Rating
Published Jun 19th
Prep 20m Cook 1h 30m Additional - Ready In 1h 50m
Servings 8 servings Calories 483.4
This is a sweet Italian sausage meatball tucked inside of a beef meatball. Very yummy and a great conversation starter. This is a labor intensive effort, but it is one of the most flavorful and moist meatballs I’ve ever eaten. It is also a very fun way to serve a very standard but beloved dish. Serve with your favorite pasta.
Recipe Ingredients
- 4 sweet Italian pork sausage, casings removed
- ½ cup water, or as needed
- 2 ¼ pounds ground beef
- ½ cup Italian-seasoned bread crumbs
- ¼ cup ketchup
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons granulated garlic
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ sweet onion, minced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 (15 ounce) can no salt-added diced tomatoes with Italian herbs
- 2 teaspoons white sugar
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried sweet basil
- ½ teaspoon lemon juice
Cooking Directions
- 1 Form pork sausage into small 1/2-inch meatballs using a small scoop. Fill a skillet with enough water to make a 1-inch depth; bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer. Cook meatballs in the simmering water until cooked through, about 15 minutes. Remove meatballs with a slotted spoon and cool on a paper towel-lined plate. Drain water.
- 2 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- 3 Mix ground beef, bread crumbs, ketchup, Parmesan cheese, Worcestershire sauce, egg, granulated garlic, and 1 teaspoon black pepper in a large bowl. Scoop ground beef mixture into about 1-inch portions using an ice cream scooper; form each portion around 1 small pork meatball to cover completely. Arrange double meatballs on a baking sheet.
- 4 Bake in the preheated oven until meatballs are browned and partially cooked, about 25 minutes.
- 5 Heat olive oil in a pot over medium heat; cook and stir onion and garlic in the hot oil until onion is softened, about 10 minutes. Add crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, sugar, Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon black pepper, basil, and lemon juice; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer sauce for 20 minutes. Add meatballs to sauce and simmer, stirring gently, until meatballs are fully cooked, about 20 more minutes.
Nutrition Facts
- Calories 483.4
- Carbohydrate 18.6 g
- Cholesterol 120.5 mg
- Fat 31.6 g
- Fiber 2.4 g
- Protein 31.1 g
- Saturated Fat 11.6 g
- Sodium 878 mg
- Sugar 8.1 g
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