All the ingredients for a meatball sandwich are here, just assembled in a different manner.  This recipe is always a hit at our house.  We NEVER have any leftovers, it is so good!

Italian Meatball Sandwich Casserole

green onions

bread crumbs

Parmesan cheese

beef

(1 pound) loaf Italian bread,

(8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

mayonnaise

Italian seasoning

black pepper

mozzarella cheese

spaghetti sauce

water

garlic,

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C).


Mix together onions, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese and ground beef. Roll into 1 inch diameter balls, and place in a baking pan.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until beef is no longer pink. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).


Arrange the bread cubes in a single layer in an ungreased 9x13 inch baking dish. Mix together the cream cheese, mayonnaise, Italian seasoning and black pepper until smooth. Spread this mixture over each bread cube. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the grated mozzarella cheese.


In a large bowl, mix together spaghetti sauce, water, and garlic.  Gently stir in meatballs.  Pour over the bread and cheese mixture in the baking pan.  Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella cheese evenly over the top.


Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes, or until heated through.


I know some hate when others post reviews that tell all about what they did differently, but I figure...hey, many people have made this &amp; found it to be great....so why not tell what I did...maybe it will inspire you!!!
1.)  I made my meatballs out of ground chicken!  They only need 15 mins. at 400..just be sure to lightly spray your sheet with cooking spray!  I also combined the minced garlic in with my chickenballs....
2.)  As another reviewer suggested...I omitted the mayo &amp; replaced it with ricotta...did I mention that the ricotta/cream cheese mixture was good enough to spread on my body?!?!
3.)Probably the biggest change I made was how I used the bread....I bought the roundish italian loaf, did my best Subway sandwhich artist impression, and removed the top portion.  I then removed most (but not all) the fluffy bread guts to make a bowl (and tossed the guts).  I smeared the cream/ricotta cheese mixture on the bottom &amp; sides of the bowl, and added some to the underside of the breadbowl lid.  (This way b/c I thought spreading each breadcube with the mixture sounded too time consuming...and half the breadcubes prolly would of ended up popped in my mouth!!!)  I then layered the cheese &amp; chicken balls, baked 25 minutes WITHOUT the breadbowl lid, and about 5-10 with the breadbowl lid in place...to serve, just slice....my "boys" (my fiance &amp; his best friend) raved over this for at least an hour....and they are food snobs!!!!

This was possibly the most amazing thing I've ever made! I put my whole loaf of bread in the pan and stuck it in the oven while it preheated to toast it because I knew I wouldn't like it if it was soggy. I bought 1 and a half pounds of fresh meatballs instead of making my own to save time and I sliced my bread into 7 slices instead of cubing it so it would be easier to fit in the pan and easier to spread the cream cheese mix over. I microwaved the cream cheese stuff for about 30 seconds to make it more spreadable. I skipped the water to avoid soggy bread but added an extra cup of spaghetti sauce since I had more than a pound of meatballs. The result was so delicious I thought about it all the next day. My bread wasn't soggy and there were enough meatballs and sauce to make every bite loaded. My boyfriend didn't like the mayonnaise taste so next time I'll use less of that but I highly recommend this recipe to anyone who enjoys meatball sandwiches.

With some tweaks, this was pretty darn good.  I couldn't imagine mayonnaise combined with the other Italian ingredients, so I used ricotta cheese in place of the mayo.  I made sure the bread was day-old and crusty so it would not get soggy.  Even the next day, the bread was fine.  And I didn't use any water with the spaghetti sauce, just sauce and garlic.  This was a hearty, stick-to-your-ribs type casserole - perfect for cold winter nights.

I read all the reviews and decided to follow everyone's advice. I used frozen meatballs, didn't use any water or mayo, and I toasted the bread first. I then layered the slices of toast, spread with cream cheese, then cubed by hand. My husband and sons absolutely loved it! We had leftovers which my teenage son has been eating as an after-school snack. I'm sure I'll make again.

