I’m sharing #SausageFamily in my life as part of a Johnsonville sponsored series for Socialstars™ #SausageFamily

This time of year is so busy for families, especially if you have kids in school. Not only is my list for family and friend get together getting long, but I also have holiday parties and events at the kids school where parents are asked to donate food for the festivities. I consider myself pretty experienced when it comes to bringing food to holiday gatherings and people are always asking me what is a simple meal to bring? For many years I would bring my slow cooker which contained pasta sauce and premade meatballs, along with a bowl of cooked spaghetti… I never came home with leftovers! This has always been a big hit and so simple to make! I decided it was time to change things up a bit this year and thought… why not meatball subs?

Meatball subs have been a favorite around the house lately and I can’t complain because they take little prep, barely any cooking and simple to serve. We created this meal for friends visiting for dinner recently and they turned out to be yet another big hit! Another great thing about providing this dish is that people can customize them however they want. One of my children does not like cheese on hers, while my other two smother theirs in melted Parmesan.

Now are you ready to see just how simple it is to prepare this delicious meal/appetizer? You are going to place 1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce into your slow cooker and then place a bag of premade meatballs into it. Make sure to mix the meatballs around so that they are completely covered in sauce (this will prevent them from burning.) Then set your slow cooker on low and eat until they are no longer cold. Cooking times are going to vary depending on the slow cooker you are using, but this is generally going to take less than 30 minutes! Just make sure to take out a meatball and cut in half to ensure they are no longer cold in the middle. While your meatballs are warming up, put your favorite brand of sub rolls in the over on 250 for just a few minutes if you prefer them to be toasted. Once your meatballs are warmed up and your rolls are ready, you are ready to eat!

For this recipe we always use the Johnsonville Meatballs because they make life so much easier! Not only do they come in three tasty flavors (Original Italian, Homestyle, and Three Cheese), but they are fully cooked! This makes them perfect for any quick and easy appetizer you decide to make with them.

All Johnsonville meatballs are made with premium cuts of pork and come fully cooked with about 20 meatballs in every bag. I am always so impressed with how delicious these are and how much time it saves me to make scrumptious appetizers for holiday gatherings.

There are so many ways to enjoy these meatballs! For Thanksgiving I actually put a small bottle of our favorite BBQ sauce and a bag of the Johnsonville meatballs in the slow cooker and served them as an appetizer… also another hit during the holidays!

I hope you enjoyed this recipe! Let me know in the comments down below your favorite meatball appetizer and if you plan on bringing it to a holiday gathering this year!