Trying to eat all of the foods that I love, without gaining too much weight, can be a challenge. I bake and decorate cakes and other goodies as a business, so all of that tasting can be a lot of sugar and carbs, That is why, on some nights, I love to stay within my families favorite meals, yet adapt them to be less carby!
This recipe for Baked Meatballs Mozzarella, is so simple, and can be served with a side of pasta, zucchini noodles, or piled in a bun for a meatball sandwich. Serve this with a side salad, and some steamed veggies for a dinner that is delicious, and you won’t feel so guilty eating all of this goodness.
I start off by making the meatballs, in a large bowl, that I have specifically for handling raw meats. I am just OCD that way. I can’t prepare raw meats, in a bowl, that i will use later for salad. Even if it is washed really well. So I bought my favorite plastic orange bowls at the dollar store, just to marinate meats, or make meatballs, and such.
I mix in 80/20 ground beef, with 2 eggs, 1/3 cup of Italian style bread crumbs, some Parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper. Mix well using your hands. It will get messy!
Shape into meatballs, that are about 1-1/2 inches in diameter. Place on a sheet pan, that is covered in either non-stick foil, or parchment paper. non-stick foil is my favorite for this recipe.
Place the meatballs in the oven, that has been pre-heated to 350 degrees, and bake or about 20-25 minutes. With 2 lbs of ground beef, I am always able to get about 20 evenly shaped meatballs.
Then get a casserole dish, and spread about 1/2 to 1 cup of your favorite jarred pasta sauce on the bottom. Then layer your meatballs evenly spaced, on top of sauce. My oven safe casserole dish is 9 x 20. And it holds 20 meatballs perfectly snug!
Cover meatballs with remaining jarred sauce, making sure that each meatball is covered with sauce.
Top with a whole 8 oz bag of Mozzarella shredded cheese, and bake until golden bubbly, about 15-20 minutes.
I did not have sandwich buns for the kids on hand, so I just placed the meatballs in hot dog buns, and they loved them anyway! This will be an instant family favorite, and so easy because you can use jarred sauce, on a busy night.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds 80/20 ground beef
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup Italian style breadcrumbs
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 25 oz jar pasta/marinara sauce
- 8 oz package of shredded Mozzarella
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl, combine ground beef, eggs, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, and Parmesan cheese.
- Mix to combine thoroughly, and shape into balls. Place meatballs on a baking sheet that has been covered with parchment paper.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes.
- Remove meatballs from oven, and set aside.
- Spread about 1 cup of pasta sauce evenly to cover bottom of an oven safe casserole dish.
- Place meatballs evenly spaced in casserole dish.
- Cover meatballs evenly, with remaining jarred pasta sauce.
- Spread shredded Mozzarella evenly over top of casserole.
- Bake in oven for 15-20 minutes, or until cheese has melted and browned a bit on edges.
- Serve, and enjoy!
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