My casserole-hating husband liked this, but said it was too mushy.  Because of time I did not read the reviews for this before I made it and I wish I had!  You defiantly need to omit the water and I will toast the bread next time.  I don’t think you need 1/2 cup of mayo, 1/4 cup would be plenty.  Also, next time I will increase the Italian Seasonings to 1 Tablespoon.  I mixed the mayo/cream cheese mixture in a plastic baggie and then cut the corner of the baggie so I could pipe on the mixture. I made the meatballs according to my recipe; meat, fresh garlic and equal parts Italian bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese.  All and all, this was yummy and a nice change of pace for my family!

I have made this several times with varying degrees of success. However, I think I've tweaked it to our liking by being skimpy with the sauce and skipping the extra water and garlic. I've used all kinds of bread, French works well, too and heat and serve bread sticks slice into bite sized pieces nicely. The meatballs are good, and I'm not always crazy about meatballs. But the cream cheese mixture is what makes this so yummy! This is an excellent recipe!

This is absolutely delicious!! So different from most casseroles made with pasta or rice.  My family said it was even better than the meatball sandwiches ordered in restaurants.  As for complaints about the bread becoming soggy and the casserole turning out like mush -- read the directions and follow them exactly.  It says to spread the cream cheese mixture over each bread cube.  Be sure to do this and cover the bread cubes completely because it prevents the tomato sauce mixture from soaking into the bread and making it soggy.  I recommend this recipe highly and it has become one of our favorites!

This was a hit with my son and husband.  After redading other reviews I decided to use garlic bread (Texas Toast or Pepperidge Farm) instead of Italian bread.  I toasted it first in the oven and then cubed it.  Tossed it with the mayonaise and creamed Cheese mixture.  Also made my own meatballs by adding egg and some extra spices.  It really turned out delicious!  Thanks, Holly

This was delicious.  I toasted the bread, reduced the mayo to a little over 1/4 cup, and reduced the water to 1/2 cup.  It wasn't soggy at all.

This recipe was good and added some variety to the usual speghetti and meatballs. I used regular onion for the meatballs b/c I don't think green onions cook as well. Instead of cutting the bread in cubes I figured I would keep it more like a sandwhich and cut the bread in thick slices and layered the bottom of the baking dish with the slices. I got the bread good in toasted in the oven beforehand for about ten minutes. Then I placed the meatballs on the bread and poured room temp sauce on the top. I kept in the oven just long enough to melt the cheese. I think this kept the bread from getting soggy (slicing, and toasting). I also topped the whole thing with fresh minced garlic. This was really good!

My friend made this casserole for me after I gave birth to my daughter. It was absolutely delicious! I make two batches at a time...one to eat right away and one to freeze for hectic weekends. Freezes beautifully!

Made this for dinner and my in-laws stopped by.  I was so proud I had a beautiful meal prepared that we could share with them.  It was sooo good.  I sliced the bread and toasted it a little.  I arranged them on the bottom very close to each other.  I smeared the cream cheese stuff completely over the top edge to edge.  They were not soggy at all.  Otherwise I followed the recipe exactly water and all.  We will make this again!

My kids and I thought this was wonderful. I did make a couple of changes though. I omitted the mayo, and didn't add water. But instead I made my own sauce which turned out to be about 3 1/2 cups, so I was only 1/2 short of the liquid. I lightly toasted the bread cubes first as well. I will definatly be making this again! but I think I'll make more of the meatballs,which will require a little more sauce. But that's ok. It tasted just like a meatball sandwich to me! Great recipe Holly. Thanks for sharing it!

I printed this recipe months ago.  I kept it in my file of "have to try recipes" and finally found the time last week to play with some of those recipes.  Boy, am I sorry I didn't try this sooner!  Before all of us had food on our plates one of our daughters was already telling us how good it was and how we needed to make this again!!  I didn't toast the bread like some of the others suggested, but will try that next time just to see the difference.  I used meatballs from the grocer's freezer section, because it was the week before Christmas and that much time I didn't have!  We loved it and fully intend to use it again and again.  Thanks for sharing the recipe!

This was easy to put together. The kids weren't too keen on it. It's a keeper for those times when we want something different.

