These One-Pot Cheesy Baked Meatballs are perfect when you’re cooking for a crowd!
I’m on the meatballs again!
We’ve had regular meatballs, one-pan spaghetti and meatballs, mozzarella stuffed meatballs,Ā hidden veg meatballsĀ , Smoky Meatballs, Chinese Curry Meatballs and even Halloween Meatballs.
I haven’t even started on Swedish meatballs, Sticky Asian meatballs, BBQ’d meatballs or curried meatballs yet!.
Okay, writing the word meatballs twelve times in the first few lines of a post is pretty ridiculous. I’ll stop now.
So I made these, erm….
Delicious meaty bitesĀ š
…for my most recent trip to my grandad’s. Cooking for thirteen people every few weeks is always a bit of a challenge – especially when I cook most of it ahead, then travel the 90 minutes to get there, before finishing it off in my grandad’s kitchen.
It’s exactly theĀ kind of challenge I like though!
I cooked these Cheesy Baked Meatballs up at home (in two large dishes – the little dish in the pics was the one I saved for a freezer meal), then reheated them whilst I was cooking the spaghetti.
Really simple to prepare, you just need to make and roll the meatballs (sorry, I’m out of alternative words now), then bake them for 10 minutes before adding in a few sauce ingredients and a good sprinkling of cheese. Stick them back in the oven for another 15-20 minutes and you’re done.
In these Cheesy Baked Meatballs there is no frying of meatballs or stirring sauces – let’s save on that washing up.
My sister made the most delicious chocolate cake for pudding, and my grandad made his amazing apple pie too. Needless to say we were all stuffed!
Next week I’ll be doing the pud and my mum is doing the main course. I’m thinking of something like a fruity paradise slice with coconut, raisins and jam. I’ll do some experimenting this week and will hopefully share it with you guys if it turns out good.
If not, it’ll be shop-bought carrot cake!
No shame in shop-bought every now and then š
The Cheesy Baked Meatballs Recipe:
Cheesy Baked Meatballs
Ingredients
The meatballs:
- 800 g minced/ground beef
- 8 good quality pork sausages skins removed (check for gluten free if required - I use Debbie & Andrew's pork chipolatas)
- 1 large onion peeled and finely chopped
- 1 egg
- 6 tbsp grated parmesan
- 6 tbsp freshly grated breadcrumbs replace with gluten free bread if needed
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- Salt and pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil
For the sauce:
- 4 garlic cloves peeled and minced
- 400 g tin chopped tomatoes
- 4 tbsp tomato puree/paste
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp light brown sugar
- 100 g mozzarella grated/shredded (note, if you're using ready-grated mozzarella, it may not be gluten free as it often contains a flour coating to stop it sticking together)
- 100 g strong cheddar grated/shredded
- fresh parsley - to serve
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190c/375f.
- Place the minced beef, sausage meat, chopped onion, egg, parmesan, breadcrumbs, Worcestershire sauce and a good pinch of salt and pepper into a large bowl. Mix everything together using your hands, then form the mixture into walnut-sized meatballs - you should get 40-45 meatballs.
- Place the meatballs into two or three large baking dishes - try to make sure they're not touching. Brush the olive oil over the meatballs and place in the oven for 10 minutes.
- Take the meatballs out of the oven and push them over to one side of the baking dishes. Divide the garlic, tinned tomatoes, tomato puree, thyme, oregano and brown sugar between the dishes (doesn't have to be exactly equal) and give the mixture a stir. Now move the meatballs back over, so they're evenly distributed in the sauce.
- Top with the mozzarella and cheddar and place back in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is golden brown (it's a good idea to put your pasta on at this time too).
- Take out of the oven and serve, sprinkled with freshly chopped parsley.
Recipe Notes
Nutritional Information
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