Meatballs, cooked in a rich marinara sauce, are topped with melted cheese and piled into crusty rolls in this easy air fryer recipe from Bored of Lunch.
My order at a certain high street sandwich shop is pretty much always a foot-long meatball marinara sub, so I had to have a go at making my own using the air fryer. The result is this – meatballs cooked in a beautifully rich marinara sauce piled into a toasted bread roll and topped with oozing cheese.
Serves: 4
Prep Time: 10min
Cook Time: 20min
INGREDIENTS
For the meatballs:
- 300g lean beef mince
- 300g lean pork mince
- 80g dried breadcrumbs
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 tsp dried sage
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- salt and pepper, to taste
For the marinara sauce:
- 400g good-quality passata
- 1 tbsp garlic purée
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp onion granules
- 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
To serve:
- 4 sub rolls or 2 baguettes, halved
- 1 red onion, sliced
- 1 red pepper, sliced
- 8 thin cheese slices
METHOD
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Preheat the air fryer to 200°C. Combine all the ingredients for the meatballs in a large mixing bowl, then form into about 12 meatballs using damp hands. Air-fry for 14–16 minutes.
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While they are cooking, combine all the ingredients for the marinara sauce in a bowl. Add to the air fryer drawer for the final 4 minutes of the meatball cooking time.
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If your air fryer has a second drawer, toast the bread rolls in it for 3 minutes. If you need to, you can just toast the breads under the grill.
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Once everything is ready, fill each roll with the garnishes, meatballs and sauce topped with two slices of cheese.