These Pizza Meatballs are a quick, easy and kid-friendly lunch or dinner option. They’re lower-carb, packed with protein and taste great on their own and dipped in marinara!
Hi friends!
We’ve been loving these Pizza Meatballs around here for the past week or two so I figured it was time to share them with you. If you follow me on Instagram, you know it took me several tries to get these right. But they were worth the extra effort!
The first time I made these I made them with tuna…and it just didn’t work out all that well. I had the idea floating around in my head…and then Kelsey posted her Tuna Pizza Bites that looked delish so I knew I had to give my version a try. But…my version was dry and “not yummy” as Squish would say. The second time, I switched to ground chicken and continued with my idea of stuffing them with cubes of string cheese or pieces of fresh mozzarella. They were better, but still missing something.
The final time I went with shredded mozzarella to spread the cheese throughout and also mixed in a little marinara sauce to keep them nice and moist and flavorful. Definite winner. I rolled mine in breadcrumbs but I suppose you don’t have to if you don’t want to!
If you like the breadcrumbs for a little bit of crispy outer coating, these are best eaten the night you make them. The breadcrumbs won’t stay crispy after being refrigerated but they still taste good and I made myself a batch to enjoy all week long.
The kids gobbled these up and the hubby also enjoyed them as a lower-carb alternative to pizza. They’re great by themselves but I like dipping them in some extra marinara…or even in some bbq sauce. Yum!
Here’s how you make them:
PrintPizza Meatballs
These Pizza Meatballs are a quick, easy and kid-friendly lunch or dinner option. They’re low-carb, packed with protein and taste great on their own and dipped in marinara!
- Prep Time: 5 min
- Cook Time: 20 min
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: Makes 14 meatballs 1x
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 10 pepperoni, chopped
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs, divided
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/3 cup marinara sauce + extra for dipping
Instructions
In a large bowl, combine chicken, pepperoni, 1/4 cup breadcrumbs, spices, cheese and 1/3 cup sauce.
Mix well.
Place remaining breadcrumbs on a plate.
Form mixture into balls. They will be wet and a little sticky. Roll in breadcrumbs and place on a greased, foil-lined baking sheet.
Bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes, flipping the meatballs halfway through.
Notes
Easy right? Let me know if you try these! Can’t wait to hear what you think!
[clickToTweet tweet=”These Pizza Meatballs are quick, easy and kid-friendly. Perfect for lunch or dinner, they’re great on their own or dipped in some extra marinara.” quote=”These Pizza Meatballs are quick, easy and kid-friendly. Perfect for lunch or dinner, they’re great on their own or dipped in some extra marinara.”]
Enjoy!
–Lindsay–
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YUM! These are seriously a stroke of PURE genius. Everyone loves pizza!
Tried this recipe today with turkey. As for a dinner what would you pair with these little meatballs?
probably roasted sweet potatoes and some sort of veggie like roasted green beans or steamed broccoli or something for hubby and i. Same thing for my kids, with extra marinara for dipping and probably some fruit.
Perfect!! Thanks for the inspiration. PS-my hubby and kiddo LOVED the meatballs! Win!
Oh I can’t wait to try these, Sully is obsessed with your other meatballs (especially the bbq ones ) and I’m sure these will be a hit too!!!
hope he loves them!
Just made these last night and man where they EVER good!!!! Cant’ wait to make them again, so easy and came out perfectly! Another great recipe! Thank you!
These were delicious! I subbed in ground turkey because we already had some, and we had everything else on hand. So good, and so easy
Tried these last night and they were great. I used turkey mince and added some cayenne pepper but otherwise followed the recipe to a T. Would definitely recommend 🙂 Next time I might try and bake them in some tomato sauce (instead of serving it with the tomato dipping sauce)
These are delicious! Both my husband and I loved them. I’m hoping these will convince my toddlers to get on board with meatballs 🙂
yay! good luck!
Love these! So easy to make and picky-eater approved!