Cheesy Baked Meatballs are every bit comforting and delicious. Ground beef is rolled together with herbs and spices, nestled into marinara sauce and baked until tender. Top with a generous amount of mozzarella cheese for the ultimate Cheesy Baked Meatball!
This post and recipe is sponsored by Certified Piedmontese. All words and photographs are my own. Thank you so much for supporting the brands that make KJ & Company possible!
What Sets Certified Piedmontese Beef Apart
Certified Piedmontese isn’t just any other beef brand that you may think. They have such a unique, healthy and appealing way that they operate. Let’s dive into the details on what sets Certified Piedmontese apart from the others:
- Their cows come from the rare Piedmontese breed of cattle from Italy – less than 1% of cattle in the United States are Piedmontese, but Certified Piedmontese has the largest herd of these cattle.
- The beef is naturally healthier, but does not sacrifice on flavor and tenderness.
- The beef has fewer calories, less fat and higher protein per ounce than beef from other breeds.
- The cattle are raised naturally without hormones, antibiotics or steroids – and on ranches here in the Midwest!
- You get the taste of real beef since it is naturally cleaner and leaner.
- Certified Piedmontese has a ranch-to-fork process that ensures traceability, environmental sustainability and humane handling.
Now, I don’t know about you guys, but COUNT ME IN! Not only are all of those amazing qualities of the Certified Piedmontese brand enough to get you on board, but tasting their product will have you hooked for life. I sure am!
PS: don’t live in Nebraska or have access to run into The Mercato? Don’t worry! They’ve got you covered with online ordering over at Certified Piedmontese!
Grass Fed, Grass Finished Ground Beef
Not only is Certified Piedmontese Beef naturally leaner and more of a pure beef flavor, but they also offer a Grass Fed, Grass Finished Beef line! If you’re not familiar with the cattle industry, this is an amazing feat! That means, the cattle are as natural as possible – eating grass as intended to do so! I’ve found that the Grass Fed, Grass Finished Ground Beef has such a true “beef” flavor. Which is perfect for these meatballs! Here’s what Certified Piedmontese says about their Grass Fed, Grass Finished Line:
“Certified Piedmontese grass fed, grass finished beef, is source verified, nutritious, high-quality tender beef that has been raised humanely with the cattle and the land and its resources in mind. There is simply no reason to settle for less when choosing your grass fed, grass finished beef.
Certified Piedmontese 80% lean, grass fed, grass finished ground beef lends beefy flavor, juiciness, and all sorts of nutrients to burgers, chili, and more. You can trust that like all Certified Piedmontese cattle, our grass fed, grass finished cattle are raised the right way on the Nebraska plains. All Certified Piedmontese beef is verified all-natural and raised without hormones or antibiotics.”
Let’s Talk Meatballs
When making meatballs, there’s a couple things to keep in mind to create the ultimate, tender and flavor-packed meatball.
First, make sure the ground beef is properly defrosted. This may seem like a no-brainer, but if you are starting off with frozen ground beef, it will need to be completely defrosted in order to mix and form meatballs. Not only that, but if there are frozen pieces of ground beef, then the meatballs won’t cook evenly.
Secondly, use simple ingredients inside the meatballs. If you have such amazing ground beef to start with, you don’t want to bog it down! An egg helps bind the meatballs together, while the seasoned salt, Worcestershire and dried parsley help accentuate the natural flavor.
Lastly, resist the urge to over-mix! I know it is tempting, but over-mixing the meatballs creates a dense, tough meatball. Nobody wants that! The easiest way to not over-mix is to use your finger tips as “claws” to mix it all together instead of compacting it together with your whole hands.
How to Serve
After the cheese-covered meatballs come out of the oven all sorts of bubbly and delicious, it’s time to dig in! There’s several different ways on how to serve these meatballs. Check them out!
- Appetizer – use a smaller scoop to roll the meatballs into smaller, bite-sized meatballs. Serve the cheesy meatballs with toothpicks so guests can grab and go!
- Spaghetti and Meatballs – boil up a batch of spaghetti while the meatballs bake away so that it’s ready to go when they come out of the oven! Since the meatballs are cooked in a marinara sauce, you have all you need to just spoon the sauce and meatballs over the pasta! You could also use other pasta shapes besides spaghetti.
- With CousCous or Polenta – serve the meatballs on either a bed of herbed couscous or creamy polenta. Sounds delicious to me!
- Meatball Subs – these meatballs are perfect for a meatball sub sandwich! Toast some hoagies with butter, spoon the saucy and cheesy meatballs on top and dig in!
How will you serve these Cheesy Baked Meatballs?
Looking for other Ground Beef Recipes? Check these out!
Lasagna Soup
Cheeseburger Sliders
Classic Meatloaf
Cheesy Baked Meatballs
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6-8 servings 1x
Description
Cheesy Baked Meatballs are every bit comforting and delicious. Ground beef is rolled together with herbs and spices, nestled into marinara sauce and baked until tender. Top with a generous amount of mozzarella cheese for the ultimate Cheesy Baked Meatball!
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Certified Piedmontese Grass Fed, Grass Finished Ground Beef
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons seasoned salt
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley
- 24 oz pasta sauce of choice
- 8 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, add the ground beef, egg, Worcestershire, seasoned salt and dried parsley, Use your fingers to gently combine together, being careful to not over-mix.
- Pour the pasta sauce into the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish (or one of equivalent size). Use a large cookie scoop (roughly 5 1/2 tablespoons) to scoop the ground beef mixture into meatballs. Gently roll them in between your palms to smooth them out before placing them into the prepared baking dish with the pasta sauce.
- Bake for 30 minutes. Then, evenly top the meatballs with the shredded mozzarella and bake for another 10-12 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Garnish with freshly chopped basil if desired and enjoy!
Notes
- If you are concerned about the meatballs splattering in your oven while baking, they can be covered with foil for the first 30 minutes of baking. Keep in mind that they won’t be as browned but that is okay. Remove the foil, top with the cheese and bake un-covered for the remaining time.
- To serve these meatballs as an appetizer, use a smaller scoop to create bite-sized meatballs.
- Serve the meatballs as-is or with pasta, couscous, polenta or as meatball sub sandwiches!
- Nutritional information for this recipe is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Dinner
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 363
- Sugar: 7.9g
- Sodium: 976mg
- Fat: 22.7g
- Carbohydrates: 13.1g
- Fiber: 2.2g
- Protein: 26.8g
- Cholesterol: 82mg
Keywords: Cheesy Baked Meatballs
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