (use less or more depending on how much you like)
- fresh parsley and grated Parmesan cheese for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- Heat the meatballs and marinara sauce in a large sauce pan. Cover and heat on medium-high for about 10 minutes or until heated through.
- While the sauce and meatballs are heating, toast the bread in a toaster to slightly brown. Add each slice of toasted bread to the prepared baking sheet.
- When the meatballs and sauce are finished heating, top each slice of bread with desired amounts of meatballs and sauce. Sprinkle your desired amount of cheese on top of each open faced sandwich. Bake for about 5 minutes until the cheese is melted. Garnish with fresh parsley and optional Parmesan cheese.
- Best eaten with a fork and knife:-).
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