Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs

With the holiday season in full swing, these mozzarella stuffed meatballs are the perfect appetizer for any party or even an excellent addition to pasta night!

I apparently love to make meatballs evidenced by my Simple Turkey Meatballs, Italian Porcupine Meatballs, Barbecue Beer Meatballs, and Healthy Meatball Stroganoff recipes.

I honestly did not realize I had that much variety in meatballs on my blog.

But it really should be no surprise because they are fairly easy to make, they are made with excellent protein (beef or turkey and usually cheese), and they can be finger food!

This is great of course because what kid (or adult) doesn’t like to eat with their hands. 

Now that the holidays are here, I love making foods that are simple, yet nutritious. However, I also love baking Christmas cookies.

So I need a balance somewhere, right?!

These meatballs are perfect just dipped in pasta sauce (like my whole family did for dinner the day I made these).

Or these could easily be mixed with pasta sauce and served over pasta.

I also used mozzarella cheese sticks (that my kids eat as snacks) which couldn’t have been simpler. You could buy fresh mozzarella balls instead and use those as well.

And it’s pretty easy to cover the mozzarella pieces with the beef mixture. Once you’ve cooked them in the oven for about 20-25 minutes just make sure to check that the cheese is cooked before removing them from the oven. 

Dietitian’s Dish

Do you ever wonder how much protein you really need?

Research shows that about 10 to 35 percent of calories should come from protein.  This equals about 50 g to 175 g of protein for a 150-pound adult who consumes about 2,000 calories daily.

Eating three servings of dairy a day can help you meet your protein needs such as:

• a cup of milk: 8-10 grams of protein
• 6 ounces of Greek yogurt: 14-18 grams of protein
• 1.5 ounces of cheese: 9-11 grams of protein

Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs

Cheesy meatballs perfect as an appetizer or added to pasta night!

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Servings 16

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 pound lean or extra lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup whole wheat Panko crumbs
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• salt and pepper
• 3 mozzarella cheese sticks each cut into 6 pieces
• marinara sauce
• Parmesan cheese

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray.
• In a large bowl combine beef, Panko crumbs, egg, Italian seasoning, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste.
• Form into uniformed size meatballs (about 1 1/2 inch in diameter).
• Place one piece of mozzarella cheese inside of each meatballs, completely covering cheese with meatball.
• Place meatballs on baking sheet and cook for 20-25 minutes or until beef is thoroughly cooked and mozzarella cheese is melted.
• Sprinkle meatballs with Parmesan cheese.

Notes

Dip in marinara sauce as an appetizer or serve with pasta.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Want to learn more about the dairy industry in addition to more delicious recipes and nutrition tidbits? Check out the Milk Means More website or follow them on Twitter,  Facebook,  Pinterest  and YouTube.

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Milk Means More. I was compensated for my time but my views and opinion on this post are and will always be my own.  I will only partnership with brands that I believe promote or provide products that fit into a healthy, balanced lifestyle.

 This Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs post first appeared on Chocolate Slopes.

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