Cheesy Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs with Tomato Sauce

Huhuhummm, nothing beats a good plate of meatballs stuffed with melted cheese! I honestly don’t even remember where I first saw the idea, some photo or recipe I stumbled across somewhere, but the moment I saw it I thought it was pure genius. And now, having actually made them? Still genius. Okay, okay, I’ll be real with you, maybe these aren’t the most sophisticated meatballs for a fancy dinner party. A classic well-seasoned meatball with a sprinkle of parmesan on top is probably the “adult” move, but honestly, who cares? There’s a little kid inside all of us, and god dammit that little kid deserves a meatball with a molten cheese center surprise!!!!

I served these with a simple but well-seasoned tomato sauce and some farfalle pasta, because why does it always have to be spaghetti, right? The recipe below calls for ground beef, but between you and me, looking back at the photos, I’m pretty sure you can use a mix of beef and pork, either way, any ground meat you like will work just fine here, so go with whatever you’ve got or whatever you prefer.

And yeah the key to the whole thing is the cheese. You want something that melts well and gets all gooey and creamy inside, mozzarella is the obvious star here, but a good gouda or a soft buttery cheese will work great too. Just stay away from fresh mozzarella for this one, and I’ll explain why in the notes. Now, let’s get to the recipe!

Cheesy Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs with Tomato Sauce

Servings: 3
Time: 45mins
Difficulty: Normal
Rating: ★★★★★
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When the next craving for meatballs comes around how about trying out this cheesey version! HA! ;D

Ingredients

Beef – 300g (Minced/Ground)
Farfalle Pasta – 200g
Onion – 1/4
Garlic – 3 Cloves
Parsley – 2 Tablespoons
Egg – 1 L
Breadcrumbs – 120g
Mozzarella Cheese – 8 Slices
Tomato Pulp – 300ml
Butter – A Knob
Olive Oil – A Drizzle
Soy Sauce – A Drizzle
Cayenne Pepper – A Pinch
Paprika – A Pinch
Oregano – A Pinch
Pepper – A Pinch
Salt – A Pinch

Directions

Start by placing the ground beef, breadcrumbs, chopped parsley (or cilantro, to your liking), chopped garlic and onion, and egg in a bowl. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper and mix everything until you obtain a homogeneous mixture (dont overmix, that only makes mushy meatballs).

Use a scale to weigh all the meatball mixture and then divide it by the number of meatballs you want, in my case 10 (3 per person with 1 extra if someone is hungry). Divide the mixture and form into small patties.
Cut the mozzarella cheese into small cubes. I used a few for each meatball, but now in retrospect it’s better to buy grated mozzarella or chop the mozzarella yourself so you can add more cheese, it will melt better, and it’s easier to shape the meatballs.

Stuff each meatball with cheese and prepare a frying pan with a drizzle of olive oil. Season the outside of the meatballs with salt and pepper and fry them in the pan over medium heat until well browned.

While the meatballs are frying, prepare the farfalle pasta in a pot of boiling water with a pinch of salt over high heat. When the water is boiling, add the pasta and cook for about 10 minutes (or as recommended on the pasta package). Then drain (but reserve some of the pasta cooking water) and season with a knob of butter (aka a teaspoon of butter).
When the meatballs are well browned, add the tomato pulp followed by a pinch of salt, pepper, oregano, paprika, cayenne pepper, and a drizzle of soy sauce. Reduce to low heat, cover the pan, and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally.

After 12 minutes, taste the sauce and adjust the salt and pepper. If the sauce is a little thick or you want more sauce, you can add a little of the pasta cooking water to the sauce. Then, serve the meatballs on top of the farfalle pasta, generously drizzled with tomato sauce. Enjoy!

Notes & Tips: Do not use fresh mozzarella. The meatballs are already more fragile than usual because of the filling, and fresh mozzarella has too much moisture. It will cause them to fall apart while cooking, and you’ll end up with a cheesy mess in the pan rather than inside the meatball where it belongs.

Sealing is everything. Take your time when wrapping the meat around the cheese and make sure there are no gaps or thin spots. If the cheese finds a way out during frying, it will just melt into the pan and you’ll lose all that gooey goodness.

Go easy when turning them in the pan. Stuffed meatballs are more delicate than regular ones, so use a spoon or a spatula rather than shaking the pan, and let them develop a proper crust before flipping.

Shredded mozzarella really is the move here. It melts faster and more evenly than chunks, and you can pack more of it into each meatball. A low-moisture shredded mozzarella is ideal.

You can mix the meats. Ground pork, a beef and pork blend, ground turkey, whatever works for you. The filling and sauce will carry the flavor regardless.

And of course, you can absolutely make these without the cheese ;D Just skip the filling step and you’ve got yourself a classic, perfectly solid meatball recipe that works great on its own!

This recipe for Cheesy Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs with Tomato Sauce was originally created on BakeAfter.com. Esta receita de Almôndegas Recheadas de Queijo Mozzarella foi publicada em português no Iguaria.com.