Meatball Stuffed Garlic Bread
This Meatball Stuffed Garlic Bread features meatballs wrapped in pizza dough and baked in a muffin tin. It’s a fun dinner recipe, or it could also work as an appetizer!
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As I’ve noted before, meatballs are one of those items that I always make sure to keep in the freezer. Whenever the meatball stash begins to run low, I make another big batch – typically 36 meatballs at a time. Those meatballs are great for simple meals like spaghetti & meatballs, but they’re also handy for inventing fun recipes like this Meatball Stuffed Garlic Bread.
On a side note, meatballs aren’t the only thing I make sure to keep in the freezer. I’ve also got a bags of roasted garlic, pesto, pulled pork and smoked brisket. Those staples can be turned into dozens of different recipes – although truthfully I’m usually trying to turn them into pizza or stuffed garlic bread. After all, it’s pizza and garlic bread. You can’t go wrong there!
Meatball Stuffed Garlic Bread
This Meatball Stuffed Garlic Bread was a recent invention when I was craving meatballs. My muffin tin happened to be on the drying rack at the time, and that’s when I realized that meatballs would fit nicely in muffin tins. Ok, so we were onto something there! The rest was simple – add some cheese, wrap each meatball up in pizza dough and bake it until golden brown.
Oh, and the garlic herb olive oil on top was a requirement! We brush an herbed olive oil on our pizza crust every time we make homemade pizza, so I just doubled the amount and brushed the mixture on top of the Meatball Stuffed Garlic Bread. Done and done. This was an easy recipe, but it was fun in that each piece of garlic bread had an entire meatball hiding inside. We served these up with steamed veggies on the side, and it made for a couple excellent dinners!
One quick note about the meatballs – I do prefer to make my own meatballs, but in a pinch you could totally use store-bought frozen meatballs. Just make sure the meatballs are cooked before using them in this recipe.
When making meatballs, I like to use ½ ground beef and ½ ground pork. I’ve made them with all beef and all pork before, but I’ve settled using a mixture of both. Bonus – some grocery stores sell a ‘meatloaf’ mix which is a combination of ground beef and ground pork. It’s a time (and money) saver if you can find it! If not, just buy beef and pork and make extra meatballs. I hear they’re a handy item to keep in the freezer!
I hope you enjoy this Meatball Stuffed Garlic Bread as much as we do. It’s a fun recipe that can be served for dinner, but I could also see this working as a hearty appetizer if you have friends over to watch the big game. Cheers!
Did you make a batch of this Meatball Stuffed Garlic Bread at home? Leave a comment, or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog) – I’d love to see your version!
Meatball Stuffed Garlic Bread
Ingredients
For the Meatballs
- ⅓ cup Italian-seasoned bread crumbs
- 2 Tbsp milk
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- ½ medium white onion finely diced
- 8 oz. ground beef
- 8 oz. ground pork
- 1 large egg
- 2 Tbsp fresh Italian parsley minced
- 1 tsp garlic minced
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
- 2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese grated
For the Garlic Bread
- 16 oz. pizza dough homemade or store-bought
- 6 slices mozzarella cheese
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese grated
- 2 tsp garlic minced
- 1 tsp Italian seasonings
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- {optional} marinara sauce for dipping
- {optional} shredded mozzarella cheese for topping
Instructions
For the Meatballs
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
- Using a large bowl, combine the bread crumbs and milk; let soak for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, add the olive oil to a medium frying pan and place over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the diced onions and cook for 5-6 minutes, or until onions begin to soften.
- Transfer onions into bowl with bread crumbs. Add all of the remaining meatball ingredients (beef, pork, egg, parsley, garlic, salt, pepper, oregano, red pepper and Parmesan cheese). Mix until just combined. (Tip: Take care not to overmix or the meatball may be tough.)
- Divide mixture into 12 equal pieces. Place meatballs 1” apart on prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 23-27 minutes, or until meatballs are fully cooked.
For the Garlic Bread
- Spray muffin tin with nonstick spray; set aside.
