Baked Meatballs with Mozzarella

Easy homemade Italian meatballs baked in tangy marinara and topped with gobs of buttery, gooey mozzarella perfect with pasta, roasted vegetables and zoodles. 

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

1. JUMP TO THE RECIPE
2. EASIEST WAY TO PORTION AND ROLL HOMEMADE MEATBALLS

My new favorite meatball meal is this one where hearty, rustic meatballs are smothered tangy tomato sauce then cooked with mozzarella! And if you are in a pinch for time, you can use frozen meatballs too - I won't tell!

I typically serve this with some sort of hearty green vegetable like Roasted Brussels Sprouts or Garlic Parmesan Roasted Broccoli, pasta or zoodles (zucchini noodles) and some good crusty bread to soak up all that cheese and sauce.  

I mentioned this before when I originally published my meatball recipe but I really, really don’t like frozen meatballs. I hate the corky texture they have and they’re just so artificial tasting.

But they’re convenient. And it’s easy to be lured into buying them. Or you can just make your own and load up the freezer!

I make big batches of my homemade meatballs, freeze them on a sheet pan, then store in a gallon-sized zip-top freezer bag. They're much easier to separate if you freeze them separately but you could skip that step.

When I have an arsenal of frozen homemade meatballs, I can quickly make Shortcut Swedish Meatballs, Meatball Subs, Spaghetti & Meatballs or this beauty any time I want.

Having homemade, truly delicious meatballs in your freezer is so incredibly handy AND scrumptious!

When we suddenly have people pop over... as is OFTEN the case during baseball season because Husband loves to say awesome things like Hey, everybody can come over to our house after the game if you want!

Which isn't as scary as it sounds since A) I love our baseball family and B) I keep stuff like these meatballs stocked up in the icebox! Dump a jar of spaghetti sauce over them then top with cheese and BOOM I've got it covered!

EASIEST WAY TO PORTION AND ROLL HOMEMADE MEATBALLS

Instead of trying to eyeball two dozen same-size portions to roll or using a scoop, use this method to make quick work out of the task AND get same-size meatballs every time:

1. Turn meatball mixture out onto a cutting board or clean surface.
2. Using clean hands or a rubber spatula, shape mixture into a rectangle.
3. Pat mixture down very firmly and make sure to have square corners and even thickness.
4. Using a sharp knife, cut a grid into the rectangle, creating 20-24 same-size squares. 
5. Roll each square into a ball then cook per preference. I almost always bake mine because it’s cleaner and easier but you can certainly pan-fry them too.

Recipe for Baked Meatballs with Mozzarella

Baked Meatballs with Mozzarella

Yield: 6-8 Servings

Author: Mandy Rivers | South Your Mouth

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 40 MinTotal time: 55 Min

A recipe for homemade Italian meatballs baked in tangy marinara and topped with gobs of buttery, gooey mozzarella.

Ingredients

Baked Meatballs with Mozzarella

• 20-24 Italian meatballs, cooked (recipe below)
• 1 24-oz. jar marinara sauce
• 8 ounces of fresh mozzarella, shredded

Italian Meatballs

• 1 onion, grated
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 pounds ground beef (80/20 works best)
• 1/2 cup Italian dried bread crumbs

Instructions

Baked Meatballs with Mozzarella:

1. Spoon half of the marinara sauce into a large oven-proof frying pan or 13x9 baking dish. Arrange meatballs in pan then cover with remaining sauce. Cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes at 375 degrees or until sauce is heated through.
2. Remove pan from oven and top meatballs with mozzarella. Return to oven and cook for an additional 10 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and starting to brown.
3. Serve with pasta or vegetables such as fried zucchini or roasted brussels sprouts (I love to serve hearty green veggies with marinara sauce – you totally don’t miss the pasta!).

Italian Meatballs:

1. In a large bowl combine onion, eggs, worcestershire sauce, parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and garlic powder; mix well.
2. Crumble ground beef into mixture and mix with your hands until just combined. Don’t “squeeze” the mixture with your hands – overworking the meat is what yields that “corky” texture.
3. Add bread crumbs and continue to mix the ingredients until everything is just combined and starts to stick together. Add more bread crumbs if necessary until the mixture holds together.
4. Shape into balls by hand or use my handy tip above for portioning/rolling meatballs.
5. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil (for easy clean-up) and spray with cooking spray. Place meatballs onto baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes.

https://www.southyourmouth.com/2015/05/baked-meatballs-with-mozzarella.html

Images and text © South Your Mouth LLC 2015

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dinner, low carb

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