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!
Shelby says
We LOVE these meatballs!!! So, so good! In fact, my five year old requested these for his birthday dinner 🙂 Do you think I could make these ahead of time and then refrigerate or freeze them raw? Thoughts? Thanks so much!
bakerbynature says
Yay! So happy to hear it, Shelby. I think you could definitely make the meat mixture, stuff them, and roll them ahead of time, then store them covered in the fridge for up to 2 days. I hope this helps! And happy birthday to your little guy 🙂
Agelica says
I made these for the first time tonight i used 1pd ground turkey meat and 1pd ground turkey sausage and doubled the recipe ( i have a family of 7 ) i added a little more garlic because we are garlic lovers and about 1 tsp of dried minced onion and my family LOVED it! Thanks for the awesome recipe will def be making again
bakerbynature says
You’re very welcome, Agelica! I’m so happy you and your family enjoyed this recipe 🙂
Sara says
These were so so so good! Believe it or not, this was my first time using ground chicken and I was scared to try it. But these definitely put my mind at ease. Sooo good! I served with garlic bread and a nice green salad.
bakerbynature says
Hi Sara! So happy you took the leap of faith and tried this recipe 🙂 Happy holidays!
Linda says
Absolutely delicious., I took a risk and made these for the first time on game day. They were a big hit! Definitely going into the rotation. Thank you, I excited to try other recipes from you.
Toni says
I absolutely love this recipe, I’ve made it three times already. I never have grated romano cheese on hand so I just shred some parmesan cheese instead and serve it with whole grain pasta and a side of veggies. It also heats up nicely. Love it!
bakerbynature says
Hi Toni. That is awesome! Thank you for letting us know the parm cheese works nicely, also 🙂 That will be helpful for other readers!
anu says
hi, i am gona try this recipe today becuse the recipe looks great….i just wanted to know that how to decide the meatballs are cooked through…plz reply soon..
bakerbynature says
Hi Anu. Simply follow the baking time listed in the recipe box. You can cut into one of the meatballs after that time is up if you’d like to check if they’re cooked through. They should be brown; not pink.
jenny says
can i make these with regular bread crumbs?
CHEFZEE says
TEST
Andrea says
Forgot to say thank you so… thank you! 😀
Andrea says
Awesome recipe! I just made them with a couple changes. Since my mom can’t eat grains, I used almond flour instead of the bread crumbs to make them paleo. 1:1 ratio worked. Also added extra spices to sauce, mostly sugar since I like sweeter sauces. Served with zucchini noodles to make sure i ate my vegetables… My new favorite meatballs!!!