Cheese-Stuffed Gluten Free Meatballs

A few weeks ago I saw a recipe for mozzarella-stuffed meatballs shared on Facebook. The meatballs looked amazingly delish - covered with tangy marinara sauce and with a hunk o’ gooey mozzarella cheese peeking out of the center of each meaty circle of happiness.

Let’s make a healthier meatball.

I don’t mind eating indulgent food from time to time, but if it can easily be made a bit healthier? No reason to down those extra calories. I made a few simple tweaks to improve the nutritional profile.

And ditch the gluten.

The original recipe contained the dreaded Italian breadcrumbs which make amazing meatballs but wreak havoc on my system. I made a simple homemade version of breadcrumbs which require only a toasted GF English muffin and some simple seasonings. You can easily make your own breadcrumbs with GF toast or use store-bought GF crumbs if you prefer.

Behold the Cheese-Stuffed Gluten Free Meatball.

So I present my version of mozzarella-stuffed gluten free meatballs. The combination of beef and turkey Italian sausage makes an amazing flavor combination. The GF breadcrumbs and plenty of eggs gives the meatballs a light, tender texture. I even snuck in some grated onion for a tiny nutritional boost and another layer of delicious flavor.

Serve with gluten free pasta, spaghetti squash or just pop on a plate and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese if you’re a minimalist like me!

I think my Italian grandmother would have been proud.

Cheese-Stuffed Gluten Free Meatballs

Author: Jacqui Grimes

Recipe type: Main Dish

Cuisine: Italian

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 50 mins

Savory and gooey cheese-stuffed meatballs!

Ingredients

1 cup gluten free breadcrumbs -OR- 1 GF English Muffin, ½ tsp. garlic powder, 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 pound lean ground beef
1 pound turkey Italian sausage
3 eggs, slightly beaten
½ cup grated onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 ounces part-skim Mozzarella cheese, cut into ½ inch cubes
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 can tomato sauce

Instructions

Prepare GF breadcrumbs: If not using purchased gluten free breadcrumbs, prepare your own. Toast one GF English muffin (or a few slices GF bread) and allow to cool. Process in blender with garlic powder and Italian seasoning until crumbs form.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Remove turkey sausage from casings and combine with ground beef, GF breadcrumbs, onion, egg, garlic and seasonings.
Form into 2" balls (I used a large cookie scoop). Place a cheese cube in the center of each meatball and press the meat around it to seal.
Place meatballs in two 13x9 baking pans and bake for 20 minutes.
Combine the spaghetti sauce and tomato sauce in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add baked meatballs, stirring to coat with sauce, and cook for approximately10 minutes until completely cooked through.