A nice warm, cheesy bowl of pasta is comfort to me, add my Daddy’s homemade meatballs and I’m in absolute heaven. Every single time that I’m home I expect this meal to be made, not because I’m an entitled daughter but because it’s not just a comfort food for me, it’s a comfort food for my entire family. We make an enormous amount of pasta, buy a huge bag of mozzarella cheese and have more pasta sauce than we know what to do with. I’ve been living away from home for over 10 years at this point which is crazy to think about and ever since I moved out I’ve tried to recreate these classic recipes while also putting a spin on things. Hence, homemade mozzarella stuffed meatballs.
One of the reasons pasta, tomato sauce and meatballs are a staple in my parents house is because it’s quick and easy. Meatballs come together in no time at all, pasta is just a boiling pot of water away and when you add a tomato sauce dinner is complete.
The thing that takes the longest is the meatballs but what’s great about meatballs is you can make them ahead of time and then add them to your sauce to warm them up. Since the meatballs aren’t made in the sauce it doesn’t alter the flavor which is a huge plus for my large family since not everyone likes meatballs (I know, shameful).
Even though I was a little afraid I figured the best way to amp up my family favorite was to stuff my meatballs with mozzarella cheese. I LOVE mozzarella cheese on my pasta so I knew I couldn’t go wrong.
The entire meal came together in under 45 minutes which are my favorite type of meals. I’m way to busy most days to spend more than 45 minutes on dinner. Ready for my family’s recipe with a twist? Here goes…
Ingredients
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 350F
- In a small bowl soak 1/2 cup stale cubed bread in water. Squeeze out the excess water and set aside.
- In a medium sized bowl, using your hands mix together 1lb ground beef, 1 egg, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese 1 tsp oregano, 2 tsp onion powder, 1 tbs minced garlic, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper and the cubed bread you set aside in step one.
- Evenly divide your meat mixture into approximately 12 meatballs. Flatten the meatballs and make a small well. Evenly divide the Mozzarella cheese and stuff each well with the cheese. Fold the meat around the cheese making sure no cheese is visible.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes at 350F.
- Enjoy!
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Julie Wood says
I love your recipe! We love eating Meatballs and with mozzarella it really does sound delicious! I will have to make this recipe for dinner this week. Thanks for sharing.
Janet W. says
We love using Ragu sauce with our spaghetti! This recipe looks delicious and turned out great!
Lisa Brown says
I have never thought of stuffing a meatball, looks yummy, I love red sauce.