This home-cooked Meatballs Parmesan Casserole makes for an excellent meal for a weeknight made with parmesan meatballs from scratch cooking in a delicious marinara sauce. It’s then served with mozzarella cheese that has been melted. Similar in taste to Chicken Parmesan but with meatballs! Serve it over pasta, or use it as a substitute for meatballs for a tasty Italian meal any time or day of the week.
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Easy Parmesan Meatballs Recipe
We’ve got you covered. Meatballs Parmesan Casserole comes as an amalgamation of the most delicious elements of our favorite Italian recipes including our Homemade Juicy Meatballs, savory sauce made with Our Easy Marinara Sauce, and Casserole-style cooking making it simple to prepare and serve.
You’ll be amazed at how easy it is to create delicious meatballs with the best flavor that are simple to serve it up for an entire group of people or use to prepare meals. Learn more about cooking ahead and freezing these Meatball Casserole.
Ingredients to make Meatball Parmesan Casserole
Just a handful of ingredients for meatballs and your preferred marinara sauce, it’s easy to create my homemade baked Meatball Parmesan recipe. I’m sure many people are asking if you could use store-bought meatballs or sauce for a quicker recipe. The answer is yes. I’ve provided variations in the following recipe however I can assure you that these flavors are well worth the effort!
- white bread We prefer slices of sandwich bread. However, you could also use the interior of soft Italian or French bread also, however you must remove the crust. Gluten-free bread can also be used.
- Milk Use milk the best way to make tender and succulent meatballs however you are able to make it use cold water instead.
- Meat 1 pound of ground pork and ground beef. You can use 80/20 or 85/15 for the greatest flavor.
- Parmesan cheese Finely grated is the ideal. It is used in half the meatball, and another half in the topping
- Egg is used to make the meatball more secure
- Flavoring Garlic cloves sea salt, parsley and black pepper
- Marinara Sauce – we’ll need 3 cups. The recipe I use for my Homemade Marinara Sauce works perfectly however you could substitute for it your favorite brand-name sauce.
- Mozzarella Cheese Mozzarella Cheese If you’ve got the time or cut the cheese by hand for the perfect cheese meltiness
Variations
Below are some alternatives to help create this delicious meatball dish for you and your family
- Meatballs from the store If you’re running low in time, consider buying supermarket meatballs. Select Italian-flavored or simple meatballs in order to get the right flavours with marinara sauce.
- Meat We’re in love with the traditional meatball mix made of pork and beef however, you could substitute other meats, including turkey, ground meat, and even bison. Be sure to avoid super-lean protein so that the meatballs won’t turn out difficult to chew.
- Vegetables sauté chopped vegetables like onions and green peppers. You can also saute chopped spinach. Then, mix them in the sauce to get an additional portion of veggies
- Spice – To give spice, you can add the red pepper when you add the garlic.
How do you Make Baked Meatballs Parmesan
- The oven should be heated to 400°F. Pour cold water or milk over the bread cubes after soaking it for 5 minutes. Then, make a mash with a fork.
- Create the meat mixture: Add ground meat and pork, half of eggs, parmesan cheese, garlic parsley, salt as well as pepper, to bread. Then mix until everything is together. Don’t overmix, as this could make the meatball hard. It should be moist. However, in the event that it’s not it, make a splash of milk.
- Make sure to portion the meatballs. I used a medium trigger release cookie scoop for portioning approximately 2 Tbsp for each meatball. The mixture is then rolled into meatballs using damp hands, roughly the size that a golf ball is or 1 1/2inches in the diameter.
Pro Tip:
To avoid sticking of meatballs on your hands, place an empty bowl in front of you. Dip your hands in the water before rolling the meatballs. When they start to become stuck you can re-dip your fingers into the water. The result will be flawlessly smooth meatballs.
- Sauté meatballs Meatballs –Heat an enormous skillet on moderate flame. Pour in oil until it covers the top (I employed about 2 TBSP) and then pour in the meatballs one at a time once the oil has reached a temperature. Rotate the meatballs every two minutes or so to cook each side.
- Bake and Assemble to bake Pour 1 cup marinara sauce into the 9×13 casserole dish, add the meatballs to the sauce. Sprinkle the remaining marinara sauce over the meatballs. Sprinkle with the rest of the parmesan cheese as well as all mozzarella cheese. Follow our guidelines below for how to keep the casserole in this point and baking wrapped in foil for approximately 30 minutes, or until the meatballs are cooked up to 165°F.
Do I have the ability to prepare Meatball Parmesan in a Slow cooker?
Meatball casserole is great in a crockpot too. Place the marinara, browned and meatballs inside the slow cooker, cook at the low setting for about 3-4 hours, or until the meatballs are done cooking. finish by adding the cheese, and cook for another 30 hours or until the cheese has melted.
