Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs

Balls are back on the meal prep menu with this super easy and high protein recipe. These mozzarella stuffed meatballs are packed with flavor, can be made multiple ways, which we cover, and use fairly common ingredients. So let's jump right into it. Start these meatballs by adding into a large mixing bowl one and a half pounds of either lean ground beef, turkey, or chicken. I went with 93.7% ground turkey today. Pro tip, if you're using a less lean meat, say below 90, you may want to consider making these in either the air fryer or oven, which I'll include how to do at the end of this video or on the website. Continue with two large whole eggs, 3 fourths of a cup of breadcrumbs, half a cup of parmesan cheese, one tablespoon of Italian seasoning, half a teaspoon of black pepper, and a fourth a teaspoon of salt. This is your base, nothing else is needed. Personally, I also like to add in a teaspoon of onion powder, one and a half teaspoons of minced garlic, and some chopped up onion for texture. I'll include more variations and of course metric conversions for all of these ingredients on the website, which is always linked up here or below in the description. Mix all of those ingredients together until everything looks incorporated. From here, you'll need some mozzarella, you can use mozzarella sticks, a block, or some pearls. What you want to use will depend on the size you're making them. For smaller meatballs, let's get weird, pearls work great, and for bigger meatballs, sticks or a block. To incorporate your mozzarella, roll your ball out, press in with your thumb, place your piece of mozzarella in the middle, and enclose it while rolling like this. I'm using pearls with the size meatballs I'm making. Repeat until all of your mix is gone. If you're making bigger meatballs, you'll want to cut a bigger piece from your sticks or block. Last, put your meatballs in your slow cooker, and pour in a jar of your favorite pasta sauce. Speaking of pasta sauce, what's your favorite kind? Drop it in the comments below. Honestly, this premium marinara from Aldi that's only around $4 is pretty delicious. The ingredient list with Italian tomatoes, olive oil, and so on is what you'd typically find in a much higher priced sauce. For value, I'd say this is probably my favorite sauce at the moment. No, this isn't sponsored. Make sure your sauce is evenly distributed over the top, and turn your slow cooker on high for around 2 1⁄2 to 3 hours, or low for 5 to 6, depending on the size of meatballs you're making. You'll know they're done when they reach 165 and look like this. A couple tips to this one. Number one, if you're using a fattier meat and don't want all the extra juice, you can make these in the air fryer oven. To make these in your air fryer oven, all you need to do is to put them onto a baking sheet and into whatever you're using on 400 for around 20 to 25 minutes, making sure to flip them halfway through. Again, remember that your cooking time will be dependent on how big your meatballs are. The most accurate way to know if they're done is to use a food thermometer. Number two, for some heat, add some crushed red pepper, a little seasoning, or some hot sauce. And number three, pair this with some pasta, rice, or vegetables for a low-carb option. The winner of our last testing your guesstimating for the pineapple was, bang, congrats to you. For this week's testing your guesstimating, we're going to go with two balls. Drop a comment below with how much you think they weigh in grams. The closest one to it wins the shaker for sure. One guess per person. With that said, thank you for watching. Hit that thumbs up button for more meal prep recipes. Subscribe if you haven't already, so you never miss a recipe. Don't forget to check out TheProteinChef.co for all your healthy recipe needs. And of course, stay healthy.