Juicy mozzarella stuffed meatballs are coated in a hearty homemade marinara sauce and ready in just 30 minutes! This is a meal you’ll want to make over and over again!
Raise your hand if you’re ready for the easiest, cheesiest, tastiest meatball recipe around!
I hope your pretty little hand is waving wild and high in the air… because easy, cheesy, tasty meatballs is what we’re all about today.
I’m talking crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, super flavorful, STUFFED WITH CHEESE (squee!!!) and swimming in the best marinara sauce to eva hit your lips >>> These 30-Minute Mozzarella Stuffed Turkey Meatballs with Homemade Marinara Sauce are sure to be a new go-to meal at least once a week 😉 I seriously can’t make them enough!
Meatball love is intense like that.
Let’s dive right into the nitty gritty with some step by steppies, eh?
First thing you’re going to do is grab your meatball ingredients and throw them in a big (maybe neon green?) bowl.
Then it’s time to get your hands messy.
And no prissy poking or prodding…
get your hands in there and give that meat a massage! Rub all that garlic and herbs in reeeeal good because lots of yummy ingredients in your meat = lots of yummy flavor in your meatballs. That is what we want!
Once your meat is ready, you’ll quickly chop your cheese into bite-sized chunks.
Fight the temptation to go BIG here and keep them about a 1/2 inch or even smaller. Any bigger and the cheese will overtake the meatball and seep out while frying. Lost cheese is a sad sad thing. Let’s fight against it the best we can!
And yes… that is string cheese. It works in a pinch 😉
Now, time to put that cheese to action. You’re going to stuff it in the meatballs.
How (you ask)? Well, quite easily my dear friend.
Just scoop a little smidge of meat in your hand, place the cheese smack dab in the center, then add another little bit of meat on top of it. Roll the meatball around in your hands a few times to seal the deal, and repeat with the remaining meatballs and cheese. This will only take a few minutes if you work fast – if you have a husband/girlfriend/kid/or parent that’s down for helping here, it’ll go even faster!
Now it’s time to fry. In olive oil. For just a few minutes on each side. I recommend letting your olive oil get nice and hot while your doing your prep work so it’s ready to go. In hot oil, the meatballs only need about 2 minutes on each side. You’re not fully cooking them here, just crisping the outsides. If you’ve never had a crunchy meatball, you haven’t fully lived… just saying.
The crispy but not completely cooked meatballs take a quick (10 minute) trip to the oven to finish baking. During this time you’ll make your marinara. That’s right… 10 minute marinara. Rejoice!
The marinara is easy as can be. Olive oil, garlic, italian seasoning, crushed tomatoes, salt, and pepper. They get combined in the meatball pan (minus the meatballs; they’re in the oven, remember?) and simmered down for 10 minutes.
Once the meatballs have emerged from the oven, simply plop them in the sauce, and serve! You can serve with crusty bread, on an Italian hoagie roll, or over spaghetti, of course. To be honest, they’re so good I sometimes simply eat them with a spoon. Yes… me, a spoon, and whole bowl of saucy meat-a-balls. Add a glass of red wine to that equation and I am in pure bliss.
The best news? You can be in meatball heaven too. 30-Minute Mozzarella Stuffed Turkey Meatballs with Homemade Marinara Sauce …  Get after it 😉I hope you love these 30-Minute Mozzarella Stuffed Turkey Meatballs with Homemade Marinara Sauce as much as I do!
If (or better yet, when!) you make this recipe, I’d love for you to snap a picture and share it on instagram using the hashtag #bakerbynature – seeing your kitchen magic makes my day! xoxo
30-Minute Mozzarella Stuffed Turkey Meatballs with Homemade Marinara Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground turkey meat
- 5 garlic cloves, minced, divided
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Romano cheese
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 2 teaspoons fresh parsley, chopped
- Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 cup whole wheat panko bread
- 1/2 cup lukewarm water
- 4 ounces mozzarella cheese, cut into bite sized cubes (you can use 4 (1 ounce) string cheese pieces, too)
- 6 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees (F). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
- Heat 4 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Allow the oil to simmer (you want it very hot) while you prepare the meatballs.
- In a large bowl combine ground turkey meat, half of the minced garlic, egg, cheese, parsley, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper, and panko. Slowly add the water, a few tablespoons at a time. The mixture should be very moist but still hold its shape when rolled into meatballs.
- Scoop one tablespoon of meat into a small ball. Press a piece of cheese in the center, then cover it with another piece of meat, roll to seal in the cheese. Repeat with all meat/cheese.
- Fry meatballs in batches in the hot oil, 2 minutes on each side.
- Place semi-cooked meatballs on prepared baking sheet. Once all meatballs have been panfried, place the baking sheet in the oven to bake for 10-12 minutes, or until they're cooked though.
- While the meatballs bake, make your marinara!
