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This Cheesy Baked Meatball Casserole features fun, mini meatballs topped with your favorite marinara and loads of melty cheese! Baked in a casserole dish, this easy dinner idea is a huge hit with kids!
My kids love, love, love, meatballs. They are full of flavor, fun to make, and perfect with pasta! Why wouldn’t kids love them, right? Know what my kids love even more than plain meatballs? Baked meatballs that have been covered in their favorite marinara sauce and heaps of cheese! Cheese, cheese, cheese! 🧀
Why You’ll Love This Meatball Casserole Recipe
- Such great flavor. This cheesy baked meatball casserole is simply the best! You get perfectly baked meatballs that soak in the sweet, garlicky marinara. And ALL THAT CHEESE!
- Family favorite. Topped with melty, gooey, cheese served on warm fresh rolls or on the side of your favorite pasta and you have a simple dinner that the entire family will enjoy.
- Kid friendly. Sometimes our kids just want their version of classic comfort food. And this cheesy meatball casserole is it!
What You’ll Need
- Fresh Bread
- Milk
- Veggies: Yellow onion and fresh garlic add a ton of flavor to these meatballs.
- Egg
- Meat: We’ll be using a mixture of ground beef and pork – so good!
- Seasoning: Grab some Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
- Marinara Sauce
- Cheese: I’m a big fan of shredded fresh mozzarella rather than anything pre-shredded.
- Parsley: Fresh parsley adds great color and a pop of freshness!
How to Make Meatballs in a Casserole
This easy meatball casserole recipe comes together really quickly with basic pantry ingredients. Scroll to the recipe card for exact ingredient amounts and detailed instructions.
- Prep. Preheat the oven to 400˚F.
- Mix. In a large mixing bowl combine the bread cubes and milk. Let it stand for about 5 minutes, or until the bread has absorbed all the milk. Using two forks, shred the bread into tiny pieces and add the grated onions, egg, garlic, beef, pork, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Mix it all together until thoroughly incorporated.
- Make the meatballs. Chill the mixture for 15 minutes so it’s easier to roll the meatballs. Form the mixture into 18 to 24 meatballs, they should be about the size of a ping pong ball.
- Bake. Arrange the meatballs in a baking dish. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the meatballs are cooked through. Remove from the oven.
- Top. Add marinara sauce over the meatballs. Add shredded mozzarella.
- Continue baking. Bake for an additional 6 to 8 minutes, or until the sauce is heated through and cheese is melted.
- Garnish and serve. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley.
Tips for Success
- Chill out. After you combine your meatball mix together, don’t forget to let the mix chill! This will make it easier for you to form the meatballs and it will keep your meatballs from flattening while they bake.
- Size matters. Try to form your meatballs into similar sizes. This way, they will cook evenly.
- Even layer of cheese. Be sure to distribute your shredded cheese evenly. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want my kids fighting over who got more cheese! 🙄
- Frozen works too! For a super quick and easy dinner, use frozen meatballs and jarred marinara. Simply allow the meatballs to come to room temp before baking or adjust your baking time based on the instructions on the package. There’s no shame in needing a super easy and fast dinner on a crazy busy weeknight.
Variation Ideas
One of the things I love about this meal is that I can mix things up based on what I have available to me at the time. Here are some variations I suggest:
- Ground meat. Use ground turkey instead of the mixture of ground pork and beef. This will give you a more lean meatball.
- Frozen meatballs. You could also use previously made frozen meatballs. I love to keep homemade oven baked meatballs in my freezer to pull out for an easy weeknight dinner. This saves the most labor intensive steps in making this dinner!
- Cheese. Swap the mozzarella cheese for provolone, parmesan, or any Italian cheese blend.
- Fresh herbs. Swap the fresh parsley for fresh basil or oregano.
Serving Suggestions
This casserole is just so delicious. I love to serve it up with fresh warm rolls or flatbread. We make our own meatball sandwiches out of them. My kids love this cheesy meatball casserole served up alongside their favorite pasta shapes.
If you’re avoiding carbs or not in the mood for pasta, you can simply serve this casserole along side zoodles or with a large Italian style salad.
How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
- Allow the casserole to come down to room temperature. You can either tightly cover the casserole dish or transfer the oven baked meatballs over to an airtight container.
- If you transfer the meatballs, try to scoop them from the bottom to keep the layer of cheese on top intact. Then, you can keep them in your fridge for about 3-5 days.
- To reheat your leftovers, simply place the casserole dish in a 400˚F oven and bake until the meatballs are warm and the cheese has remelted.
More Easy Meatball Recipes
Cheesy Meatball Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 cups cubed fresh sliced bread,, crusts removed
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 small yellow onion,, grated
- 1 large egg
- 4 cloves garlic,, finely minced
- 1 pound ground beef
- ½ pound ground pork
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- 2 cups marinara sauce
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- chopped fresh parsley,, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400˚F.
- In a large mixing bowl combine bread cubes and milk; let stand 5 minutes, or until the bread has absorbed all the milk.
- Using two forks, shred the bread into tiny pieces and add grated onions, egg, garlic, beef, pork, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper; mix it all together until thoroughly incorporated.
- Chill mixture for 15 minutes so it’s easier to roll the meatballs.
- Form the mixture into 18 to 24 meatballs, they should be about the size of a ping pong ball.
- Arrange the meatballs in a baking dish.
- Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the meatballs are cooked through.
- Remove from oven.
- Add marinara sauce over the meatballs.
- Top with shredded mozzarella.
- Bake for an additional 6 to 8 minutes, or until sauce is heated through and cheese is melted.
- Garnish with chopped fresh parsley.
- Serve.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
This recipe is fantastic! My kids love it too and I appreciate all the great tips!
Thank you so much, Toni! I’m very glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
This Cheesy Baked Meatball Casserole looks incredibly delicious!
Yum! I love this recipe! My family absolutely loves this!
That’s great! I’m very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
Love this new way of doing meatballs… definitely adding it to the menu!
Thank you so much Cathy! I hope you enjoy it! 🙂
What a delicious casserole! Served this for dinner tonight, and it has easily become a new favorite recipe in our home! Delicious!
I’m very glad you and your family enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
Would this freeze well? It sounds really good but being single it makes a bit much for one!
Thanks!