We liked this. I omitted the onion in the meatballs and added an egg to help hold it together, salt and pepper. I have been making my italian mother in laws meatballs for years, hers are the best! These weren't bad. The secret to a light fluffy meatball is the right amount of breadcrumbs and several eggs and a bit of water,and some cheese and seasoning. Eggs make them fluffy and tender. I will use her recipe for the meatballs. I didn't have any homemade sauce and we don't like sauce in jar. So I used a 29 oz. can Contadina tomato sauce. It's makes 3 cups, heated on stove with 1/2 tsp. basil,1 tsp. chopped garlic and salt and pepper. Not bad. I used a 14 oz. size italian bread minus 2 slices (husband got into it) and it was plenty. Lightly toasted in the oven. Didn't use the water. Covered each piece of bread as stated with cheese mixture and it came out great! With crispy pieces of bread through out. It wasn't soggy at all. Delish! Thanks Holly!

This was so yummy!! I used previous suggestions and used ricotta instead of mayonnaise. I also used a roasted garlic bread instead of italian. I cubed it into crouton size pieces and baked it in the oven until nice and crispy. I used jar spaghetti sauce, but I should have used a little bit more, because it was a little bit dry. All and all, I will definitely make this again!

I had a large group of people to feed (and alot of big guys who love their meat &amp; taters meals) &amp; chose this as it was fairly cheap &amp; easy.  YUM!!!  I did make a few slight revisions after reading some other reviews on here.  First, I used 1/2 beef and 1/2 Italian sausage for my meatballs (that's how we make ours around here) and they turned out very yummy.  Second, I didn't add the water to my sauce.  Also, I lightly toasted the Italian bread once it was cubed &amp; it really helped to spread the cheese mixture.  In place of the mayo I opted for ricotta cheese - it may have been slightly greasy with the mayo and I was afraid it would overpower the rest of the dish.  Both pans were GONE at the end of dinner...sooooo good.  This is for sure some filling comfort food.  Thank you for sharing!!  :)

Delicious recipe.  I did follow some reviewers suggestsions and cut the mayo by half and toasted the bread.  It was still a little soggy so next time I will probably cut out the water.  For those watching their waistlines - I used reduced fat cream cheese, low fat mayo and low fat mozzarella and it was still very good.  Also, I didn't cube the bread, I sliced the bread into 1" thick slices to make it easier.  I will definitely make this again.  Thank you!

I followed everyones advice and omitted the cup of water and toasted the bread.  I liked the taste bread was still soggy I think next time I will use french bread and toast it

The recipe was great!  The cream cheese/mayo middle was a little too much, next time I'll only use half of the mixture.   Overall we enjoyed it!

Really good with my changes: 1) I subbed ricotta for mayo, 2) added dried minced onions and a little more Italian seasoning to the cream cheese/ricotta mixture, 3) toasted and cut the bread in half then spread the cheese mixture on it, 4) omitted the water and added a little Italian seasoning to the sauce, 5) heated some frozen meatballs and sliced them before laying them on top of the bread and cheeses, 6) sprinkled more mozzarella on the meatballs and covered them with the sauce.  Family liked it a lot!

This was very rich and filling. The weather was quite cold for a fall evening last night and this hit the spot. I thought it would be really a complicated recipe, but it was easy enough. I used bread slice, and I see why you should cube your bread first. You had to cut it out of the pan, and it wasnt easy to serve up. The flavor was just wonderful. I like the cream cheese and mayo, it gave it a twist. I also cut the water out and it came out great! Thanks Holly!

The recipe as written is good. I buttered the bread and sprinkled garlic salt on it then toasted it in the oven while it was preheating, made it perfect, not soggy at all. I missed vegetables though so the second time I made it I browned the meat with chopped onions, celery, green and red peppers and used a large jar of a maranara sauce. Turned out great

This recipe was pretty good.  Unfortunatley I was a little sick when I made this recipe, so I couldn't really enjoy the taste of it.  I did follow others responses by not adding water, by cutting the maynaise, and toasting the bread first.  However, the only thing I would still change the next time I make this is not cubing the bread.

I just made this recipe again and it turned out much better.  I omitted the water and reduced the mayo.  I sliced the loaf of french bread length wise and did not cube the bread.  This made it much easier to spread the cream cheese mixture over evenly.  My boyfriend had 3 helpings!  I do want to spice up the meatball's next time .. thanks!

