Best Meatball Stuffed Football Bread Recipes

MEATBALL-STUFFED FOOTBALL BREAD

Steps:

• Position the oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment.
• Whisk together the garlic, milk, parsley, Parmesan, crushed red pepper, 2 eggs, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and a few grinds of black pepper in a large bowl. Add the beef and use your hands to mix everything together until well combined.
• Drop heaping tablespoons of the meat mixture onto the prepared baking sheets (you should have about 40 mounds). Use slightly damp hands to roll the mounds into balls. Bake until just browned and almost cooked through, about 20 minutes.
• Bring the marinara to a simmer in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs, bring back to a simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the meatballs are just cooked through, 7 to 8 minutes.
• Discard the parchment from the baking sheets and wipe one baking sheet clean. Coat the back of the baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Using your hands, spread one package of dough into a 15-by-12-inch rectangle on the baking sheet (it should be about the size of the baking sheet). Draw the outline of a football shape in the dough, about 1- inches-wide and 15-inches-long. Spoon half of the meatballs, tapping off any excess sauce, inside of the football outline on top of the dough. Sprinkle with 1 cup of mozzarella. Repeat with the remaining meatballs and remaining 1 cup mozzarella.
• On a lightly greased surface, spread the remaining package of dough into a rectangle big enough to cover the meatballs. Place the dough on top of the meatballs and press the dough together around the meatballs. Cut out the football shape leaving a 1-inch border around the edges, reserve the scraps. Tuck and tightly secure the edges underneath the dough to prevent any cheese from leaking out.
• Beat the remaining egg with 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl. Brush the top of the football with the egg wash. Pour the sesame seeds onto a plate.
• Using the scraps, roll out two 12-inch-long ropes to make the lines for the football. Gently roll the strips in the sesame seeds to coat. Press the ropes on the sides of the football, widthwise, so they are about 9-inches apart. Roll out one 9-inch-long rope and then roll in the sesame seeds. Place the rope lengthwise in between the two widthwise ropes. Roll out three 3-inch-long ropes then roll them in the sesame seeds. Place the ropes equidistance apart on top of the 9-inch rope.
• Mix the butter with the garlic salt and brush the entire football. Bake until the dough is a deep golden brown and completely cooked through, 55 to 60 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes and serve with the remaining marinara sauce.

MEATBALL-STUFFED GARLIC BREAD RECIPE BY TASTY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F (180˚C).
• In a medium bowl, mix the ground beef, bread crumbs, parsley, egg, salt, and pepper.
• Pinch off a ball of the mixture, roll between your hands to make ping-pong ball-sized meatballs.
• Cook the meatballs over medium heat, turning to brown each side. Remove from heat and drain on a paper towel.
• Slice the baguette into thirds or fourths (each baguette piece should be roughly the same length of two meatballs).
• Hollow out the insides of the baguette pieces with a knife.
• Lay two slices of mozzarella on top of each other with a 1-inch (2 cm) overlap. Place two meatballs on the overlapping region, then fold the mozzarella tightly around the meatballs.
• Push the rolled meatballs and cheese into a baguette piece.
• Slice the stuffed baguette pieces into 1-inch (2 cm) slices, then place them tightly side-by-side on a baking sheet lined with foil.
• In a small bowl, mix together ingredients for garlic butter.
• Brush the garlic butter evenly over the baguette slices, making sure some drips in between the slices.
• Wrap the foil over the re-assembled baguette and bake for 15-20 minutes, until cheese is melted and the top is starting to brown.
• Remove the foil and serve with marinara.
• Enjoy!

MEATBALL-STUFFED GARLIC BREAD SLIDERS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and 2 cloves garlic; cook and stir until onion is soft, about 5 minutes.
• Place beef in a large bowl. Add onion-garlic mixture, parsley, egg, bread crumbs, and 1 large handful of fontina cheese, reserving the rest for topping. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne. Mix by hand until just combined. Scoop meat mixture into 24 mini muffin cups; meatballs need not be perfectly round.
• Bake in the preheated oven until no longer pink in the centers, about 12 minutes. Leave oven on. Let meatballs cool briefly while you make the garlic butter.
• Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add remaining minced garlic once butter starts to bubble; stir, then immediately remove from heat. Stir well and set aside.
• Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil; coat foil with remaining olive oil. Transfer rolls, still attached, to the baking sheet. Cut a hole in the top of each roll, about 2/3 of the way down. Brush garlic butter over the insides and outsides of the rolls.
• Bake until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Pour about 1 tablespoon tomato sauce into each hole. Stuff meatballs into the holes. Top each roll with a spoonful of tomato sauce and remaining fontina cheese. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top.
• Continue baking until cheese is melted, 12 to 15 minutes. Garnish with more parsley. Let rolls sit for 5 to 10 minutes to firm up; transfer to a serving platter.