Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs

I got the inspiration for this the other day at Crossfit (I know a weird place to be thinking about food) and I couldn't get the idea out of my head. These meatballs are really tasty and they come together really quickly, great for a busy week night and can even be made ahead of time.

Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs

Makes 16 meatballs

Cook time: 20 minutes

• 2 ½ lbs ground beef
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp each: sea salt, pepper, onion powder & garlic powder*
• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
• ½ ball of mozzarella, cut into 16 cubes
• Jarred or homemade marinara sauce (if using jarred be sure to check for funky ingredients)
• Parmesan cheese for garnish

Start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees and lining a large jellyroll pan with foil. In a large bowl add the beef, eggs and seasoning. Now here is the fun part, get in there with your hands and mash everything together until its evenly combined.

Now take some of the meat mixture and make a small patty like a hamburger. I didn't measure this part, just eyeballed it but it was just enough meat to fill my palm. Place a cube of cheese in the middle.

Push the edges of the patty together to form a ball making sure it is sealed to prevent any melty cheese accidents when cooking.

Place meatballs onto prepared baking sheet and space evenly.

Put in preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes. In the last 5 minutes of baking start heating your marinara sauce, to be spooned over the meatballs.

When the meatballs are done, remove them from the oven and let cool for about 5 minutes. Don't worry if you had some cheese explosions during cooking, they will still taste great.

Serve topped with marinara sauce and grated Parmesan cheese (which I didn't have when I made this, but have since rectified the situation, lesson learned)

*The spice container in the first picture at the top of the page labeled "SPOG" is filled with equal parts Himalayan Sea Salt, Pepper, Onion powder & Garlic powder. It is my go to seasoning for practically anything that isn't dessert. I highly recommend this setup, its a time saver for sure.