- Divide the pizza dough into 12 equal pieces (~2 oz. each). Roll each piece into a 3”x3” circle.
- Cut each slice of cheese into 4 pieces. Place one piece of cheese in center of each piece of dough. Place a meatball on top of cheese and then lay another piece of cheese on top of meatball.
- Wrap dough around meatball and cheese, pinching edges to seal; place into prepared muffin tin.
- Using a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, Parmesan cheese, garlic, Italian seasonings and kosher salt. Brush this mixture evenly on top of each meatball.
- Bake at 400°F for 18-20 minutes, or until golden brown.
- {Optional} Top each meatball with a spoonful of marinara sauce and a bit of shredded mozzarella cheese. Continue baking for 2-3 minutes, or until cheese has melted.
- Serve with marinara sauce for dipping.
Looking for more recipes using meatballs? Check out these other favorites, too:
Classic Spaghetti and Meatballs
Slow Cooker BBQ Meatball Subs
Meatball Breadstick Skewers
Will be making this soon can i use mushrooms and vegan cheeses i love garlic bread sooooooooooo much i never had meatball stuffed garlic bread before perfect for my after office snacks love your recipes as always brightens up my day everyday after work will dm you if i make this and let you know how it goes Thanks Ramya
Hey Ramya! Mushrooms would definitely change this recipe a bit, but I do think it would still be quite tasty. I mean everything is better with garlic bread right?? 🙂
Well these look fun! You need a pic of one with a bite taken out of it! I think my grand kids would really like these, when normally they wouldn’t eat meatballs or meatloaf. Thanks!
You know what, Mimi? You’re absolutely right! These photos sat on my memory card for a bit before I pulled them off, and when I went through them…I was surprised I didn’t take any images with a bite out or at least one cut in half. Oh well. Excuse to make another batch, right?? 🙂
These are so fun!!! I love the hidden meatball inside that glorious garlic bread! Such a great idea!
Hey, meatballs are delicious in their own right…but if you take those meatballs and wrap ’em up in garlic bread? #Winning Thanks, Kathy!
What a great way to serve a meatball. I would have more than one. Thanks for the recipe.
I definitely had more than one…haha! Thanks, Gerlinde!!
Man, that’s one fine-looking meatball bomb you got going there. You know how we love our meatballs over this way and pizza is a national dish here. So, I think these will be a smash the kid in all of us…
I like that term, Ron – meatball bomb! That’s pretty much what these are. 🙂 This really is one fantastic appetizer…or meal depending on how you serve it. I went with a bit of an Italian flare here, but I bet you could put a Swedish spin on these!
Ohhh my god, I love this idea! Definitely a good meatball needs a nice home like that bread. Yum!
Meatballs are delicious by themselves, but wrap ’em up in pizza dough? This is one heck of a delicious appetizer, Raymund!!
this sounds so delicious david that i feel like making meatballs:) No pork for us but all beef is fine.
You could totally do all beef for these meatballs, Sherry! I mean you can also use store-bought meatballs, but I do enjoy making big batches and keeping some in the freezer for lazy nights. Thanks so much, my friend!
These are genius for parties and game days, David! Definitely going to give them a try!
Thanks so much, Marissa! These are a fun treat – and they’re packed with flavor! 🙂
Hi David –
I have a couple of quick questions. The recipe calls for “ground pork”. Is this breakfast sausage or Italian sausage? Or is there simply “ground pork” that I haven’t paid attention to at the grocery store? Could I use Italian sausage?
I love to experiment and this looks like a fantastic experiment. I can’t wait to try out this week.
Thank you in advance for your time and trouble.
Linda
Hey Linda! Whenever I make meatballs, I use “regular” ground pork. It’s not as common as ground beef, but I feel like most grocery stores still sell it. With that being said, I think you could totally use ground Italian sausage instead. I love this recipe, and I hope you end up loving it, too! 🙂
If using frozen meatballs-do you need to thaw before preparing the recipe?
Hey Jackie! I would recommend thawing the frozen meatballs first for this recipe. I hope you enjoy it!!