These stuffed meatballs are so much more than just a pasta topper - this recipe for homemade meatballs is delicious on its own, in a sandwich or even on top of a salad. There's really no wrong way to eat them!
On their own, the packed meatballs are a filling supper. I typically have two or three at lunch along with a salad. They can be frozen for up to three months when properly wrapped in a container.
Stuffing meatballs with mozzarella + salumi? Oh yeah, that's a thing.
This recipe calls for a standard meatball mix, then the meatballs are stuffed with fresh mozzarella, spicy capicola, and Genoa salami. You can swap in any deli meat you choose.
Ingredients for these stuffed meatballs:
- Yellow onion
- Honey
- 80/20 ground beef
- Large eggs
- gluten-free breadcrumbs
- Worcestershire sauce
- Fresh basil
- Fresh parsley
- Garlic powder
- Paprika
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Red pepper flakes optional
- Fresh mozzarella
- Spicy capicola
- Genoa salami
- Olive oil
The gluten-free breadcrumbs I use:
I made these meatballs with Schar gluten-free breadcrumbs, but you can use any kind you choose. There are a number of good gluten-free breadcrumb options available. Aleia's and Ian's are also good, or I often make my own from leftover gluten-free sourdough.
Take this recipe for homemade meatballs up a notch:
I serve them with homemade marinara - I simmer a bunch of fresh chopped tomatoes with some olive oil, garlic and shallots for about 3 hours, until reduced, blend it up, and add it back to the pot with some fresh basil and parsley to cook for about 10 more minutes. The marinara freezes well too!
Do you really wanna impress your guests? Then try your hand at Homemade Gluten-Free Pasta too!
When you make them, be sure to post a photo & tag @gfreefoodie!
The Best Recipe For Homemade Meatballs: Italian Stuffed Meatballs
Ingredients
- ยฝ large yellow onion diced
- 2 teaspoon honey
- 2 pounds 80/20 ground beef
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup gluten-free breadcrumbs I use Schar
- 1 tablespoon GF Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon fresh basil chopped
- 2 tablespoon fresh parsley chopped
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ยฝ-1 teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
- 8 oz fresh mozzarella diced
- 8 slices spicy capicola diced
- 8 slices Genoa salami diced
- olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
- Using about 4 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium sized pan, saute the onions over medium heat until they become translucent. Add the honey and a little more olive oil if the pan looks dry, and cook for 3-5 minutes more. Set aside to cool.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef with the eggs, breadcrumbs and Worcestershire sauce. and mix well. Then add the sauteed onions plus all the oil from the pan, along with the parsley, basil, garlic powder, paprika, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes if you are using them, and mix thoroughly โ by hand is easiest.
- Scoop out 18 meatballs: about 2.5 ounces or roughly ice-cream-scoop size, and place them on a rimmed baking sheet or 9ร13 pan. Mix the mozzarella, capicola and salami in a mixing bowl. Stuff each meatball by making a hole in the middle and placing 1 tablespoon of the meat-and-cheese mixture in the center. Seal the meatballs well by pinching them back together and roll them together.
- Bake, covered with foil, 40 minutes.
- Serve with Marinara sauce.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
images by Meg van der Kruik
Meatballs, meatballs, & more meatballs
Here are some of my favorite meatball recipes for you to try out next:
Korean BBQ Meatballs
These Korean BBQ Meatballs are packed full of sweet and spicy flavors, are super moist, and easy to make!
Sheet Pan Coconut Curry Meatballs
This turkey meatball recipe is absolutely loaded with flavor! Cilantro, green onion, garlic & ginger make these bad boys downright irresistible, but when you drizzle the prepared yellow coconut curry sauce over the top of them they literally explode with FLAVOR!
Frequently Asked Questions about this recipe for homemade meatballs:
Meatballs will dry out and could crumble during cooking if made just from meat and seasonings. For this reason, a binder like an egg and a filler like breadcrumbs are frequently used in recipes.
Eggs & breadcrumbs are used as binder and filler in meatballs.
Not giving the meat any additional moisture or overworking the meat will cause tiuch meatballs. Adding some moisture, such as eggs, Worchester sauce or milk, is necessary when cooking meatballs. Without it, the meatballs are forced to shrink while they cook and end up with meatballs with a rough texture.
Also, overworking the meatball mixture can also cause tough meatballs. A meatball mixture should be mixed by hand, and only until incorporated.
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