This casserole has a wonderful rich flavor.  I had homemade meatballs in the freezer to use up, so I did not make the ones that went with this recipe.  I made all the rest of it as written.  The cream cheese layer is very rich.  The next time I make it I need to figure out how to tone it down just a bit.  I paired this with a simple lettuce salad and some fresh fruit.  Made for a very nice meal.  Thanks Marbalet for posting this recipe.

Bread came out very soggy, and the taste of mayonaise and cream cheese was overwhelming. The only reason I gave it 2 stars was because the meatballs were decent.

This was delicious. I read a ton of reviews and changed the following 3 things: I omitted the water completely, swapped the mayo out for ricotta cheese and toasted the bread in the baking dish before topping it with the cheese/sauce. The bread was still soft but not overly mushy. Everyone cleaned their plates and wanted more (good thing this makes plenty!) Will make this again, definitely (I want to try Garlic Texas Toast next time) :)

I enjoyed this rustic dish.  Next time though, I would make my own meatballs, as these are not memorable. (And although I love green onions, they didn't seem to stick well, it was odd.)  I also used my own homemade spaghetti sauce (it has plenty of garlic), and therefore left out the last addition of garlic.  I also left out the water (per reviews) - and the bread was not soggy whatsoever.  The substitution of the mayo with ricotta cheese is really a good idea, and goes very well with the whole idea of the dish. I quickly/lightly heated the cheese mixture in the microwave to make it easy to drop onto the bread in teaspoons.  I did not concern myself with the cheese being perfectly spread out, just did even clumps throughout.  This was great.

My wife liked it but the rest of us thought the bread was soggy and nothing special.  Probably will not try it again.

Great idea!  I used some of the modifications others mentioned. Namely --- using light cream cheese and not a lot of mayo...just enough to zing it up (and used nonfat).  I used a different meatball recipe as well b/c really this recipe is only as good as the meatballs!  I used crusty french bread, sliced up 1" thick, toasted it lightly, spread with the cream cheese/mayo mix, then just cut each piece of bread in half. I just used marinara, no water. 

Other changes are that I used roasted garlic (from a jar) in the meatballs, garlic/parsley powder in with the cream cheese mix, and no additions to the sauce.

YUM!  

AJ

Fantastic recipe!  I did not add water to the sauce and used meatballs I had made then frozen (saved time when making this recipe).  
I added the garlic to the cream cheese/mayonnaise mixture, then heated it in the microwave and spooned it over the bread cubes, then spread it evenly with a spatula.  Topped this with most of the cheese, then the meatballs.  Over this, I poured a jar of spaghetti sauce and the remaining cheese.  
When I baked this, the bread came out crisp on the bottom and didn't get doughy since I didn't add the extra moisture.  EXCELLENT!

If I could, I would give this 3.5 stars. Per others, I reduced the mayo, increased the italian seasonings, and ommitted the water/garlic in the sauce. I also toasted the bread prior to baking BUT instead of cubing it, I layered the sliced/toasted bread on the bottom of the baking dish. I think the cream cheese mix is just a tad too much for us, but without SOMETHING there, I think it would be too dry/bland. Another thing - It says preheat to 400 but we bake at 350? 50 degrees seems like a large difference so I baked at 400 for 30-35 min. The meatballs were done and the bread was not soggy. It looked awesome and I don't think its the recipe's fault in ANY way that we were only "okay" on the result-I really just think it is our personal preferences. Afterall-even the best recipes can't please anyone. Thanks for the unique recipe Holly.

Very good and out of the ordinary recipe.  It's very different than anything else you'd ever make for dinner.  I used french bread, cut it into cubes, then toasted it under the broiler (stirring it every minute or so).  After that I tossed the toasted bread cubes with the cream cheese mixture and it worked great.  It wasn't soggy at all.  I also only used 1/4 cup mayo.

My family loved this one!!! It was really great, and the first time I ever made meatballs in my life. The one little mistake I made was having half the amount of bread and putting on the same amount of Mayonnaise as the recipe... The Mayo made it a little heavy, so next time - I'll definetely do it again - I'll still use 8 lb of bread, only half the Mayo. Thanks for the great recipe!!

