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What's the one way to make a big plate of spaghetti and meatballs even more delicious? Filling the meatballs with melty, creamy cheese, of course! With my Stuffed Meatballs Recipe you'll be serving up incredible cheese stuffed meatballs with only 20 minutes of prep!
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Stuffed Meatballs with Mozzarella
Growing up, I was always wild for my mom's spaghetti and meatballs. It's hard to go wrong with homemade spaghetti sauce and fluffy, perfectly seasoned meatballs, after all! And if you know me, you know I love bringing those tastes of home to my own kids, with a little twist of my own to each recipe.
With this recipe for stuffed meatballs with cheese, I know I've mastered it! Homemade sauce, ultra fluffy and flavorful meatballs just like my mom used to make, and my own twist: melty, delicious cheese stuffed into each meatball to make them extra decadent. It's cozy and luxurious all in one!
And they're so easy! Just whip up some classic meatballs and stuff them with cheese, add your meatballs in the slow cooker with a quick home made sauce, and voila- the work is done. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the smell of dinner wafting through your home!
Stuffed Mozzarella Meatballs Ingredients
- Ground beef
- Ground sausage
- Breadcrumbs
- Onion
- Parmesan
- Onion powder
- Garlic powder
- Thyme
- Oregano
- Salt and pepper
- Eggs
- Mozzarella (sticks or balls)
- Milk
- Parsley
Sauce for Meatballs Ingredients
- Crushed tomatoes
- Onion
- Garlic
- Basil
- Oregano
- Salt and pepper
Meatball Slow Cooker Instructions
- Add all the sauce ingredients into the slow cooker and stir well, then set to high and cover while prepping the meatballs.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine all meatball ingredients except for the mozzarella cheese. Mix with hands until well combined.
- Separate out golfball-sized pieces of the meatball mixture and roll into a ball in your hands.
- Press a piece of mozzarella cheese into the center of the meatball. Mold the meat around the cheese until it's fully enclosed, then roll again to form a ball. Repeat until the meat is used up.
- Open the slow cooker lid, and set all the meatballs inside and submerge in the sauce completely.
- Return the lid, and cook on high for 2-2½ hours, or until the meat is fully cooked.
- Serve with sauce, and enjoy!
Cheese Meatballs Tips
- Don't over-work the meat too much! Too thoroughly mashing and blending the ground meat can make for tougher meatballs, so just mix the meat until it's combined.
- This recipe can easily be made gluten-free by using a gluten free breadcrumb blend, or making your own breadcrumbs out of your favorite gluten free bread!
- Mozzarella is a classic choice for stuffed meatballs, but you can use any melty cheese! Cheese sticks come in a variety of types, so choose your favorite. I love using Pepper Jack for a spicier twist, or Colby Jack for a more flavorful cheese.
- Not a fan of red sauce? Try out these meatballs with my favorite BBQ Sauce for delicious Barbecue Stuffed Meatballs, or change things up by piling the meatballs on a sandwich as a Meatball Sub or Meatball Sliders!
Meatballs on the Stove
If you would rather prepare your meatballs on the stove or in the oven, or don't have a crockpot, you can follow the instructions in my Italian Meatball Recipe to make these cheese-stuffed meatballs. Check at the 15 minute mark for doneness.
Mozzarella Meatballs FAQs
Meatballs are all about the balance of flavor and texture. Using enough binders and fillers like breadcrumbs, parmesan, and milk helps to make sure the texture of the meatballs is light and fluffy while still holding together, and the use of plenty of flavorings like sausage meat, herbs, and spices to keep the flavor bold.
Binding together meatballs can be done a number of ways, but a classic way is to use eggs. Eggs are the perfect binder as they only start binding once the meatballs cook, letting you form them into the perfect shape. The addition of gluten from breadcrumbs adds further structure.
Because eggs serve as a binder in meatballs, you need to be careful not to add too many, as over-binding them can make meatballs dense and spongy- hardly the airy, fluffy meatballs you want! Roughly one egg per pound of meat will make for the perfect meatballs.
