Add Flavor And Crunch To Your Next Meatball Sub With This Simple Topping

A meatball sub can be great all on its own. It is a big, meaty, warm, satisfying sandwich made for large appetites and it includes everything anyone could want in a hot sandwich: big balls of meat, melted cheese, a savory red sauce, and a soft jacket of bread to keep it all together.

But if we're being honest, it can feel like a one-note sandwich. Granted, its simplicity is a large part of its charm, and there are few pleasures in life so simple as tearing into a warm, stuffed meatball sandwich that you know isn't trying to impress you. But texturally, your standard-issue meatball sub is kind of blah. And flavor-wise, it has plenty of bass (bread and meat), a little bit of mid-range from the sauce, but no treble at all. If you're looking for a high-note, though, one simple upgrade can turn a basic meatball sub into something great. All you have to do is add a sprinkle of crispy fried onions.

It's not like this is a wild, left-field choice. The raw onions on an Italian hoagie, the caramelized onions on a classic cheesesteak — all of those are serving the same purpose. It's all about adding a bit of depth and range to an otherwise simple, comforting sandwich.

You should always keep some fried onions in your pantry because they're useful in a thousand different ways. But on a meatball sub, they bring two things to the party: a serious crunch, and sharp onion flavor to act as a counterweight to the heaviness of the meat and bread.

Yes, if you want to go through the extra effort, you could also make your own caramelized onions, but they won't have that crunch. You could flour and fry your own slivered onions, but using pre-packaged, shelf-stable fried onions is just easier, and the results are just as good.

A couple things to keep in mind: First, if you're making a meatball parm, the onions should always go on last. Sitting on top of the cheese and sauce keeps them as crispy as possible. Second, if you're using provolone, you can feel free to get the funkiest, most powerful cheese you can stomach; the fried onions will cut through really nicely. Finally, you're going to want to smush the whole thing down once you add the onions so half the ingredients don't fall out during your first bite. It won't be as pretty as all the pictures, but eating a serious meatball sub is a messy business anyway. There's no reason a handful of fried onions should make it worse.