Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs
These baked Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs are perfect for when you’re craving Italian, but trying to push-back from the carbs!
This meaty, cheesy, keto-friendly combination will satisfy your craving for Italian food in an instant and without all those carbs from pasta and garlic bread.
Italian baked meatballs are the best of both worlds! Savory Italian seasoned beef with a cheesy surprise in the middle! I love to eat these by themselves or with a drizzle of homemade San Marzano pasta sauce.
Why you’ll love this recipe
Mozzarella stuffed meatballs are quick and easy to make in advance and freeze so you’ll have them on hand at any given time! These make a great side dish to Eggplant Parmesan!
- Carb-free and keto-friendly! Get your Italian-food-fix without all the pasta and Italian bread
- Simple ingredients – you probably have the ingredients in your kitchen right now
- Makes excellent leftovers – Italian sub sandwich, stuffed bell peppers
- The best part is once you’ve browned the meatballs, you can freeze them for the time you’re craving low carb Italian food!
- Homemade Italian meatballs are great as an entree or as an appetizer.
What you’ll need
Sometimes, simple is best! This easy stuffed meatball recipe is perfect for the whole family on a busy weeknight. There’s a million different ways to make authentic Italian meatballs. Some use a combination of meats- ground veal, Italian sausage, or ground pork. This recipe doesn’t require any fancy or gourmet ingredients.
- Ground beef-the leaner the better
- Fresh Mozzarella cheese – cut into small cubes; I buy fresh mozzarella cheese that’s packed in water; just pinch off a little and stuff it into the center of the meatball.
- Dried Italian seasonings
- Breadcrumbs – dry bread crumbs, plain breadcrumbs or Italian seasoned – your call! You can even use panko breadcrumbs or crushed saltine crackers
- Eggs-large eggs serve as a binding agent for the meatball mixture
- Yellow onion – finely chopped
- Minced garlic – if you have fresh garlic, even better
- Salt and ground black pepper
How to make it
When you form the meatballs, make them any size you like! I use a 1/3 cup measuring spoon, but you can make yours bigger or smaller!
As for the cheese, the size of the cheese cube will depend upon how big your meatball is. I usually pinch off a cube about 1/2″ inch by 1/2″inch. Just don’t use a big chunk of cheese or it will definitely ooze out.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine ground beef, chopped onion, minced garlic, Italian seasonings, breadcrumbs, eggs, salt and pepper; use your clean hands to mix together
- Measure 1/3 cup of the beef mixture; roll into a ball
- Stuff a small cube of mozzarella cheese in the middle, and continue to roll the meatball around the cube of cheese
- Place cheese stuffed meatballs on a lightly oiled baking tray and bake covered with foil in a 350°F oven for 25-40 minutes (depending upon the size of the meatballs); they’re done when the internal temperature reaches 165°F.
It’s that simple! You can make these Italian stuffed meatballs as big or small as you like; bite-size, or a little bigger for entree size.
You can serve these great meatballs with a homemade “sunday sauce,” (homemade Italian red sauce or red gravy), pomodoro sauce, or use a high-quality jar of spaghetti sauce
Yield
I used 2 pounds of lean ground beef, and made the mozzarella stuffed meatballs about 1/3 cup each; this made 14 meatballs. Don’t worry about forming a picture-perfect meatball!
Recipe FAQ
I recommend a lean ground beef (90/10 or 80/20) because the higher the fat content, the more shrinkage.
Yes! Keep in mind that ground turkey is super lean, so you won’t have much shrinkage and, you might have to reduce the cooking time because ground turkey cooks quicker than ground beef.
Fresh works best; it is usually packaged in water, so you’ll want to let the cheese soak on a paper towel for a minute to absorb some of the moisture, then cut it into little cubes.
I don’t recommend using shredded mozzarella cheese–too tricky to stuff into the meatball and not nearly as flavorful.
