These Halloween meatball subs are a crowd-pleaser, and they’re the perfect spooky Halloween dinner idea for your next party! Your little witches and ghouls will gobble up these classic meatball sub sandwiches with eyeball meatballs – a deliciously scary twist!
If you’re looking for spooky Halloween dinner ideas for kids that only look like you’ve spent hours making them, these meatball subs should be on your list.
They’re perfect for a trick-or-treat family dinner, a spooky movie night, or even as a creepy-cute appetizer at your Halloween party. Best of all, they’re surprisingly easy to make, and you might even convince your picky eaters to finish their “eyeballs” without complaint!
Ingredients for Halloween Meatball Subs
Here are all the ingredients you’ll need to make these scrumptiously spooky subs:
- ground pork and ground beef – Our favorite meatball recipe combines both pork and beef for extra flavor.
- eggs and breadcrumbs – The “glue” that holds your ground meats together.
- olive oil
- spices and seasoning – We seasoned our eyeball meatball mixture with garlic powder, onion powder, dried parsley flakes, Italian seasoning, salt, and black pepper.
- marinara sauce – Use your favorite store-bought jar to keep this Halloween dinner easy!
- sliced provolone or mozzarella cheese
- sliced black olives – The key to making your meatballs look like eyeballs.
- sub buns – We like to use the sub rolls from our grocery store’s bakery, but hot dogs or brioche buns also work.
- fresh basil – Optional, for a bit of fresh Italian flavor.
Tips for Making the Best Eyeball Meatballs
These meatball eyeballs are super easy to make, but here are some helpful tips:
- Use your preferred choice of meat. If you prefer ground chicken instead of pork, or you want to swap out beef for turkey, feel free to do so! Any ground meat will work.
- Add olive oil to ground poultry. If you’ve opted for ground chicken or turkey instead of the original meats, use an extra tablespoon of EVOO in the mixture for added moisture.
- Swap a baking sheet for the skillet. Not everyone has a cast iron skillet in their cooking arsenal, and that’s ok! A baking sheet will work just as well.
- Use Crisco or water to moisten your hands. Keeping your hands wet will help when rolling your meatballs. You can even use food-grade latex gloves instead if you prefer not to touch the meat directly.
- Use your tablespoon to help with measurement. Each meatball equals approximately 2-2.5 tablespoons of the ground meat mixture. Once you’ve measured out a few, you can probably eyeball the size from there (Get it?).
- Swap out fresh mozzarella for sliced. While most grocery stores carry sliced provolone cheese, sliced mozzarella is harder to find. However, you can melt small circles of fresh mozzarella onto each meatball instead of using sliced cheese.
- There’s more than one way to cut the cheese. Okay, I had to get that out – now on to business! If you don’t have round cookie cutters for the cheese circles, find a creative way to do it! Plastic lids on spice jars will also work – just use the lid as a stencil and cut around with a paring knife.
- Use canned sliced olives. You could attempt to slice whole olives yourself, or you could make your life so much simpler by purchasing a small can of sliced olives! I pick through the canned slices and choose the prettiest ones for my eyeball meatballs.
How to Make Eyeball Meatball Subs for Halloween
Follow these steps to make your Halloween meatball subs:
Step 1: Make the meatball mixture. Preheat your oven to 400°F and oil a cast iron skillet. Combine the ground meat, eggs, breadcrumbs, olive oil, and seasonings in a large mixing bowl until everything is thoroughly mixed.
*Tip: Always make sure to use an oil with a high smoke point, like avocado oil, and apply a thin, even coat to your skillet. Wipe the surface after oiling until it looks almost dry.
Step 2: Roll the meatballs. Wet your hands using Crisco or water and roll the meat mixture into 24 meatballs. Each meatball should use about 2-2.5 tablespoons of the mix, and they should measure about 1.5 inches in diameter. Place the meatballs into your cast-iron skillet or on a greased baking sheet as you make them.
Step 3: Bake the meatballs in the oven. Place skillet or baking sheet in a preheated 400°F oven and bake them for 20-25 minutes until fully cooked through. Use a meat thermometer to determine the doneness of the specific meats used in your mixture.
