Cheese Stuffed Mini Meatballs
Cheese Stuffed Mini Meatballs are a very tasty (and easy) appetizer. Serve them in a bath of your favorite marinara sauce, a pile of toothpicks and you’re set to feed a crowd. Make with turkey or beef, these are oven baked meatballs with a melted cheesy center.
Football season has a officially started and my game day fanatic friends are always asking me for new food ideas. Anyone who is a meat eater loves meatballs, so I turned my signature recipe into something a little special.
When I don’t feel like eating beef, I make my easy chicken meatballs. They start with all the flavor enhancers because chicken does need a little help in that department. Chopped pancetta is cooked with onions, garlic and tomato paste.
The pancetta and onions are then cooled and mixed with the meat of choice. In this case, ground beef, egg, breadcrumbs, parmesan, fresh basil salt and pepper.
If you look at the meatballs above as they are ready for the oven, you’ll notice that you can see the green flecks of fresh basil showing.
The twist to this recipe is, before I roll the meatballs, I insert a small cube of cheese into the center so when you bite into the meatball you get oozy melted cheese goodness. I love a good sharp cheddar, but you use any you like.
These meatballs are baked. I prefer this method over frying. They not only make a great appetizer, last night I mixed them into penne with pasta sauce and made dinner out of them. They also freeze really well.
More Meatball Recipes:
- Pork Ricotta and Sage Meatballs
- Mini Indian Meatballs with Curry Coconut Sauce
- Easy Chicken Meatballs
Cheese Stuffed Mini Meatballs
Video
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup (85 grams) pancetta, finely chopped
- ½ medium onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, grated
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 pound (454 grams) ground beef
- 1 large egg
- ⅓ cup (54 grams) breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
- ¼ cup (42 grams) Parmesan cheese, grated
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 4 ounces (112 grams) mozzarella cheese cut into small cubes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- To a skillet add the olive oil over medium heat.
- Add the pancetta and onion and cooking, stirring often until softened and pancetta starts to brown, about 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic and tomato paste and cook for 2 more minutes. Transfer to a bowl and allow to cool.
- To a mixing bowl add the beef, pancetta/onion mix, egg, breadcrumbs, basil, Parmesan, salt & pepper and mix well.
- Preheat oven to 400°F/205°C with the shelf rack in the center of the oven.
- Take 1 tablespoon of meat and flatten in the palm of your hand. Place a cube of cheese in the center. Wrap the meat around the cheese and roll into balls. Continue with the rest of the meat.
- Brush each meatball with olive oil and bake for 15 minutes until browned.
- Serve with your favorite marinara sauce.
Oh… my… gawd…. where is my plate?! These look so amazingly good, I would literally eat all of them. Sorry party-goers, they’re all gone 😉
Wow, this looks good ! For any occasion I would say 🙂
I am ready for football season! What a cute gift to get with your cheese. And, anytime you want to come over and watch football, feel free to stop by! You bring the cheese stuffed meatballs! 🙂 These look awesome!
I really have an interest in meatballs and love to try new versions. These look great and love the color of the sauce.
Love the idea of serving mini meatballs as an appetiser with cocktail sticks!
Involuntary moan here at the sight of these meatballs. Plus, Sartori Cheese is one of my favorite makers! Thanks.
Dear Janette, these mini meatballs looks so good! A perfect dish to serve for game day. Loving all that wonderful cheese! xo, Catherine