Dipping sauce
You can use a high quality jarred sauce (you might have to adjust the seasonings to your preference) or make my delicious San Marzano Sauce. I usually make the sauce in large batches then freeze it, so I always have it on hand:)
Recipe tips
Fresh vs dried herbs
For this quick and easy meatball recipe, I used dried Italian herbs because that’s what I had on hand. You can use fresh herbs if you prefer, just keep in mind dried herbs are stronger than fresh and the ratio of dried to fresh is 1:3.
If you use fresh herbs for the sauce you’ll want to increase the amount times 3 and add them at the end when preparing the sauce. As for the mozzarella stuffed meatballs, you can use fresh herbs as well, just increase the amount.
How to prevent the meatballs from splitting
In a perfect world the meatballs won’t split, but in real life…some do. Some of mine did! The only way I know to prevent this is by putting the meatballs in the fridge for at least 15 minutes before you bake them. Also, make sure the cheese is dead center in the meatball.
Fresh Mozzarella cheese
When you use fresh mozzarella, it’s inevitable that some of the cheese will ooze out of the meatball! DON’T Worry about that! It still tastes great and definitely looks homemade!
Meatball texture
If you want a mouth tender meatball, cover them with foil before you bake them. If. you want a semi-crisp outer texture on your stuffed meatballs, bake them uncovered.
Storage
Refrigerate Mozzarella stuffed meatballs in an airtight container for up to 3-days or freeze up to 3-months.
Reheating
For best results, reheat refrigerated meatballs in microwave. If you reheat in oven, place on lightly oiled baking sheet in 350ºF oven and cover with aluminum foil; bake until center reaches 160ºF.
To reheat frozen meatballs, allow to thaw in the refrigerator first, then reheat in the microwave.
These mozzarella stuffed meatballs are delicious served with a flavorful marinara sauce, pesto sauce or alfredo sauce! They also make a mean Italian sub sandwich!
More Italian recipes
- Pan Fried Ravioli
- San Marzano Sauce
- Margherita Nachos
- Bolognese Sauce
- Seafood Manicotti Alfredo
- Chicken Linguine Alfredo
- Eggplant Parmesan
- Chicken Fricassee
- Three Cheese Manicotti Crepes
If you make this recipe, please scroll down and leave a comment and rating! I love to hear from you!
Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. lean ground beef
- 4 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese cubed
- ½ cup onion chopped
- 2 whole eggs lightly beaten
- 1 cup breadcrumbs plain or Italian seasoned
- 2 teaspoons garlic minced
- 3 tablespoons Italian Spice Blend see recipe notes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Line baking sheet with foil or parchment paper and spray it lightly with cooking oil; set aside
- Cut mozzarella cheese into bite sized pieces; set aside4 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese
- In a small bowl, lightly beat eggs2 whole eggs
- In a large bowl, add beef, onion, breadcrumbs, lightly beaten eggs, minced garlic, dried Italian seasonings, salt and pepper2 lbs. lean ground beef, ½ cup onion, 1 cup breadcrumbs, 2 teaspoons garlic, 3 tablespoons Italian Spice Blend, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper
- Use a scoop or spoon to measure the beef for the size of meatball you want
- Roll the ground beef into balls; poke a dent in the middle of the meatball and tuck in a piece of cheese
- Continue to roll meatball until cheese is centered, or not visible
- Place finished meatball onto prepared pan; cover tightly with foil and bake on the middle rack at 350°F; See Recipe Notes Below
- Allow to cook for about 20-40 minutes (this time will vary depending upon the size you make the meatballs)
- Once meatballs are cooked thoroughly, and have an internal temperature of 160°F remove, plate and top with sauce
Notes
- In this recipe, I used pre-mixed dried Italian seasonings. If you choose to use individual dried seasonings, (oregano, basil, parsley, marjoram, etc.), then I’d start with one teaspoon each (for 2 lbs. of beef) ; use 1/2 teaspoon of each for 1 lb. beef
- If you use fresh herbs, use three teaspoons of each
- Small cube-sized chunks of fresh mozzarella cheese works best
