Crescent Roll Meatball Muffins - Whether you serve these Meatball Cupcakes as a meal with a salad, or as an appetizer, it's sure to be a palate pleaser!
This kid-friendly recipe is great party food with all the great flavors of a Meatball Sub. Give this recipe a try and also learn How to Make Pretzel Bites using frozen bread dough - so easy!
Jump to:
Ok, I'll admit that the sound of meatball cupcakes is a little odd. Trust me though that these are the best little appetizers or snacks for parties. They're super impressive and totally delicious.
What could be better than tender meatballs, gooey melted mozzarella cheese, and tomato sauce all wrapped up in a little crescent roll dough?
Now, you can absolutely make these using frozen store-bought meatballs. However, if you have the time to make your own homemade meatballs (be sure to try my homemade Italian meatballs), you won't regret it! They are simple to make, and if you plan to make a large batch of meatballs, be sure to freeze some for pasta and sauce later.
🧂 Ingredients
- store-bought or homemade marinara sauce
- frozen or homemade Italian meatballs
- refrigerated crescent roll dough or pizza dough
- shredded mozzarella cheese
- cream cheese
- store-bought or homemade Italian seasoning
Make Ahead Crescent Roll Meatball Muffins
- Remove the meatball cupcakes from the muffin tin and place onto a cooling rack; cool completely.
- To freeze, transfer cooled meatball muffins to a resealable freezer bag - be sure to label it!
- Freeze.
How to Reheat
- Heat oven to 350°F.
- Place the frozen meatball cupcakes onto a cookie sheet.
- Then, spray a sheet of foil with cooking spray and gently place it around the muffins.
- Bake covered 15 to 17 minutes until they are heated through.
📖 Variations
- For a spicy kick, try pepper jack cheese or a spicy spaghetti sauce.
- This recipe will also work with pieces of store-bought pizza dough.
- Make mini meatball cupcakes using small meatballs and a mini muffin pan.
- Try different seasonings on top of the cupcakes like Italian seasoning or spaghetti seasoning.
You can use any type of meatball you like - chicken, pork, even vegetarian meatballs! That includes using homemade or store-bought meatballs.
Need a meatball recipe? Here are a couple of my favorite recipes:
- Italian Chicken Meatballs - kid-friendly and healthy meatballs you can feel good about feeding to your family.
- Keto Chicken Meatballs - great game-day appetizer for carb-conscious fans.
- Italian Meatballs - this recipe for beef and pork meatballs has been handed down in my husband's family from generation to generation.
🍴 Serving Suggestions
Serve these Meatball Muffins with fruit salad or an easy green salad for a delicious weeknight meal.
For parties, try serving these on a big board with other foods that are easy for guests to eat with their hands like Stuffed Pizza Rolls, Cheesy Bacon Dip, and Baked Honey Teriyaki Chicken Wings.
These also make a fun addition to pasta night. Serve with leftover spaghetti bake or Monterey spaghetti.
😋 Similar Recipes
Next time, you might want to try one of these fabulously delicious appetizer recipes:
- Easy Meatball Sliders - delicious game day or party snacks, or just a fun weeknight dinner!
- Meatball Calzone - quick and easy meal and also great for parties!
- Garlic Cheese Bombs - so cheesy and delicious and the perfect accompaniment to meatball cupcakes.
- Best Buffalo Chicken Dip - this will be your new gameday go-to!
- Pizza Monkey Bread - this is perfect for game day entertaining.
- Chicken Meatball Subs - these easy sandwiches are totally delish.
Need another game day snack? Try our Cheesy Tater Tots!
If you love recipes using meatballs, be sure to check out our cheesy meatball casserole or easy meatball subs also!
👉 Find more recipes using meatballs.
Meatball Cupcakes
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Ingredients
Homemade Meatballs
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 lb ground pork
- ½ cup dry breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoons dried basil
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 tablespoon granulated garlic
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 3 eggs
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
Meatball Cupcakes
- 2 containers of take and bake croissant rolls each container will help make 4 muffins
- 8 meatballs frozen or fresh, we went with larger fresh meatballs so the muffins would be really filling
- ½ cup red sauce divided
- ½ cup cream cheese
- ¾ cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
- Italian seasoning to taste
Instructions
Homemade Meatballs
- Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix well. Mr. Juggling Act uses his hands to mix. If the mixture feels very dense, you can add a splash of water.1 lb ground beef, 1 lb ground pork, ½ cup dry breadcrumbs, 2 tablespoons dried basil, 1 tablespoon dried parsley, 1 tablespoon granulated garlic, ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese, 3 eggs, ¾ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper
- Roll the meat mixture into 2" balls. The mixture will feel a little like dough that needs more flour, more dense.
- TIP: Do not overwork the meatballs. Roll them gently between your palms until they just come together.
- Arrange the meatballs on a large baking tray. Add about ½-inch of water to the tray to prevent the meatballs from sticking or burning.
- Bake in a 350-degree F oven for about 35-40 minutes, or until meatballs are browned and cooked through. (The internal temperature should be 160F.)
- If you wish to freeze some or all of the meatballs, wait until they are completely cooled. Place them in freezer bag and remove as much of the air as possible. Store in the freezer for up to 2 months.
- Cooked Meatballs can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Meatball Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 375 F
- Spray a muffin pan with nonstick spray.
- Open and roll out the crescent rolls, press two of the triangles together to create a rectangle.2 containers of take and bake croissant rolls
- Push the rectangles of dough into the muffin wells.
- Divide the cream cheese and shredded cheese between the dough pieces.½ cup cream cheese, ¾ cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
- Add about a tablespoon of red sauce to the cups.½ cup red sauce
- Set a meatball inside each dough cup.8 meatballs
- Top with a little more sauce, cheese and the Italian spices.Italian seasoning
- Gently wrap any extra dough closer to the meatballs.
- Bake for about 15-18 minutes depending on the size of the meatball or until the dough is fully cooked and golden brown.
Equipment
- Mixing Spoon
Nutrition
Comments
No Comments