Oh boy. Oh boy! I get so excited looking back at these Italian loose meat hoagies. My goodness me were they ever devour-worthy. Everything about them hit the spot. I’d buy one of these hoagies in a restaurant and I’d pay good money for it without hesitation. Of course, I can make it at home without much fuss too.
The flavors in the meat mixture are the real winner in these Italian loose meat hoagies. It’s really like eating a pizza or calzone, but all on a nicely toasted hoagie roll instead. I used a nothing-fancy pizza sauce. It doesn’t have to be fancy. It just has to taste good.
I like to use my good ole trusty Dutch oven to make this soup and pretty much darned near anything like it on my stovetop. It’s nice and big and sturdy. That extra weight helps it maintain and distribute heat perfectly. As an added bonus, it’s actually pretty easy to clean up too!
Italian Loose Meat Hoagies
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large sweet onion diced
- kosher salt
- fresh ground black pepper
- 1 medium green bell pepper diced
- 1 medium red bell pepper diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound Italian sausage
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 16 ounces pizza sauce
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 4 cups Mozzarella cheese shredded
- 10 Hoagie rolls
Instructions
- Drizzle the oil into a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
- Add the onion. Season with salt and pepper and sauté until the onion just starts to soften and brown.
- Add the bell peppers and sauté for 3 minutes.
- Add the garlic, ground beef, and sausage. Season with salt and pepper. Stirring often, cook until the meat is no longer pink and has started to brown.
- Drain any excess fat from the pan.
- Add the Worcestershire and pizza sauces along with the Italian seasoning and oregano. Stir and cook another 8 minutes on medium heat.
- Reduce heat to low while preparing the rolls.
- Lightly toast the buns. I like to do this in a 350 F oven but you can also do it under the broiler.
- Transfer the buns to a a baking sheet or two and open at the hinges.
- Top bun halves with meat mixture and a good handful of cheese.
- Return to the oven to melt the cheese. You can put them under the broiler for a minute or two if you want to brown the cheese a bit.
- Serve immediately.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are approximate.
