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Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs are a fun twist on the classic recipe – serve these meatballs as a party appetizer or over a big plate of spaghetti for a hearty meal!
It’s Sara from Dinner at the Zoo and today I’m bringing you these amazingly delicious mozzarella stuffed meatballs. Spaghetti and meatballs is one of the few meals that all three of my kids will eat, so it’s on a regular rotation at my house. While you certainly can’t go wrong with the classic version of spaghetti and meatballs, you can definitely upgrade the original, which I’ve done here by stuffing each meatball with mozzarella cheese. It’s an unexpected surprise to bite into a meatball and find the cheesy filling!
I make these meatballs with lean ground beef. I typically use the 90% lean ground beef, although ground turkey would also work well. The meat is combined with breadcrumbs, egg and seasonings and then wrapped around cubes of mozzarella cheese. I prefer to make these meatballs on the larger size, about 2 inches in diameter. If you’d like to go smaller on the meatballs, simply cut your cheese into smaller cubes and take a few minutes off the cook time. I like to broil my meatballs; it uses way less oil than cooking meatballs in a pan and you can cook large batches at a time. I often make a double batch of these meatballs and freeze half the cooked meatballs for a later date. I typically use a high quality jarred marinara sauce on top of my meatballs, but you could definitely make your own sauce if you prefer.
Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 and ½ pounds ground beef 85-90% lean
- 1/3 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons water
- 6 ounces mozzarella cheese cut into ½ inch cubes
- 3 cups marinara sauce homemade or store bought, warmed
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- cooking spray
Instructions
- Preheat the broiler. Line a sheet pan with foil and coat the foil with cooking spray.
- Place the beef, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, garlic powder, oregano, egg and water in a bowl; mix until thoroughly combined. You may need to add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, to get a smooth mixture.
- Take approximately 2 tablespoons of the meat mixture and roll it into a ball. Press a cube of cheese into the ball of meat, making sure that the meat completely surrounds the cheese. Place the meatball on the sheet pan and repeat with remaining meat and cheese.
- Spray the tops of the meatballs with cooking spray. Broil for 10 minutes or until meatballs are just done - do not overcook or the cheese filling may start to spill out.
- Place the meatballs on a plate and pour the marinara sauce over the top, Sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately.
Notes
•Finedine Mixing Bowls
•The Recipe Critic Apron
Nutrition
Serves: 6
All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods and portion sizes per household.
You can serve these meatballs as an appetizer, with spaghetti, or as a pizza topping, and they also make an amazing meatball sub sandwich. No matter how you serve them, these meatballs are sure to be a hit!
My broiler doesn’t work, can I just bake in oven and if so, temp and length of time you would suggest?
I haven’t tried this before but you could try baking them at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes! Let me know how they turn out!
I used grated Parmesan instead of bread crumbs to make it Keto. They were DELICIOUS and oh so easy. I didn’t realize making meatballs could be so simple. I used my large cookie scoop to portion them out. Thanks!!
Can you make these with fresh mozzarella? Thank you!
Yes, that will be delicious!
This recipe is amazing!! My whole family loves it, and that is saying something.
These are the “BEST”! I made a triple batch and divided into separate bags of 10 and froze.
Great to grab for a spaghetti dinner or a snack…just heat up in the sauce and eat! We all love them! Wish I would have known about this recipe years ago…definitely a keeper!
Just made these today awesome can’t wait to make them for football season.
This recipe could be made Keto if process the pork rinds in your food processor. Swap with same amount of breadcrumbs.
I will make for my daughter who is in a Keto diet. It looks and sounds delicious!
This is a genius twist! Definitely have to try this on my mom’s classic meatball recipe 🙂
These are so delicious! I made a few adjustments to the directions though. After I had the meatballs all rolled out I put them in a skillet to pan fry the outsides (on all sides) to help lock in the moisture before I put them in the oven at 400 for about 7-9 minutes. Then I put the sauce in the same skillet I used to pan fry the meatballs in and simmered on low heat while the meatballs were in the oven. Once the meatballs were done I put them in the sauce and continued to simmer for about 3-5 minutes. Served on white sandwich/sub rolls topped with some shredded mozzarella and provolone cheese.
Yummy! Will definitely make again!!
Made these tonight for dinner- such a hit!! Thank you!
I freeze my cheese cubes before making so that the cheese do not leak out! Works great
That is a great idea! Thank you for sharing!
Great tip! Thanks for sharing ? going to try these soon.
Just attempted to make these and I’m just lost.. idk how they are suppose to cook in 10 min. My temp was still at 130 in 10 minutes broiling in the oven and the cheese burst. So now I’m baking them in the oven at 400 but I’m disappointed because the cheese is all spilt out.. obviously next time will use smaller cheese cubes but can you direct me as to how in the world the cook in 10 minutes broiling and if they are not done yet what I should do? Hoping they taste better than they look..
I am not sure what or why your broiler is set at 130 degrees. It should be increased and the 10 minutes help bake the inside quickly and the outside a little crispiness. The cheese will spill out of a few if there is a little too much in each meatball. It could determine how big your meatball is too. I used a 1 inch scoop.
These weren’t as juicy as I thought they would be. Next time I plan on using minced onion and garlic, instead of powdered, and some fresh bread, instead of the bread crumbs to give them a little more fluff. They were still very good though and my kids ate them up!
Gonna try this tonight…so excited!
This recipe is amazing!
Used mozzarella string cheese that I sliced – recipe was delicious! My mother went back for seconds. Looking forward to leftovers tomorrow.
Made these tonight for my family of 6. EVERYONE loved them!!
How many mtballs does this make?
This makes about 12 to 14 meatballs. Hope you can enjoy them soon! XOXO
Can these mozzarella stuffed meatballs be baked instead of broiled? Don’t have a broiler! Details please if baked! Thank you!
Yes, that sounds great! You will want to bake them longer and check them occasionally until they are cooked thoroughly. Enjoy! Let me know how they turn out for you! XOXO
I’m getting ready to do the meatballs with mozzarella in the middle.
Step #1 is to preheat broiler. I’m using my oven, so what temp. do you recommend?