My husband is a huge fan of meatball subs, so I decided to make a slimmed down version and create a delicious low calorie meatball sub recipe that we could BOTH enjoy.
And by simply substituting a few traditional ingredients, it was a success! Tasty and satisfying each meatball sandwich has just 5 Points and is a great “manly” food that all weight watchers can enjoy.
It’s definitely a great meal idea for anyone who doesn’t want to give up the “good” foods while dieting.
LOW CALORIE MEATBALL SANDWICH RECIPE
A healthy alternative to a traditional Italian favorite, these meatball sandwiches are a lot lighter, but still delicious! Tender meatballs in tomato sauce, topped with melted cheese and served on a toasted bun.
Ingredients
- 1 lb extra lean ground turkey
- ½ cup whole wheat Panko bread crumbs
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 large egg
- 4 cloves of garlic - (minced)
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- ½ tbsp dried basil
- 1 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
- 1 tbsp granulated onion powder
- ½ tbsp sea salt
- 2 tsp black pepper
- 24 oz canned diced tomatoes
- 8 light hot dog buns
- 8 slices of light Sargento Reduced Fat Provolone Cheese
- OPTIONAL: garnish with fresh shredded basil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Place oven racks in top 1/3 of oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or foil that’s been coated with non-fat cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, combine turkey, bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, egg, oregano, parsley, basil, garlic and salt & pepper. Scoop out turkey mixture and gently shape a small meatball (about the size of a tablespoon) and place on a prepared baking sheet; repeat with remaining ingredients to make 32 meatballs. Bake about 10 to 15 minutes. Make sure to shake the pans every 5 min to promote even browning of the meatballs.
- Meanwhile, in a small sauce pan, heat up can of diced tomatoes. Feel free to mix in additional garlic, parsley, oregano, basil, salt and peeper for extra flavor. It won’t affect the points value.
- When meatballs are done, remove from baking sheets. Place rolls on same baking sheets; top each piece with 4 meatballs. Spoon about 3 tablespoons sauce over meatballs in each sandwich; top each with 1 slice of light provolone cheese. Bake until cheese is melted and sandwiches are heated through, about 5 to 7 minutes.
Notes
Entire Recipe makes 8 servings
Serving size is 1 meatball sandwich
Nutrition
Calories: 271 kcal (14%)Carbohydrates: 24.5 g (8%)Protein: 23.7 g (47%)Fat: 9.9 g (15%)Saturated Fat: 4.5 g (28%)Cholesterol: 76 mg (25%)Sodium: 811 mg (35%)Potassium: 261 mg (7%)Fiber: 6.6 g (28%)Sugar: 5.4 g (6%)Calcium: 260 mg (26%)Iron: 4.1 mg (23%)
Tried this recipe?Let me know how it was!
17 Comments
I did a couple things differently,
I added Worcestershire to the turkey, for a smoky meatier flavour.
Instead of the oven, I browned them in my cast iron.
As for the sauce, that’s almost the most important part of this recipe which is why it was kind of disappointing that there wasn’t a clear sauce recipe. I caramelized half a large onion for a bout 10 minutes, added under a tablespoon of minced garlic until fragrant or just barely golden (about 30 seconds) (I reserved part of the onions to top the buns later.)
added a can of diced tomatoes quarter size pinch of salt, pinch of sugar, pinch of pepper, pinch of onion powder, a pinch of garlic powder, and a pinch of dried oregano. Let simmer for 90 minutes crushed the tomatoes in the pan with a wooden spoon added half a can of tomato paste and meatballs and let cook for another 30 minutes.
Overall these were great. I could hardly tell they were turkey! Split the recipe in half and made 12 decent sized meatballs (we put 3 in each bun, there were 4 buns altogether)
These smell great baking in the oven right now, but making 32 meatballs out of 1 lb of meat is a stretch! Hence the reason these are so low in points…usually 1 lb equates to 4 servings, not 8. Just an FYI for anyone trying to make this for a family! Thanks for posting the recipe nonetheless! I will just count my sandwich as 10 ppts.
These were INCREDIBLE! Love this recipe!
We just finished eating this! My family & I really enjoyed it. My 6 year old daughter couldn’t eat it fast enough! I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong but when I do the points on the WW’s website it comes out more than what you came out with? I know one difference is that I’m finding it difficult to locate the hot dog buns you mentioned above. The used a bun that was 3 WW points plus. I am getting a difference in point than you are.
A reader of mine informed me that you are using my photo in this post. I have no problem with that & I appreciate you giving me credit but would you also provide a link to my site as well please. Credit and a link are the requirements to use my recipes and photos. Thank you!
Cheers,
Pam
For the Love of Cooking
This recipe was so great! My family really enjoyed it! I did substitue the regular diced tomatos for the italian blend to give the meatballs more of an italian taste. Other than that, I followed the directions to a tee…. and it was great. They are also very filling.
You are the best, thank you sooo much!! I'm actually going to make it tonight and can't wait! Thanks for all of your wonderful receipes, we have loved every single one we've tried :)
Can you let us know what the points plus value of this is? It looks DELISH! Thanks :)
I just recalulated the total, and I am THRILLED to say that it's still just 5 Points + per serving!! I did the recalculation using a Sara Lee Delightful Hot Dog Bun as the roll.
yes where can we find the nutrition facts?
I'm just wondering how many calories these actually are? I'm not doing weight watchers, just trying to lose weight by counting calories? Anyone know here?
We made the meatballs last week and they were great. We are repeating them tonight without buns. They are so good. Thank you for all the ideas…
These were SO delicious! I used Natures Own WhiteWheat hot dog buns, my own homemade marinara sauce and about 2 Tbsp Part Skim shredded mozzarella cheese sprinkled on top. Will definitely make these again since they were so easy! The whole family loved them!
Made these for dinner last night. They were a HUGE hit! I used Reduced fat parmasan cheese and did not notice any difference. Super Tasty.
I made the meatballs and I was surprised at how good they were. My teenage son loved the sandwich for dinner and was pleasantly surprised that something low calorie or healthy could be this tasty. We will definitely be making this again!
Made this for tonight dinner (used pre-made turkey meatballs from trader Joes though)
super yummy!!! Husband and I loved them even the kids gobbled them up :)
Great idea! And those turkey meatballs from Trader Joe's are delicious!!