For stuffed meatballs, cook in the crockpot on high for 2-2½ hours or on low for 6 hours. For unstuffed meatballs, cook on high for 3-4 hours and on low for 8 hours. Unstuffed meatballs have more meat to cook through. Check out my Beef Temperature Chart for more info!
What to Serve with Stuffed Meatballs
- Creamy Mushroom Pasta
- Broccoli Salad
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts Salad
- Pesto Gnocchi
- Creamy Duchess Potatoes - best yet, make it with the tomato sauce from your meatballs!
Best Meatball Recipes
- Cocktail Meatballs
- Meatball Seasoning
- Swedish Meatballs Recipe
- Italian Meatballs
- Air Fryer Meatballs
- Instant Pot Meatballs
- Meatball Sub
- Honey Sriracha Meatballs
- Try all of my Best Meatball Recipes!
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📋 Recipe
Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs
Equipment
- Large mixing bowl
Ingredients
For Meatballs
- 1 lb. Ground beef
- 1 lb. Ground sausage mild
- 1 cup Breadcrumbs
- ⅓ cup Onion chopped
- ¼ cup Parmesan
- 1 teaspoon Onion powder
- 1 teaspoon Garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Thyme dried
- 1 teaspoon Oregano dried
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Pepper
- 2 Eggs
- 4 sticks Mozzarella string cheese cut into 4-5 pieces each
- ½ cup Whole milk
- ½ cup Parsley fresh, chopped
For Sauce
- 7 cups Crushed tomato
- ⅓ cup Onion chopped
- 2 cloves Garlic crushed
- 2 teaspoons Basil dried
- 1 teaspoon Oregano dried
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Pepper
See our Beef Temperature Chart for helpful tips on cooking any cut of beef!
Instructions
- Add all the sauce ingredients into the slow cooker and stir well, then set to high and cover while prepping the meatballs.7 cups Crushed tomato, ⅓ cup Onion, 2 cloves Garlic, 2 teaspoons Basil, 1 teaspoon Oregano, ½ teaspoon Salt, ½ teaspoon Pepper
- In a large mixing bowl, combine all meatball ingredients except for the mozzarella cheese. Mix with hands until well combined.1 lb. Ground beef, 1 lb. Ground sausage, 1 cup Breadcrumbs, ⅓ cup Onion, ¼ cup Parmesan, 1 teaspoon Onion powder, 1 teaspoon Garlic powder, 1 teaspoon Thyme, 1 teaspoon Oregano, ½ teaspoon Salt, ½ teaspoon Pepper, 2 Eggs, ½ cup Whole milk, ½ cup Parsley
- Separate out golfball sized pieces of the meatball mixture and roll into a ball in your hands.
- Press a piece of mozzarella cheese into the center of the meatball. Mold the meat around the cheese until it's fully enclosed, then roll again to form a ball. Repeat until the meat is used up.4 sticks Mozzarella string cheese
- Open the slow cooker lid, and set all the meatballs inside and submerge in the cause completely.
- Return the lid, and cook on high for 2-2½ hours, or until the meat is fully cooked.
- Serve with sauce, and enjoy!
Notes
- Don't over-work the meat too much! Too thoroughly mashing and blending the ground meat can make for tougher meatballs, so just mix the meat until it's combined.
- This recipe can easily be made gluten-free by using a gluten free breadcrumb blend, or making your own breadcrumbs out of your favorite gluten free bread!
- Mozzarella is a classic choice for stuffed meatballs, but you can use any melty cheese! Cheese sticks come in a variety of types, so choose your favorite. I love using Pepper Jack for a spicier twist, or Colby Jack for a more flavorful cheese.
- Not a fan of red sauce? Try out these meatballs with BBQ Sauce for delicious Barbecue Stuffed Meatballs, or change things up by piling the meatballs on a sandwich as a Meatball Sub!
Leave a comment or question - we love to hear from you!