Full of cheese and pepperoni, these Easy Pepperoni Pizza Meatballs are a fun way to change up your normal meatball recipe. Serve them with pasta, on a bulky roll, or just eat them alone! No matter how you eat them, they are delicious!
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What's in these Meatballs?
Ground beef- I used 90/10 ground beef. Don't go much higher in fat than that because the pepperoni will give off some fat too as it cooks. Stay around 88/12 to 93/7. That's the best ratio of meat to fat for these meatballs.
Breadcrumbs- Breadcrumbs help the meatballs stay together and they soak up some of the fat. I used homemade here, but you can use store bought if that is what you have on hand. To make homemade breadcrumbs, simply pulse stale bread in the food processor until they become crumbs. If the bread is not fully stale when you are ready to make breadcrumbs, toast it in the toaster oven or oven first to harden it up. Then pulse it in the food processor.
Mozzarella cheese- To get the "pizza" vibe on these meatballs, you have to add mozzarella! I found that pre-shredded mozzarella just disappeared into the meatballs. Chopping a brick of mozzarella works really well and you get chunks of mozzarella throughout the meatballs.
Tomato Sauce- When the meatballs are cooked, it's a good idea to add them to tomato sauce. You can make your own or you can use your favorite jarred sauce. To make your own sauce, I add olive oil to a pan, dice some garlic, and shred one carrot. I let that cook for 1 minute and then I add a 28 ounce can of tomatoes. Add some oregano and salt and you have a delicious tomato sauce!
Let's Make these Meatballs!
- Mix everything in a bowl
Place all the ingredients in a large bowl.
- Time to get dirty!
Now it's time to get dirty! It's best to take off your rings at this point. Mix everything with your hands. You can use a wooden spoon if you wanted to, but using your hands is going to get you the best, most combined meat mixture. Do not over mix though. Try to stop when the mixture is just together.
- Roll the mixture into balls
Next, you'll roll the mixture into balls. I was able to get 24 meatballs out of this recipe. They are a little bigger than one inch in diameter. If you want to make them bigger go for it! Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat. That will prevent them from sticking. Bake them for 25 minutes at 350 degrees. Place them in tomato sauce to cook for 10-15 minutes longer. Enjoy on a bulky roll, over pasta, or on their own!
Questions about this Recipe
Yes! You can use ground chicken or ground turkey. Both would be really delicious in this recipe.
Sure! You can cook them up completely and place them in the refrigerator. Then when you are ready to eat them, place them in a pot with tomato sauce to gently heat. They also freeze perfectly. Freeze them in an air tight container for up to 3 months. When you are ready to eat them, defrost them in the refrigerator and heat them in the tomato sauce.
Stay away from the pepperoni that are not cut already. The one in the log or the full sized sausage. You won't be able to get that as thin. Go for the deli pepperoni and have them slice it for you, or you could buy a bag of pizza pepperoni by the deli section as well.
Other Recipes to Try!
Did you give these Easy Pepperoni Pizza Meatballs a try? I’d love to hear from you! Give me a shout on Instagram or Facebook and let me know!
- Salsa Verde Chicken Bake
- Easy Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas
- Taco Stuffed Peppers
- Light and Crisp Sourdough Waffles
Easy Pepperoni Pizza Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 lb Ground Beef 90/10
- 2 Eggs Large
- ½ cup Bread Crumbs
- ⅓ cup Pepperoni Chopped
- ½ cup Mozzarella Diced
- 3 Tbsp Tomato Sauce Plus more to cook the meatballs in
- 1 Tbsp Oregano
- ⅓ cup Parmesan Cheese Grated
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Heat up your tomato sauce. Let that simmer on the stove while you make the meatballs.
- In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients together.
- Mix everything until it is well combined. Do not overmix. When all the ingredients are combined together, stop mixing.
- Roll the meat into balls. I was able to get 24 one inch meatballs out of this recipe.
- Place the meatballs on a parchment lined or silicon pad lined baking sheet.
- Place them in the oven and cook for 25 minutes.
- Once the meatballs are done, add them to the simmering tomato sauce. Let that cook for 10-15 minutes.
- Serve over pasta, in a bulky roll, or on their own.
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