Barbecue Mozzarella Meatballs are loaded with melted cheesy goodness and slathered in scrumptious barbecue sauce! They can easily be made ahead and baked right before dinner time!
Summer is in full swing and the boys are BUSY! This past week they have been harvesting our first cutting of hay. They have been in equipment all day every day. Justin doesn’t like to let the swather sit while the family eats lunch so the boy take turns eating. I feel like my kitchen is a cafeteria that is open all day long.
This past week I needed a few meals that could be served all throughout the day, or that could be microwaved. My boys love Sweet and Sour Meatballs and Zucchini Parmesan Meatballs so I decided to try out this Barbecue Mozzarella Meatball version. And let me tell you they were good!
I had a few extra minutes in the morning before I had to head to the field and it was just enough time to make the meatballs and stick them in the fridge. If you are in a hurry to get your meatball made there are a few tricks that will help you out.
- I always either have store bought breadcrumbs in the pantry or already prepared homemade breadcrumbs in the freezer.
- I grate a whole bunch of mozzarella cheese at once and stick some of it in the freezer for later. And I’m telling you not having to grate cheese speeds up my meatball making.
- Have you guys seen these herbs in a tube from Gourmet Garden? Not having to peel and mince garlic saves me a ton of time (and these herbs are fresh so they don’t have some weird vinegar smell).
- Use season salt for lots of flavor from just one bottle.
- Store bought barbecue sauce is so much faster than homemade!
- And my last hurry up tip…meatballs don’t have to be shaped perfectly. I use a cookie scoop to make imperfect meatballs and call them “rustic meatballs”!
I didn’t have time to stuff my meatballs with mozzarella so I mixed grated cheese into the whole mixture and it was pretty dang tasty!
A little before meal time pop the meatballs in the oven and let them bake.
My boys were pretty excited when it was their turn to come in for lunch once they saw my scrumptious Barbecue Mozzarella Meatballs!
- 2 pound ground beef
- ½ c. bread crumbs
- 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp. season salt
- 1 tsp. pepper
- 1 tsp. garlic paste (or 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp. chili paste (or 1 tsp. chili powder)
- ½ tsp. onion powder
- 2 eggs
- ½ c. mozzarella, grated
- ½ c. barbecue sauce
- In a mixing bowl whisk eggs. Add remaining ingredients, except barbecue sauce. Stir gently until combined.
- Using a cookie scoop (mine is about 2 T size) form meat into meatballs. Set in a greased baking pan.
- At this point you can either refrigerate meatballs to be baked later or bake immediately.
- When you are ready to bake meatballs, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake meatballs uncovered for 18-20 minutes depending on the size of your meatballs. Baste meatballs with barbecue sauce and return to the oven for 3-5 more minutes.
- If you are feeling fancy garnish with fresh herbs. If not they are going to be amazing just the way they are!
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Thank you for this beauty ! I will be back for more !
Thanks for the recipe. I like meatballs. Thanks
Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe. My mouth just started salivating. Can i prepare the same thing using chicken?
Hi Bruce! I’ve actually never eaten ground chicken before, probably because we raise beef and I have a whole freezer full of it! I’m not sure you need to add and extra egg to help keep the meatballs together since chicken has less fat in it. Let me know how it goes if you try it!