Cheesy Meatball Recipes

These cheesy meatballs cooked in a rustic homemade tomato sauce are moist and tender, topped with melted mozzarella. When served over pasta, it makes a great meal.

How to make cheesy meatball sauce

To get the beautiful aroma, start with onion and garlic. Herbs, tomato paste, chili flakes, salt, and pepper are cooked with tomato sauce or puree. To lessen the bitterness, add a pinch of sugar, or use 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda to help balance the acid.

Cook them in a simmering sauce for 15 to 20 minutes, rotating the meatballs to ensure that the sauce's flavors are distributed throughout the meat. Stir the sauce occasionally to avoid scorching on he bottom.

Add cheese, then bake in the oven. If you don’t have an oven, simmer them until the cheese has melted.

Tips for making soft cheesy meatballs

Cooking dry meatballs that are often flavorless and hard to swallow. Bread soaked in milk instead of dry breadcrumbs is the secret to getting juicy, moist meatballs in this recipe.

To improve the flavor of the dish, the meatballs must be well-seasoned. Here, the aromas and aromatics come from salt, a beef cube that has been smashed, onions, and garlic.

Eggs bind the meat, bread, and parmesan together, making them light and spongy.

Roll your meatballs with lightly oiled hands to prevent the meat from sticking to your fingers while adding extra moisture to each meatball.

Ingredients

Meatballs

500g minced beef

3 slices of white bread crust removed

2 eggs

1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup milk

1 onion finely chopped

4 garlic cloves minced

1 teaspoon each dried basil and oregano

1/4 cup fresh coriander finely chopped

1 beef cube

1 teaspoon salt to taste

Black pepper, to taste

Tomato Sauce:

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

2 tablespoons olive oil divided

1 large onion finely chopped

4 garlic cloves minced

8 large tomatoes or 700g tomato puree

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1/4 cup water

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon red chili flakes (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

1/4 teaspoon sugar (optional)

Fresh coriander chopped to garnish

Procedure

Preheat the oven to 220 °C.

In a big bowl, mix the milk and the bread. Press the bread firmly into the milk to fully submerge and let the milk soak into the bread then set aside.

Prepare the meatball components while the bread is soaking, then combine them with the bread and milk mixture in the basin.

Scoop three tablespoons of the mixture and roll them into a ball. Repeat until all of the minced beef has been used, then set aside on a dish.

Preheat the oil in a large, well-seasoned nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Pan sear the meatballs until golden brown on all sides, then place on a plate.

Fry the onion in the same pan until translucent, then sauté the garlic until soft and fragrant.

Stir through the puree/blended tomatoes, water, tomato paste, herbs, chili flakes, salt, and pepper. Mix well and bring to a simmer on low heat. Add in the sugar if needed.

Transfer the meatballs back into the sauce and any juices released from the meatballs on the plate.

Cover and cook for 20 minutes while stirring the sauce occasionally, until meatballs are cooked.

Add the parmesan cheese on top, place in the oven, and grill or bake until the cheese has melted.

Add the freshly chopped coriander to garnish.

Serve with rice, mashed potatoes, or paste.