Love it, love it, love it!  The cheese mixtures was great. I ate all the leftovers myself.  Do not add the water.  I also used frozen meatballs and it was soooo easy to prepare.  I don't make many things twice, but this I will.  Great for a party!!

My family loved this recipe, it was a change to our usual dinners. I did make a few changes. I toasted the bread first then spread the cream cheese and mayo mix. Then I cut it up in cubes and put it in the dish. Then I put the mozzarella on and baked for 5 minutes before adding meatballs and sauce. Bread was still crunchy and tasty!

I was very surprised how good this was. I loved it. My family thought it had too much of the mayo/cream cheese mixture. I will put a thinner layer on next time. I didn't cube the bread, but cut hard italian bread in quarters.

This was a HUGE hit! My husband and I loved it and we invited my parents over for dinner and they also loved it. I did use the mayo and I thought that it gave it a great flavor! I always try the recipe the way it says first and then change it if I dont like it. But this is fantastic!!!!!!!! Thanks for sharing

This was not only good the first time, but as a leftover!  Some of the bread was soggy, but the rest wasn't.  The only thing I'd change is to make the meatballs real small so it was easier to have some meatball with each bite!

Was just ok and not really anything special.  Probably won't make again.

My family loved this recipe.  Even my husband and his best friend who are extremely picky.  I will definately make this again.

This was fantastic.  I didn't have enough sauce so I used let water.  Just right - the bread was a great adder.  We thought it tasted like Lasgna/Pizza.  Very good.  Thanks  and super easy to make.

This was mediocre at best. Not only did I not care for the meatballs (too BLAND!) or cream cheese layer (overpowering), I wasn't impressed with the melding of flavors or how the finished product presented. Without a question, BIGGUY728's meatball sandwich is FAR superior. It is and always will be my favorite way to eat MB subs. The concept of this is unique, so I'll give kudos to MARBALET for creativity's sake (hence my four star rating). Having said this, I'm not sure how "original" her idea is.... This recipe has appeared in several TOH publications over the years (I have a lot of old TOH magazines lying around). The only difference is that the TOH recipe instructs to slice (rather than cube) your bread. Who knows which recipe is original!!!  As with any new dish I try, I couldn't resist the urge to make a couple of changes. My biggest change was to do as Adrian did and hollow out a round loaf of Italian bread. This  worked but wasn't "ideal" (yet another great idea in "theory" that's actually only "so-so"). I also added garlic to my MB's rather than my sauce. It's a real shame I won't be making this again. I REALLY wanted to like this, but my hubs and I agree it's not for us. Thanks anyways, MARBALET! :-)

This recipe is very good and easy - it should not be expensive to make - I had most of the items in my pantry.  I did reduce the water and instead of adding it to the tomato sauce I mixed it in with the cream cheese mixture to make it easier to spread over the bread.

my husband loved this, his brother also. I would make this again, probably serve it at a potluck also

Everyone liked this!  There was a little too much sauce, and I must admit I did NOT spread the cheese mixture on each individual square of bread--if you pack the cubes in closely, then you can spread it as a layer--much easier.
KCinChina

This is so delicious! My husband loved it.
It is VERY rich! I would cut back on the Italian seasonings
a bit, but the next day, it's even better!

This was a good recipe, but I do think I'll make a couple changes next time.  First, I'd use at least 1 1/2 pounds of ground beef.  There just weren't quite enough meatballs in this recipe for my family's taste, and the meatballs were the best part!!  Secondly, I did not care for the mayonnaise/cream cheese mixture.  Next time I think I'll try ricotta cheese for a more lasagne-like taste.  Also, I made the bread in my bread machine, and I think this was an extra nice touch.

 I actually had someone else give me this recipe and my family and I didn't like it at all. The bread was soggy and too mayonaise tasting. I won't even bother trying this recipe on my own.

I thought this was a great recipe.  I used frozen meatballs.  The bread was soggy, but not in a bad way.  It had a more creamy and cheesy consistency.  I might try frozen Texas toast garlic bread next time for a change.

My family just loved this recipe and asked when I was going to make it again.

