The best Italian-Style Meatball Recipe
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 pound extra-lean ground beef, 4% fat at most
- 1/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
- 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 3/4 cup reduced-fat marinara sauce
- 1/4 cup egg whites or fat-free liquid egg substitute
- 2 teaspoon chopped garlic
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon each salt and black pepper
Topping
- 1 cup seeded and chopped tomato
- 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
- 2 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
- 1/4 cup finely hashed sweet onion
- 1/4 teaspoon each salt and black pepper
Directions
Prep time: 20 min | Cook time: 35
1 . Set oven to 350 degrees and preheat. Choose 8″ X 8″ baking pan and spray with nonstick spray.
2 . Combine all topping ingredients in a medium bowl. Mix softly until homogenous. Then refrigerate covered.
3 . Combine in a large bowl the following ingredients: ground beef, egg whites or substitute, breadcrumbs, onion powder, garlic, salt, and black pepper. Make 12 equal sized meatballs.
4 . Place meatballs in the baking pan, and evenly garnish with marinara sauce.
5 . Use foil to cover pan before baking for 20 minutes.
6 . Remove foil, bake again about 10 minutes until meatballs are cooked through.
7 . Scatter mozzarella and Parm, bake for 5 minutes until mozzarella melts.
8 . Garnish with topping.
Nutritional information
Servings: 4 | Serving Size: 1/4th of recipe, about 3 garnished and saucy meatballs
- Calories: 255
- Fat: 8.5g
- Sodium: 681mg
- Carbs: 11g
- Fiber: 2g
- Sugars: 4.5g
- Protein: 31.5g
PointsPlus:6 | SmartPoints: 5