Drain any excess fat from your skillet. If you used a baking sheet, transfer the meatballs to a skillet and turn the burner to medium-low.
Now it’s time to add the marinara sauce. I like to use Rao’s brand, but you can use any type of marinara or spaghetti sauce that you like best. Pour the marinara sauce over the meatballs and stir gently to coat all of them in the sauce.
Step 4: Decorate the meatball eyeballs. Now it’s time to turn your meatballs into eyeballs! Use your cheese slicer or cutter to cut 24 slices of cheese. Each slice should measure 1-1.5 inches. Place each slice on top of each meatball to make the whites of the eyes.
Next, create the pupils by placing a slice of black olive onto each cheese slice. If using a cast iron skillet, return it to the oven for a few minutes to slightly melt the cheese. If you are using a regular skillet, place the lid on to let the cheese melt slightly – about 2-3 minutes.
*Tip: Keep a close eye on the melting cheese! If it melts too much, your eyeballs will turn into a cheesy, melty mess! Once you notice the cheese slices have softened, remove them from the heat.
Step 5: Assemble the halloween meatball subs and enjoy! Once the cheese on the meatball eyeballs has melted, it’s time to assemble your sandwiches! Use tongs or a large spoon to scoop out three meatball eyes and carefully place them onto your hot dog buns or sub sandwich rolls. Add basil leaves for garnish if you so desire.
*TIP – I like to toast my sub rolls in the oven first. It gives them a little added stability so they don’t get soggy from the marinara sauce!
These Spooky Eyeball Subs are proof that Halloween food can be fun, playful, and absolutely delicious all at once. They’re a little creepy, a little cheesy, and 100% crowd-pleasing, making them the perfect addition to any spooky celebration. You get all the “wow” factor without hours in the kitchen.
Other Halloween Lunch and Dinner Ideas for Kids
- Jack-o-Lantern Quesadillas – A super quick dinner idea that you can transform into a Jack-o-Lantern? Yes, please! These tasty quesadillas are almost too easy to make, and your kids will love them!
- Easy Halloween Popcorn Snack Mix – There’s no easier after-school snack than a handful of crunchy, salty popcorn, and this Halloween popcorn mix is packed with deliciously spooky mix-ins!
- 25 Spooky and Easy Halloween Cookies for Kids – If you’re looking for easy and delicious Halloween cookie ideas for fall, you’ve come to the right place! This roundup of easy Halloween cookie recipes for kids has something for everyone!
Spooky Eyeball Meatball Subs
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound ground pork
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup bread crumbs
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 16 ounces marinara sauce
- sliced provolone or mozzarella cheese
- sliced black olives
- 8 sub buns (sliced)
- fresh basil (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400⁰F and oil a cast iron skillet.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground meats, eggs, bread crumbs, olive oil, garlic powder, onion powder, parsley flakes, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper until all of the ingredients are fully incorporated.
- Roll the meat mixture into 24 meatballs roughly 1.5-2 inches in diameter and place them into your cast iron skillet.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until fully cooked through.
- Drain any excess fat and toss the cooked meatballs in the marinara.
- Use a 1-1.5 inch round cutter to cut 24 circles of cheese and place one on top of each meatball to create the whites of eyes.
- Place a slice of black olive onto each slice of cheese to create pupils.
- Return the meatballs to the oven for 2-3 minutes to lightly melt the cheese.
- Use a pair of tongs or a spoon to gently place 3 meatball eyes into hot dog buns or sub buns. Serve hot.
Notes
- For the cheese – If you can’t find sliced mozzarella, provolone works just as well. If you don’t have circle cookie cutters, you can cut circles with a paring knife and a spice jar lid as a stencil.
- For leftovers – The meatballs are best served fresh, but leftovers can be stored in the fridge for 1–2 days and reheated in a 375°F oven.
Nutrition
The nutrition facts provided are calculated using a third-party tool and are estimates only. Actual nutritional content may vary based on the ingredients and brands you use, as well as portion sizes. For accurate results, please consult a registered dietitian or nutritionist.