My husband the picky eater loved this and so did my 2 year old. I didn't have any green onions so I used onion powder and garlic salt. I also used garlic bread instead of italian bread since I saw another reviewer had done this. The only complaint I have about this recipe is that I don't really like the taste of the cream cheese, mayo mixture. I think next time I make this I will use ricotta cheese instead of it.

Whoa.  I actually made the recipe without any changes because I thought, "this is so strange it just might work".  Well, we tasted it and just looked at each other, perplexed.  The tastes were okay, I guess, but the texture was off.  I think it was the cream cheese even more than the mayo that put us off.  I gave the recipe two stars because I really like the meatballs!  I've never used parmesan in them before, nor cooked them in the oven.  I'll definitely be doing both again.  As for the overall recipe, we were disappointed because it sounded fun.  I think I might try the idea again, but make the filling more italian (like stuffed shells or lasagna) and omit both the cream cheese and the mayo.

I read all the previous reviews and omitted the water as well.  In addition, I added black olives and green peppers in the sauce - the same toppings I put on meatball sandwiches.  I loved it!  I did find a trick to keeping the bread from becoming soggy though... instead of cutting the bread into cubes, I used pre-sliced french bread and left it as-is.  I spread the cream cheese on each slice as I arranged them in the pan, then used leftover bread and cheese to fill in the gaps.  I loved the leftovers too... if you're a cold spaghetti or pizza eater, you'll enjoy this right out of the fridge!

Excellent!! Will make again for company since it made alot!! I used sour cream instead of mayo and not quite so much cream cheese, and I used regular onion as someone had said that green onion did not mix well. Soo good!! I can hardly wait for " must go" night!!!

My husband and I loved this dish! I don't however, like this served as a casserole. Next time I will cook the meatballs and sauce all day in a crockpot, and serve over toasted french bread with the cream mixture. The bread, even toasted, got soggy in the casserole mixture.

This was ok. I used rolls instead of bread, but they still kind of disappeared once the sauce and meatballs got all mixed in. I used store-bought meatballs solely because I didn't have time to make the meatballs. The mayo-based sauce was definately interesting, and not as strong tasting as I had expeced it to be. Interesting switch from the usual sandwiches, but I'm not sure if I'll try it again.

Having read the reviews, I toasted the bread, cut the mayo down and didn't add any water. We all loved this, but next time I would only use half the bread (I ended up with a double layer!).

I followed the recipe as stated, subbing frozen meatballs, light mayo, and omitting the garlic.  Next time I would add the garlic to the mayo/cream cheese mixture and would let the bread dry out overnight or lightly toast it first.  Hubby really liked it!

I have made this before and we loved it; however, instead of doing bread cubes, I cut the loaf of french/italian bread into slices about 1/2 in.; then spread the cream cheese filling (much easier) and it was excellent, not soggy at all.

This is a tasty as well as fun recipe to make. I've made it two times. I toasted Italian bread slices lightly.  Then mixed ricotta cheese  together with a heaping teaspoon full of Good Seasons Italian salad dressing mix (dry packaged mix) instead of using the mayonnaise and cream cheese (saves, time, money &amp; calories).  Spread a medium to thin layer of ricotta cheese on toasted bread slices and top with shredded mozzarella.  I used pre-made small Italian meatballs (not as good as my homemade...but a timesaver) and added our favorite spaghetti sauce topped with remaining shredded mozzarella.  I did not add water to the spaghetti sauce as there are enough moist ingredients in this recipe. Prep time:15 minutes  Cook time: 30 minutes.  Your guests will love it, your kids will love you...and best of all you didn't spend the day in the kitchen!

Excellent.  Just some small changes based on other reviewers.  I added oregano, italian seasoning and garlic to the meatballs.  I swapped ricotta cheese for the mayo and did not use the water for the sauce.  I did toast the bread before hand and just spread the cheese mixture on each slice.  Turned out super gooey and yummy!  Thanks so much for sharing!

Dee-lish!!!  Love this recipe, love it even more when I use a big bag of pre-made meatballs.  Easy and everyone loves it!  Thank you!!!!!

I used another recipe for the meatballs and I did substitute ricotta for mayo.  I used garlic bread (texas toast) and it was still soggy.  I think it would be much better to cut down on the cream cheese/ ricotta mixture.   I would also either put the bread on top or make the casserole without the bread and serve it over garlic bread instead.  It was a nice idea, but really needs some tweaking to be great.