- Add remaining oil to the same pan the meatballs were in, then add the remaining garlic and sauté for one minute, or until the garlic is golden and fragrant. Add the crushed tomatoes, salt, pepper, sugar, seasoning and crushed red pepper flakes, mix well to combine. Simmer the sauce for 9 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.
- When meatballs are done cooking, add them to the sauce, stir to coat, and serve!
Amy Pinney says
I am by no means a “good” cook–I need lots of instructions and a clear recipe when making anything from scratch. This totally fit the bill!! They were easy to whip up and were DELICIOUS. I felt quite accomplished serving this dish for dinner tonight. My six year old cooking-lover helped make the meatballs, and my actually-is-a-good-cook Husband loved it and has plans to use the Panko and leftover string cheese to make fried Mozzarella sticks for the leftover marinara
Casey says
These are delicious and have become a weekly staple in my house. Thank you!
bakerbynature says
That’s awesome! So happy to hear it, Casey 🙂
Ashlee says
Yum! I just tried these and they were delicious! I made a few substitutions. I used grated parm instead of romano, herb panko crumbs (instead of whole wheat) and I used jar spaghetti sauce. These were extremely easy to make and were delicious! My picky 6 year old gobbled them up. Thanks for the great recipe! Just curious- can you freeze these?
erin says
delicious but def not 30 min!!!
Casey says
Agreed. It definitely takes me more than 30 minutes.
Rachel says
I made these last night for my fiance, myself and a guest and they were an absolute hit! Instead of pasta I warmed sub sandwich rolls 🙂 The marinara was honestly perfect, and fit both my fiance’s and my taste (he loves red crushed pepper, while I’m on the sensitive palet side 🙂 ) but it was the perfect amount of heat! Even though this recipe is too good not to share – I might keep it in my secret stash for bragging purposes! Thank you so much for sharing!
John Serafin says
I Love This Recipe.
John Serafin says
I Love & Want this Recipe !!!!!
Melissa says
I have been making my own mozzerella stuffed turkey meatball but I don’t use egg or bread crumbs or anything like that . For seasoning the meat I use a pk of hidden valley ranch dressing mix ( the dry powder) I put that in the meat and work it like a meat loaf making sure there is no dry clumps of powder , i precut little squares of the part skim mozzerella and make a patty in my hand and flatten it as much as I can , put cheese in middle then mold the meat around the cheese forming a ball . I have tweak this every time I have made them to get the better and better every time . Be careful not to make the meatballs to small or you will have a pan full of cheese . My meatballs are about tennis to soft ball size , I put them in a pan with a tad bit of olive oil and work on getting all sides browned then turn it down and get the insides done . I believe. The fast you can get each side of the balls browned the better the chances of keeping the cheese from spitting out , I use store bought sauce ( organic) and we love this over zucchini pasta . This has became a favorite and my hubby ant big on veggies but he loves our zucchini pasta . Just thought I would share another option , the ranch in the meat gives them good flavor . I also use it in my ground turkey for turkey burgers .
bakerbynature says
Hi Melissa! Awesome tips – thanks for sharing 🙂
CHEF ZEE says
I CAN NOT BELIEVE YOU MAKE THEM SOFTBALL SIZE!! ONE WOULD TAKE THE WHOLE RECIPE AND TAKE A LONG, LONG TIME TO COOK. DO YOU SERVE THAT MEATBALL TO ONE PERSON?
HOW DO YOU USE IT ON MEATBALL SANDWICHES?
OR ARE YOU JUST PULLING MY LEG? CHEFZEE
bakerbynature says
Hi Chef Zee. I don’t really understand your question. The meatballs are not shaped into softball sized rounds…
Caren says
I made these and DELICIOUS! However, all the cheese leaked out of every singe one. Do you have any suggestions?
bakerbynature says
Hi Caren. I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed them! Although I’ve never had a problem with leaking cheese, I have two tips that should help! You could try freezing the cheese cubes for 15 minutes before using them (the colder the cheese the slower it will melt) and you could also try making the meatballs larger so they have more “padding” so to speak 😉
WendinEzzes says
Im trying to keep my meals low carb. Do you or does anyone have a suggestion for a substitute for the panko breadcrumbs?! Thanks bunches!
bakerbynature says
Hi Wendin. You could try using gluten free bread crumbs and maybe using 1/4 cup less than the recipe calls for? Other than that I’m not too sure. I know there is a brand called Mary’s gone crackers that sells seed based bread crumbs – those may work too 🙂 Good luck!
Rachel says
I used 1/2 cup of regular breadcrumbs with NO extra added water & they were great!
bakerbynature says
Hi Rachel. So happy to hear your adaptions worked out well 🙂 Thank you for letting us know!
Jodi says
I’m making them tonight, going to try pork rinds instead of panko. My husband is diabetic so we’re staying away from bread of any kind.
Sherry says
HAve you tried these in a crockpot?
bakerbynature says
Hi Sherry. I have not, but I think a few readers have and came out with OK results 😉
fatima says
I will try it looks yunmiest