Chef Chrysta Wilson shares this clever presentation idea for stuffing homemade, giant meatballs with spaghetti for a fun and memorable, (not to mention mess-free) dish. Enjoy!
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Ingredient ground beef, spaghetti
Prep Time 45 minutesmins
Cook Time 30 minutesmins
Freezing time 15 minutesmins
Total Time 1 hourhr30 minutesmins
Servings 4
Calories 499
Author Chrysta Wilson
Ingredients
1/4lbthin spaghetti
3ozMozzerella cheesesliced into 8 rounds
1/5lbsground beef15% fat
1tspcrushed garlic
2tspsalt
2tspgarlic powder
1medium shallotminced
1/4cupItalian (flat-leaf) parsley
1eggoptional
1cupbreadcrumbs
1/2cupmilk
1cupmarinara saucehomemade or use your favorite brand
Cook spaghetti according to package instructions to al dente texture. Drain.
Put the beef into a large mixing bowl. Mix in the crushed garlic, salt, garlic powder, shallot and parsley.
If you like your meatballs moist, crack the egg into a small bowl, scramble lightly and add to the seasoned meat.
Combine milk and bread crumbs in a small bowl. Add to the ground meat mixture. Let mixture stand at room temperature while you prep the spaghetti.
Using a pair of chopsticks, swirl the spaghetti into 8 small mounds.
Freeze the noodle balls for 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Press a slice of Mozzerella onto the top of each noodle mound.
To make the meatballs: form the ground meat into patties. Place a noodle mound at the center of each patty and wrap the meat around the noodle and cheese parcel to thoroughly enclose.
Cook for approx. 30 minutes, until golden.
Warm the marinara sauce while the meatballs bake.
To serve, top with warm marinara and grated Parmesan.
Notes
Be careful not to overcook the spaghetti before you put it in the meatballs. Cook it only to al dente or it will get overcooked when the meatballs are baking. Do not forget that you will need 15 minutes to freeze the spaghetti mounds before you make the meatballs. (Do this while the meatball mixture rests and the oven preheats.) This is an important step.
A note on the provided nutrition information
The nutrition information provided has been estimated by an online nutrition calculator and is not a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.