Kids and I didn't care for this recipe at all. Too few meatballs and I didn't like the mayo taste.  With that said however, my husband had three helpings.

Although the final product tasted delicious, I found that cubing &amp; toasting the Italian bread was a royal pain.  The meal was very heavy and filling.  It seemed to be lacking something - like a vegtable or pasta.  This isn't a very well-rounded, healthy meal.  It gave my husband heartburn!  Next time, I'll serve with a salad.

We really liked this! I needed to use up a loaf of Italian bread and was looking for something different. I followed the recipe closely and the only alterations made were per other reviewers....I used 1 1/2 lbs ground beef, 1/4 c mayo, and no water. I also toasted the bread under the broiler, spread cream cheese 'blend' over toasted bread, then cut into cubes. It came out perfectly with the modifications. I would have rated this a 5, but when I mentioned this dish a few days later no one could remember eating it. I had to remind them what it was.

The was a great base recipe. I made a lot of changes though. I placed purchased, frozen meatballs, 1 large can of Hunt's Italian Sausage spaghetti sauce and 1 can of tomato sauce (seasoned for use on pizzas) in my slow cooker and cooked it on high for 3 hours. I sliced 3 sub rolls lengthwise and lightly coated them with a mixture of cream cheese, mayo, black pepper, 1 tsp. of italian dressing dry mix, and grated parmesan cheese. I broiled the bread until it was golden brown and crisp. I then topped it with the meatballs /sauce and an Italian cheese blend.I then placed it back in the broiler until the cheese began to brown. The bread was perfect, not too soft or crunchy! Delicious recipe...the whole family loved it...even my ultra picky son! Thanks for the idea. Will make again.

I'd toast the bread next time, it came out a tad soggy.  Melted the cheese mixture in the microwave, made things alot easier.  Added extra cheese on top, not a great idea (difficult to cut, recipe rich enough already without extra cheese).  Used more meat than called for (large potluck crowd).  Make your meatballs a day ahead to speed up prep time.  Kicked it up Emeril-style with extra garlic and some hot sause.  Oh Yeah! Babe! GREAT RECIPE!!!

just not what i was looking for. flavors did not mesh well

If I could give this 0 stars, I would. I took two bites and gave the rest to my husband. The bread was soggy and tasted terrible.  The meatballs were too onion-y.  My husband, who eats anything, said, "I don't like it, but I'll eat it."

The mayo and cream cheese gave this a not-so-Italian taste.  I was the only member of my family that ate it, as my husband and children are picky.  If I make it again, I will cut the recipe in half (it made enough for an army) and go easy on the mayo and cream cheese.

This is a big hit with my family.  I followed the recipe directly, but could've used premade meatballs and been the same turnout.

i really like it, but a tiny bit fussy to make

I used store bought meatballs but it was still fantastic! I also used seasoned bread. I like this way better than lasagna and it's easier. I'm a big fan of breakfast casseroles made with bread. If you don't like soggy bread, this not the recipe for you.

I've been using this recipe for years to make meatball sandwiches. I spread the cream cheese mixture on italian bread and top with meatballs and another slice of bread. It's a favorite when we have guests for dinner!

This was awesome!!!!! I thought from all the mixed reviews that it might not be good, but I was so glad I decided to make it!! Here's what I did on this recipe, I used a small loaf of day old french bread, I cut it into thin slices(about 1/4 in thick) put them in the bottom of the pan and then toasted them until they were nice and crispy, I then spread the cream cheese/mayo mixture right on (quite easily I might add) then the Mozz cheese(I also added some fresh shredded Parm cheese), then appx. 3 cups of sauce and meatballs then more on the Mozz/Parm mixture. IT WAS HEAVENLY!!! Thanks for this great recipe this will be in the reg menu!!

My Husband,daughter and I all loved this recipe.  Really good!!!

