Ricotta Meatballs
Looking for a quick and easy appetizer or tasty dinner? These ricotta meatballs are so easy to make. Your friends and guests will go wild for these quick, baked meatballs.
Meatballs — the ultimate comfort food. And for some reason, I always thought meatballs would be hard to make from scratch. But the truth is, meatballs are fairly simple once you know the few key things that make a meatball work. Since making these, I've also ventured into making baked chicken meatballs and goat cheese, rosemary chicken meatballs.
Take the stress out of cooking by growing in your cooking confidence. Sign up for my tips for how to cook and get the latest recipes from Joyfully Mad.
All you need is meat — whether it be ground beef, ground turkey, ground chicken or ground sausage — then something it to bind everything together, like eggs and breadcrumbs, and some seasonings. They're really that simple to throw together!
This ricotta meatball recipe has a few extra goodies that make them to die for, if I do say so myself. Though, for the record, the rest of my family couldn't get enough of them, too!
Turns out these meatballs would be the perfect hearty appetizer for any party, but I'm also a sucker for serving them over a bed of your favorite pasta with a tasty sauce. Whichever way you choose to serve them, you're going to love these delicious meatballs!
Why You'll Love this Recipe
Pair these with your favorite marinara sauce for the most amazing flavor combo:
- Meatballs are fantastic for meal prep, and especially these. The cheese makes them the most amazing, tender texture, so they reheat wonderfully.
- You can use these Italian-style meatballs in a pasta dish or as an appetizer. They are so delicious both ways!
- This recipe only requires five simple ingredients. It doesn't get much easier than that!
Ingredients
Here's how to make this easy recipe:
- ground Italian sausage sweet, mild or hot depending on your preference
- egg
- Italian breadcrumbs
- sticky white rice
- ricotta cheese
Substitutions and Variations
Sausage substitutions: You can use sweet, mild or hot Italian sausage — it's all up to personal preference.
Spice it up: Add some extra spices and seasonings into the mix if you'd like. Dried herbs like rosemary, thyme, oregano and parsley would all be tasty. An Italian seasoning mix works as well! For more bold flavor, add things like garlic powder, onion powder, and red pepper. I also recommend using Italian seasoned breadcrumbs, but plain one are fine as well. You'll just need to add some seasonings!
Ricotta-stuffed meatballs: Combine sausage, egg, bread crumbs and rice in a bowl. Use your thumb to put a small dent in the meatball. Fill the dent with 1 teaspoon ricotta and add more meat mixture on top to make a meatball again. If you do this method, be sure to bake on a wire rack so the cheese won't ooze out and burn.
Other meats: You can make these meatballs with ground beef, chicken or turkey.
How to Make Ricotta Meatballs
Ready to make these ricotta meatballs? They're super easy!
Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C) and then place an oven safe metal wire baking or cooling rack on top of a rimmed baking sheet. (You can also just use a piece of parchment paper.) Spray with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
Combine sausage, egg, bread crumbs, rice and ricotta cheese in a mixing bowl.
Form one sphere by hand with about 2 tablespoons of the meatball mixture and rolling into a round ball shape. Repeat with remaining mixture to make about 12 meatballs.
Place on the prepared baking sheet with the rack and repeat with the remaining mixture to make about 12 meatballs. Space the meatballs a few inches apart, not touching.
Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until sausage is fully cooked when you cut into the meatball. The interior of the meatball should read 160°F (71°C) with a meat thermometer.
How to Store Leftover Meatballs
Allow leftover meatballs to cool completely, then transfer to an airtight container. Store in the fridge for 3-4 days. You can freeze these leftovers too! Just freeze them on a a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Once frozen, transfer to a freezer safe container and store for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw before reheating.
What to Serve with Ricotta Meatballs
These are the best meatballs! They seriously seem to pair well with just about anything. I love to serve them with some lemon ricotta pasta or lemon orzo pasta salad. You can also serve them with a simple tomato sauce over a bed of noodles — even a creamy alfredo too!
My cheesy garlic bread and some oven roasted green beans are great side dishes to serve with ricotta meatballs. A fresh salad with some homemade croutons would be yummy as well.
Tips for Success
This is one of my favorite ways to make meatballs, and if you follow these tips they will turn out so tasty:
- Don't overmix the meat mixture or you'll end up with tough meatballs. Once everything is combined, you can start making the meatballs.
- Make each meatball in an even size. If you have a small meatball next to a large meatball, they will finish baking at different times. You can use a cookie scoop to get the perfect meatball every time!
- Pan frying these meatballs works as good as baking them. Use a large skillet or a dutch oven on the stovetop and cook over medium heat until they reach a safe internal temperature.
FAQ
Yes, you can use cottage cheese in place of ricotta but the texture and flavor is a bit different. Cottage cheese could be a bit more difficult to mix into these meatballs, but will work in a pinch.
Egg and breadcrumbs are key to keeping the meatballs tender and moist. Make sure you use the correct amount of each to make them perfect!
More Meatball Recipes
Did you make this recipe?
If you make and love this recipe, please leave a ★★★★★ review below! It means so much to me when you try my recipes, and I'd love to know how it goes. Please leave a comment below if you have any questions.
Ricotta Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground Italian sausage sweet, mild or hot depending on your preference
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
- 2 tablespoons sticky white rice cooked
- 4 ounces ricotta cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Place an oven-safe, metal wire baking/cooling rack on top of a cookie sheet. Spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- Combine sausage, egg, bread crumbs, rice and ricotta cheese in a mixing bowl.
- Form one sphere by hand with about 2 tablespoons of the meatball mixture and rolling into a round ball shape. Repeat with remaining mixture to make about 12 meatballs. Place on the prepared baking sheet, spacing the meatballs a few inches apart.
- Bake for 10 minutes, or until sausage is fully cooked when you cut into the meatball. The interior of the meatball should read 160°F (71°C) with a meat thermometer.
what a creative meatball recipe! Ricotta, love it and great idea, thank you for this recipe, great for game day but also beyond for entertaining especially!
Thank you so much Sabrina! If you end up making these, share a photo on IG and tag me 🙂
Oh, girl. These meatballs look INSANELY delicious, and I am SO happy you shared 'em because YUM. I never thought meatballs were hard to make (because my mama makes such good ones, and I watched her for years), but I never varied my meatballs until married life. My mom's are so good, but we like to change things up sometimes. So clearly, I gotta make these, too!
I totally get that! There are a lot of things I haven't ever considered to be difficult to make because they were staples in our house growing up! I hope you'll try these 🙂
Stuffing meatballs with cheese? BRILLIANT!
I wish your little guy could eat these, Greyson gobbled them up!
These meatballs look so dreamy! I LOVE the ricotta in the center - nothing like cheese and meat to celebrate the Big Game 😉
I totally agree girl. ALL THE CHEESE.