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Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs are simple to make and the perfect pairing to any pasta dinner. Serve them in a delicious homemade marinara or your favorite jarred sauce.
If you are looking for a way to change up spaghetti night, this is it! Pair these cheesy stuffed meatballs with a garden salad and some garlic bread for a complete meal.
Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs
Pasta is one of my go-to meals for a quick weeknight dinner. My entire family loves it; it’s easy to make and budget-friendly.
This week I have been preparing for a family vacation, which means I didn’t do any big grocery shopping like I usually do, and we are using up everything I have in the fridge and pantry before we leave.
I always have some dry pasta and spaghetti sauce in the pantry, so pasta it was. To make it even better, I topped off the pasta with meatballs. Not just any meatballs, though, Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs.
How To Make Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs
- Preheat your oven. Preheating is an important step to ensure even cooking.
- Grab your favorite rimmed baking sheet and either spray it with nonstick cooking spray or line it with foil. Set it aside until the meatballs are ready to cook.
- Dump all of the ingredients into a large mixing bowl and mix well with clean hands. You can also use a wood spoon if you like, just be careful not to overmix.
- Form evenly sized meatballs with your hands or using a large cookie scoop.
- Press your thumb firmly into the center of each ball and place a ½ inch cube of Mozzarella cheese inside. Roll between your hands until the meat is evenly surrounding the cheese. Place the meatballs onto the baking sheet, at least an inch apart so the air can circulate around them.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden and cooked through.
Serving Suggestions
I served my Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs on cooked rotini and warmed marinara sauce. They are perfect served on any pasta and make the best meatballs for meatballs subs.
You can also serve your meatballs with these delicious recipes:
What To Do With Leftovers
Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs are perfect for freezing! Allow them to cool completely, then scrape off any residual grease that might be hanging around on the bottom of the meatballs. Place the meatballs on a cookie sheet and freeze, then pluck them off and place them into a freezer bag. This method will keep them from sticking together. To reheat, thaw in the fridge overnight and heat in the oven or microwave, or directly in a bubbling pot of tomato sauce.
Leftovers can also be refrigerated in a sealed container for 4-5 days.
More Meatball Recipes
- Meatball Italian Sliders
- Slow Cooker 3 Ingredient Meatballs
- Turkey Meatball Subs
- Spicy Cranberry Barbecue Meatballs
Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/4 cup bread crumbs
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 tablespoons marinara sauce or your favorite spaghetti sauce
- 1 egg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 4 ounces mozzarella cheese cut into cubes
- Marinara sauce and pasta for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare a baking sheet with non stick cooking spray or foil and set aside.
- Place ground beef into a large mixing bowl. Add in bread crumbs, garlic powder, onion powder, 2 tablespoons marinara sauce, egg, salt, and Italian seasoning. Mix together until well combined, but do not over mix. PRO TIP – use your hands for mixing.
- Form ball with your meat mixture. Press your thumb firmly into the meatball to form a well and place a ½ inch cheese cube inside. Roll meatball until meat is evenly surrounding cheese. Repeat until all meatballs are done and placed on a the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through. Cooking time will vary depending on the size of your meatballs.
- Serve with cooked pasta and warmed marinara sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer Kristin Maxwell of “Yellow Bliss Road” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. For accurate calorie counts and other nutritional values, we recommend running the ingredients through your preferred online nutritional calculator. Calories and other nutritional values can vary depending on which brands were used.
I make this recipe fairly often. It is wonderful but my family trick has always been to peel a white onion and let it simmer the entire time. Adds amazing flavor and just make sure you get any onion peels out. The kicker is to form your meatballs now and drop them into the sauce once it’s simmering. The meatballs will cook on the sauce, with gentle simmering, and be ready to eat within 2 hours or so. Remember, the longer they can simmer, the flavor just sets in.
Do you use fresh mozzarella or string cheese?
Hi Tracey, You should use a block of Mozzarella for best results. Fresh Mozzarella is usually sold in a liquid and is very soft and pliable, and string cheese doesn’t melt as well. I’ll be updating the post to make it more clear, but I hope this helps!
Me & my husband and our families love these meatballs! We have made them many times! Here’s my question: Do you know how many calories are in each meatball? 85 kcal doesn’t seem correct if you ask me. Thanks
Hi Mikaela, It’s actually 76 calories per meatball. We use a nutritional calculator so it’s as close as we can get.
Can frozen meatballs work with this recipe?
Unfortunately no, you’d have to make them fresh in order to stuff them with the cheese.
What is the correct baking temp for these? The text above says to be sure to preheat oven to 350, but the recipe states 400?
It’s 400 degrees.