I read the reviews that complained about the soggy bread, so I thought I'd try to prevent that by using the garlic bagel chips I had picked up at the supermarket that morning in place of the french bread. Unfortunately even the bagel chips (which were hard as rocks to begin with) got soggy.  The sauce and cheese filling was good though.  I used precooked meatballs that I already knew were tasty, and we ended up just scooping out the filling and putting it on grinder rolls.  I also cut back on the mayo and replaced it with sour cream, and I added cottage cheese too since I didnt' have 2 cups of mozzarella.  It was yummy.  I also forgot all about the water I was supposed to add to the sauce.  That may have been a good thing though since it was already soggy.   I might make the filling portion again, mashing the meatballs up a little to make them easier to pile on a grinder.  Thanks!

This was very good!  My 5 year old daughter LOVED it.  I left out the 1 cup water, next time I might add about a third of a cup.  I used hogie rolls due to comments on needing harder bread.  Meatballs were great.  I use Prego spaghetti sauce.

My husband and I loved this dish.  It was so easy to make and vey tasty.  We used reduced fat cream cheese and it turned out great.

Great recipe, my family really enjoys it. I do use a slightly stale loaf of Italian bread to cut down on the soggyness, and roll many smaller sized meatballs to make sure the entire casserole is covered. My favorite sauce to use in it is Bertolli Vodka Sauce.

The meatballs were fantastic.  I added egg because I was having trouble getting them to stick together.  The meatballs and sauce were delicious, but my husband and I didn't like the cheese mixture &amp; the bread.  I didn't expect it to be so rich.  I know the casserole is the whole idea of this recipe, but I liked the meatballs so much, I think next time I'll ditch the bread/cheese/mayo mixture and just serve the meatballs &amp; sauce like regular spaghetti with garlic bread.

This recipe was okay.  The mayonnaise made it too "bitter", maybe if we had eliminated that entirely it would have been better.  The meatballs themselves were very good...we'd incorporate them into a separate recipe but would not make this one again.

I hate to say it, but this was disgusting!  I had to throw the whole thing out.  I definitely do not recommend. It could be good, but with a lot of modifications.  In 1 word GROSS

I loved this recipe so much I called all my neigbors telling them about it.  I even plan on making this at our next Bunko party!  My husband thought the mayo was a little overwhelming though.  So, the second time I made it - I eliminated the mayo on half of the casserole and we were both happy!!!  I've now made this several times and now eliminate the mayo all together and add ricotta cheese instead!!!  Much better!!!

Tasted good but not worth the effort. Just make regular subs.

This turned out much better than I thought I would.  I thought that the bread would be soggy, and it wasn't at all.  The only thing I would do is put in less mayo as the flavor of it seems to take over.  I had to put in a lot more seasoning to balance out the taste.  I spread the cream cheese mixture over the bread first before cutting.  Didn't make sense to spend time tediously applying it to each little cube.  Also, next time I would make the meatballs a bit smaller so there would be more of them.  All-in-all the dish was quite cook and the family really liked it.

I didn't think my husband would like this but he wanted to eat the whole pan in one sitting! I followed advice from other reviewers and I used less cream cheese and mayo and I just had a thin layer of it. I made my meatballs from scratch and baked them in the oven first. This is a definite keeper for a special treat, low fat it is not!

I made it with the Ricotta cheese like other people and left out the water, but we used sourdough bread and it worked very well!! I am going to make this again very soon.

Was very flavorful.  Would prefer the meatballs to be smaller so there would be more of them

I love this recipe.  I'm so glad I found it because I wanted to make meatball hogies for dinner tonight, but was thinking about how messy that would be with my 8-year-old son, and then this recipe was in my e-mail box.  I made it exactly as written and everyone loved it.  Those of you who have been substituting ricotta really should try it as is--the spread is good enough to just eat plain on bread.  Actually I did make one change; I cut the bread into slices instead of cubes--much easier that way.  Thanks for the recipe!

We thought the meatballs were rather bland...and 1 lb of the Italian bread loaf was just too much. I used half of the loaf..cubed...and should have taken the advice of someone else and put the mayo mixture on it before I cubed it because it was very hard to spread it on the cubed bread. Might try it again sometime with a few changes.

A deffinate keeper! Everyone loved it, will be making it again.  Thanks for sharing!

italian meatball sandwich casserole

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total: 1 hours

Servings: 6

Author : MARBALET

Ingredients

Instructions

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