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Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs take classic meatballs to the next level! Tender and juicy with melty cheese on the inside. Serve these meatballs as a party appetizer or over spaghetti noodles for a hearty meal!
Reasons to Make These Meatballs
- Quick and Easy Dinner: Mozzarella stuffed meatballs are a quick and easy weeknight dinner! They only take 15 minutes to prep and 30 minutes to bake.
- Fun Twist on Meatballs: Melty cheese on the inside of a meatball? Yes, please! Your family will love this recipe and they’ll want it on repeat!
- Tender and Juicy: The oven bakes your meatballs to tender and juicy perfection! The oven is my favorite way to cook meatballs!
Ingredients to Make Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs
The meatball base uses staple ingredients, just make sure to have your cheese on hand because it’s the BEST part of this recipe! Follow the recipe card below for exact measurements.
- Ground Beef: I prefer lean ground beef for this recipe!
- Italian Breadcrumbs: Give the texture and structure of the meatballs.
- Parmesan Cheese: Adds a delicious cheesy flavor to the meatball mixture!
- Egg: The egg helps add structure and bind the meatball mixture together.
- Onion: Finely minced onion for added flavor.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic always.
- Oregano and Basil: Add delicious flavor using Italian seasonings.
- Salt and Pepper: Helps balance and enhance the flavors.
- Mozzarella Cheese: Cubed fresh mozzarella gives the best melty results but I list other options below!
- Homemade Marinara: Use jarred marinara or try my homemade recipe because it is fantastic!
- Spaghetti Noodles: For serving, but use any kind of noodles you like!
How to Make Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs
Homemade meatballs are so easy and fun to make! Who wouldn’t love melty cheese oozing out of their meatballs? The best part is that you pop them in the oven and then warm them in your favorite sauce. Easy peasy and the whole family will want these meatballs on the weekly dinner rotation!
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, add the ground beef, bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, onion, garlic, egg, oregano, basil, salt, and pepper.
- Mix until everything is just combined.
- Take about 1 ½ tablespoons of meatball mixture in your hand and start forming it into a ball. Take one piece of the diced mozzarella, pop it into the center of the meatball, and continue to form a ball around the cheese. The meatballs should be 1 inch in diameter.
- Place the finished meatballs onto the prepared baking sheet pan. Once the meatballs are all formed, place them in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, flipping halfway through.
- While the meatballs are baking, cook the noodles according to the package directions. Remove the cooked meatballs from the oven.
- In a large saucepan or pot, add the meatballs and marinara sauce. Cook over medium-high heat until the sauce is heated evenly and the meatballs are all coated in sauce. Remove the meatballs and sauce from the heat and serve with the cooked pasta.
Tips and Variations
Follow my tips for these tasty mozzarella stuffed meatballs! I also have some fun variations below you’ll love!
- Stuffing Tips: The meatballs should be about 1 to 1 ½ inches in diameter. No mozzarella should be peaking through the meat once the meatball is finished forming because the cheese will ooze out.
- Cheese: Fresh mozzarella cheese is best and it melts perfectly, but you can switch up the cheese if you prefer. Pepper jack cheese smoked gouda, or even cheddar cheese would work well!
- Switch up the Sauce: You don’t have to use a marinara sauce to serve these meatballs. Alfredo, pesto, or a carbonara-style sauce would be delicious as well!
- Make a Meatball Sub: These meatballs are perfect make a great meatball sub! My kids love it when we have leftovers for this very reason because it’s so yummy!
Storing and Reheating
These mozzarella stuffed meatballs stay juicy and moist and are perfect for lunch or dinner throughout the week. Follow my instructions below for storing and also reheating leftovers.
- In the Refrigerator: Store in an airtight container then place in the refrigerator. Your meatballs will last for up to 4 days.
- In the Freezer: Store in a freezer bag or airtight container for 1-2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
- To Reheat: Reheat these meatballs in a skillet over medium heat until warmed through. Add more marinara if needed. You can also reheat these meatballs in the microwave until warmed through.
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Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs
Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs take classic meatballs to the next level! Tender and juicy with melty cheese on the inside. Serve these meatballs as a party appetizer or over spaghetti noodles for a hearty meal!
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- ¼ cup Italian bread crumbs
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese pre-grated from the jar
- ¼ cup yellow onion minced, about ¼ small onion
- 2 teaspoons garlic minced, about 2 cloves
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 8 ounces mozzarella cheese diced into ½ inch pieces
- Marinara sauce
- Spaghetti noodles for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, add the ground beef, bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, onion, garlic, egg, oregano, basil, salt, and pepper. Mix until everything is just combined.
