I wanted to incorporate something on the heavier and more filling side to my appetizer menu, and of course using Giada DeLaurentiis’s recipes. I came across Giada’s recipe for “Spicy Smoked Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs and decided on making them right away. After all, these are not just any ordinary meatball. It has cheese in the middle! And, who doesn’t love cheessssseeeeeee?!
This photo was taken right whent the wonderful cheesy meatballs were taken out of the oven.
Frill toothpicks and little plates or napkins worked great for people to pick them up. They didn’t fall apart at all. *Don’t forget to leave a little bowl or container for used toothpicks somewhere close to prevent people from leaving them everywhere.
Okay, so I’m not gonna lie. I had to cut some corners on this one and change the recipe a little!
I could not find any smoked mozzerella cheese and my pantry ran out of breadcrumbs! My friend Tiffany, who assisted me in shopping for all the ingredients and with some of the prepwork, told me that she uses oatmeal in her meatballs. I was a little weary of using quick oats in my meatballs but sometimes, desperate times call for desperate measures.
I opened the pantry and there it was, Quaker Quick Oats.
I was very dissapointed at not being able to find smoked mozzarella cheese, but really, you can use any type of cheese in this recipe. Just slice em’ up in small cubes and push them into the center of your meatball so that none of the cheese shows. I ended up using pepperjack cheese (for stuffing), but I think that provolone or smoked gouda cheese are also great alternatives. The pepperjack cheese ended up being a yummy choice and it made the meatballs nice and spicy!
To cut down on cost, I ommitted the ground veal and used only the leanest ground beef in the store.
Cheese-stuffed Meatballs
- 1 small (6-ounce) onion, grated
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus 1/4 cup
- 2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus 1/4 cup
- 1/3 cup Italian-style bread crumbs (I used quick oats)
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
- 8 ounces ground beef
- 8 ounces ground veal (I ommitted the veal and just used lean ground beef)
- 2 ounces smoked mozzarella cheese, cut into 16 (1/2-inch) cubes (I used pepperjack cheese)
Position an oven rack in the lower 1/3 of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, combine the onion, 1/2 cup parsley, 2/3 cup Parmesan, bread crumbs, egg, ketchup, garlic, red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Add the beef and veal. Using your hands, combine all ingredients gently but thoroughly. Shape the meat mixture into 16 (1 1/2-inch-diameter) meatballs and place on the prepared baking sheet. Make a hole in the center of each meatball and place a cube of mozzarella inside. Reform the meatball so that the mozzarella is completely covered with the meat mixture.
This is how they looked prior to baking!
Bake the meatballs for 15 minutes until cooked through.
The recommended cooking time for this recipe was perfect! The meatballs were soft, but firm enough so that they didn’t fall off of the toothpicks when being held. These cheesy and spicy little appetizers were a definite hit in my party!
As an alternative, you may also ommitt the parmesan cheese. Since cheese is already stuffed into the middle of the meatball, I think that it’ll be a nice surprise if there wasn’t any cheese on the outside.
Scrumptious Crumb 
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