How to serve Parmesan Meatballs
The Parmesan Meatballs Casserole recipe is a great main course since it is possible to serve the meatballs in a variety of ways. Consider serving it with:
- Over Pasta – Try Homemade Pasta or purchase it at a grocery store.
- Over Veggies like Spaghetti Squash
- Meatball Sandwiches served on toasted Hamburger Buns
- Cheesy Meatball Subs are served with toasty sub roll
- Alongside Crusty Bread Try the Sourdough Bread and the Dinner Rolls and Focaccia Bread to absorb the sauce
- Alongside a Salad Simple by serving Caesar Salad
Make-Ahead & Storage
It’s simple to prepare Meatballs Parmesan Casserole up to 24 hours prior (if refrigerating) and three months in advance if you freeze. Make the casserole as per Step 5, however, prior to baking, you can store the casserole in the following manner:
- to chill prior prior to baking: place foil over the pan and chill for 24 hours or more. Prepare the recipe directly from your fridge and add an additional five minutes for baking time.
- Freezing ahead Before baking, cover the pan with an enveloping layer of plastic and cover it with foil then put it in a freezer up to three months. Once you are ready to cook it chill it in the refrigerator overnight take off the wrap, follow the cooking instructions by adding five minutes in baking time.
- Storing leftovers When the cake is baked to a perfect the leftovers can be stored inside an airtight container the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days, or freeze for 3 months or more. Freeze in the fridge, after that, heat it using the microwave (use the splatter protection!) or the oven to heat through.
Meatballs Parmesan Casserole blends the finest elements from a variety of our favorite Italian recipes–homemade meatballs and marinara sauce and melting cheese. It’s a heavenly, crowd-pleasing dish that can be within just an hour. It’s a perfect evening meal or if you want to feed a number of people. You’ll surely love this recipe!
Meatballs Parmesan Casserole
Ingredients
- 4.8 slices of white bread crusts removed, cut into pieces
- 0.8 cup chilled milk or water and any additional liquids if required
- 1.6 pounds of lean ground beef 80/20 or 85/15
- 1.6 pounds of ground pork. I employed 80/20
- 0.8 cups finely grated Parmesan cheese Divided
- 1.6 large egg
- 4.8 garlic cloves chopped
- 3.2 Tbsp parsley finely chopped. Add more add garnish
- 1.6 tsp fine sea salt
- 0.8 TSP fresh cracked black pepper
- For frying oil I prefer extra-light olive oil
- 4.8 cups of marinara sauce homemade or bought from a grocery store
- 2.4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese 6 oz
Instructions
- Set the oven at 400F. Place an oven rack at the middle in the oven. In an enormous mixing bowl place the diced bread. Add milk or water to the bread. Let it sit for five minutes before mash using the help of a fork.
- Incorporate ground pork and beef add half the cheese parmesan, eggs crushed garlic, chopped parsley black pepper, salt. Mix with your hands until it is just mixing. Don’t overmix. The mix should be quite damp. If it doesn’t, add the milk more as required.
- Make golf-ball-sized meatballs. approximately 2 Tbsp for each meatball. The trigger release scoop is easy to divide the meatballs. Soak your hands in water and then roll into meatballs approximately 1-1/2″ inches in size.
- Place a large pan on moderate heat. Coat the skillet’s bottom with oil. It should be about 2 Tbsp. When the oil is heated then add the meatballs the skillet in small batches. make sure to turn them every 2 minutes so that you achieve a well-cooked grill on both sides. Each batch should take about 8 minutes to cook to total. The food doesn’t have to be cooked completely now, but they should be cooked to a golden brown all over.
- Add 1 cup marinara to a 9×13 casserole dish. Place the meatballs that have been browned over the sauce in one layer. Add the rest of the marinara to the top, and then sprinkle on the rest of the parmesan cheese, along with mozzarella cheese. Then, cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes or until the meatballs are done to 160 F using an instant-read thermometer. The cheese needs to melt and the casserole is bubbling for about 30 minutes.
Notes
*Make-Ahead Instructions
Make and refrigerate the Casserole Before serving – You are able to assemble the casserole for up to 24 hours prior to the time of baking then cover the casserole and chill until you are ready to bake. If you bake the casserole cold out of the refrigerator, allow five minutes more baking time.
You can freeze the Casserole and can put it together and protect it with plastic wrap, the foil with aluminium for 3 to 6 months. If you’re ready to bake it then thaw the casserole in the refrigerator over night, be sure you remove the plastic wrap from under the foil. Bake as instructed.
Reheating Leftovers Cover with foil and cook at 350 F in about 20 minutes or until the meatballs have warm to the touch. The same can be done in the microwave. I recommend having an splatter shield to prevent the microwave from becoming dirty.