- Take about 1 ½ tablespoons of meatball mixture in your hand and start forming it into a ball. Take one piece of the diced mozzarella, pop it into the center of the meatball, and continue to form a ball around the cheese. The meatballs should be 1 inch in diameter.
- Place the finished meatballs onto the prepared baking sheet. Once the meatballs are all formed, place them in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, flipping halfway through.
- While the meatballs are baking, cook the noodles according to the package directions. Remove the cooked meatballs from the oven.
- In a large saucepan or pot, add the meatballs and marinara sauce. Cook over medium-high heat until the sauce is heated evenly and the meatballs are all coated in sauce.
- Remove the meatballs and sauce from the heat and serve with the cooked pasta.
Notes
Originally Posted December 12, 2016
Updated on September 24, 2024
Nutrition
Calories: 270kcalCarbohydrates: 6gProtein: 28gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 108mgSodium: 825mgPotassium: 344mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 349IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 261mgIron: 3mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This has become a go-to recipe for me. I substitute the bread crumbs for almond flour because I am doing keto and they turn out delicious. I made a batch and they last me the whole week for my lunches at work. Thank you.
Missy,
How much Almond Flour did you use? I’m also doing Keto.
These were great! I cut the breadcrumbs in half so it would be lower in carbs, and it still turned out great. Served this with Victoria’s marinara sauce(lower in carbs then most of the sauces ) over spaghetti squash and it was great and easy to throw together.
MMM!! That sounds great! I am going to have it to try your way! Thanks so much sharing! XOXO
If frozen how would you reheat them? Thaw first or reheat from frozen?
Sticking them in the oven or microwave frozen should be great! Hope that helps! XOXO
What is the nutritional value your these? Trying to eat healthy and used ground turkey meat instead.
I like to use skinny taste.com or myfitnesspal.com for any nutritional information. Hope that helps you find the answers you are looking for.
Everything on this site looks amazing! Thank you for sharing. We are starting out with the meatballs and are working through the recipes on your site. Kids are excited for the meatballs…. me too.
Hi! I want to make these for xmas eve and want to make ahead of time. Would you recommend fridge or freezer? And how would you reheat them without the cheese melting out? Was hoping to heat them in the crockpot…Let me know! Thanks!
These meatballs were amazing! I used milk instead of water and cooked at 400 for 15 minutes before cooking in the sauce a few minutes. I served these as sandwiches on french bread. Absolutely delicious, will make again.
What a great idea! Thanks for sharing! I am so glad you were able to make them your own! Sounds delicious! XOXO
These meatballs are so special! Mozzarella inside meatballs is like a good heart in a good person – it makes her even better! 🙂 Really impressed with how this dish looks so please count me in to make this sometime in the near future!
Can these be prepped the night before, or will the cheese not be any good being in the center of raw meat for that long?
No issues with contamination (cook thoroughly as you would normally). May possibly help “set” the meatball and prevent cheese seeping out.
I seem to have trouble keeping the cheese inside the meatball. I enclosed the cheese in the meatball and rolled it around to make a ball but the cheese seeps out when it cooks.
I also had trouble with tthe cheese leaking out and I think it was because some of the mozzarella chunks were too big. Will try again with smaller pieces of cheese.
These were amazing! Made my own breadcrumbs with saltine crackers, since I didn’t have any on hand.
Oh wow!! That is a great idea! Thanks for sharing! XOXO
Absolutely beautiful. So easy to make and so tasty mmmmmmm 🙂 thank you
So delicious!!!! Very tender and moist. Made a double recipe and everyone, even the pickiest eater of our family of 7, loved them! Had a few leftover and made DH a meatball sub for lunch the next day. Will definitely keep this recipe, Thank you!
Mozzi sticks work perfectly for this. Just lob off a piece. Looks good. Pinned.
I put the broiler on low and put them on the bottom rack of the oven. Rolled them on the other side 10 mins in. Then put them in the crockpot with my fav sauce for 6 hours on low. Turned out amazing.
Hi! 6 hours and no cheese leaking? Soaking in the sauce that long sounds amazing, I just don’t want to lose the cheese.
Whice temperature, high or low, should I put the broiler on?
oh yummy! These look amazing!