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Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Meatball Stuffed Buns

These soft little pillows of goodness come with a surprise tucked inside!  - an Italian meatball, and warm ooey gooey cheese! They are great dipped in marinara and fun for kids and adults alike.  These would be great as appetizers for a party tray...as they are super easy to make, and super easy to eat.  No utensils required! If you think about it, it's almost like having a meatball sub that you can eat with two fingers.

Watch me make these on the Video recipe to Meatball Stuffed Buns
Click for Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 1 can Pillsbury golden layers biscuits - each pulled into 2 layers
  • 10 frozen fully cooked italian style meatballs - thawed and cut in half
  • 5 sticks string cheese - cut each into 4 pieces each
  • grated Parmesan cheese
  • dried basil
  • dried oregano
  • garlic powder
  • cracked black pepper
  • marinara sauce

Step-by-Step:
Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

For this recipe... make it easy on yourself!  I love these frozen meatballs.  They are well seasoned, fully cooked, the perfect size, and very convenient!  These are the 1/2 ounce meatballs.
So I'm not all that patient.  These babies are going into the microwave for a bit to thaw them out.
I'm using the flaky "layer" biscuits.  They separate well.
Cut the string cheese "sticks" into four pieces each.  You need 20 small "pieces."
Separate the biscuits into two layers each.


Ready to start!
Cut each meatball in half...
Add one meatball "half" and one string cheese "piece" to each biscuit.  Wrap the dough around it and seat the edges.  Place the seam side down into a round cake pan (or actually, I used the largest of my spring form pans). Contrary to this photo, I find that it works best to but the meatball first with the cut side UP, then the cheese.  This will put the rounded part of the meatball on the top when it's all said and done.

Season the "buns" with pepper, basil, oregano, garlic powder, and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.
Bake uncovered at 375 degrees F until golden brown.
These are great dipped into a bowl of warm marinara sauce.
These work great by themselves as an afternoon snack for the kiddos, or as a side dish to a nice, comforting pile of spaghetti!
Who among us can resist the draw of warm gooey mozzarella and warm marinara?!  I've never been able to turn that down!


Written Directions

Heat oven to 375 degrees F.  For this recipe... make it easy on yourself!  I love these frozen meatballs.  They are well seasoned, fully cooked, the perfect size, and very convenient!  These are the 1/2 ounce meatballs.  I'm using the flaky "layer" biscuits.  They separate well. Cut the string cheese "sticks" into four pieces each.  You need 20 small "pieces."  Separate the biscuits into two layers each.

Cut each meatball in half.  Add one meatball "half" and one string cheese "piece" to each biscuit.  Wrap the dough around it and seat the edges.  Place the seam side down into a round cake pan (or actually, I used the largest of my spring form pans).  I find that it works best to but the meatball first with the cut side UP, then the cheese.  This will put the rounded part of the meatball on the top when it's all said and done. Season the "buns" with pepper, basil, oregano, garlic powder, and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.  Bake uncovered at 375 degrees F until golden brown.   These are great dipped into a bowl of warm marinara sauce.

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53 comments:

  1. I finally had a chance to make these for my family and we loved them. Thanks for the recipe.

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    1. Awesome! So glad you tried them out. A super easy and fast meal or snack!!

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  2. Mmmm sounds like something my.boyfriend would love. Pinning and trying!

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    1. Good luck! Would be great for watching a football game, etc.!

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  3. approximately how long do you bake them?

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    1. Gosh... it's been a while since now since I've made these. I probably just went by the baking time listed on the biscuit can...until they were a beautiful golden color. 12 minutes'ish??

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  4. Made these last night - they were awesome!! Thank you!!

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    1. Dawn - so glad you enoyed them. Hope you'll try more of my recipes! :)

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  5. I've made these and they are awesome. The only thing I did different is I added the seasoning for the top to some melted butter and brushed that on top of the buns. I happen to be making a ton of different appetizers for a party and had a recipe that was similar (but completely different) that called for the same seasoning on top but with the butter, so I did not want to waste or do it twice so I gave it a try. They were great. If you wanted something different you could use a slice of pepperoni instead of a meatball, turns out tasty.

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    1. Yes... that DOES sound delicious. I love combining recipes and making new things. Cooking can be so much fun! I hope you will come back again!

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  6. Very impressed! Tasty and my 3 year old ate a ton of them. Will have to make these for a party! Good receipe for sure!

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    1. The 2-5 age group is perhaps the toughest panel of critics that exists... glad this passed the test!! (and they couldn't be much easier!)

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  7. Great for packing in my boyfriends lunch instead of a sandwich!

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  8. I fixed these tonight and my teen loved them! The only thing I did differently was dot them with olive oil and sprinkle them with Italian seasoning. Delish!

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  9. Not what i was expecting...not to crazy with the bicuit taste with the meatball...

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    1. Sorry that you were disappointed in the recipe. It just started as something fun, fast, and easy for an afternoon snack. If you like the concept without the biscuit taste, you could try with a regular bread roll dough.

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    2. Or, use crescent rolls! Most folks like those. Also try adding the herbs to melted butter, then spreading that on top of the buns. Hope that helps, "Anon"! ;-)

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  10. I'm going to try these for a Super Bowl party this Sunday! Have you ever tried putting a little marinara sauce inside so you don't have to have it as a dip?

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    1. That's a fabulous idea, but no, I have not tried it. I would sort of be scared I would have trouble sealing them if any of the marinara touched the edges... or possibly that they would be soggy.

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  11. Thanks for the great recipe. I made these for me and the hubby last weekend and we loved them.

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    1. Thanks Stacey!!! I'm so pleased. I hope you will try more of my recipes and become a regular. :)

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  12. is it possible to prep these the night before. I'm wanting to make them for my superbowl party and well i have a lot of cooking to do tomorrow!

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    1. I sent you a response via email, but for other viewers... I have not tried this, but I don't see why it wouldn't work. There is nothing in these to make them soggy. I am just not sure about the rising/or lack thereof in the fridge. Let us all know how it goes.

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  13. Love these! We made our marinara and meatballs fresh and then made the rolls. Thanks for sharing! Linked our meatball recipe back to you www.rivercityessentials.blogspot.com

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  14. Do you cook the meatballs before you put them in the dough or just thaw them out?

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    1. These meatballs are fully cooked already in the package. I just thaw them out.

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  15. These look great--we will be making them for our weekly family get- together (making a new pinterest recipe each time) So much fun!!! One question I have-- did you glaze yours with butter or egg white wash?? They appear in the picture to have a sheen. Thanks again for the great idea!

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    1. I think I may have taken a stick of butter and rubbed over the top when they came out of the oven to give them a pretty sheen. Hope you enjoy! :)

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  16. Just made these today and they are soo good! Thanks for sharing your recipe!

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    1. Krystal - Thanks for the update. Hope you will come back to the blog to try out more recipes... and please share the blog with your friends!
      Julie

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  17. Could youse these and then freeze them? Thinking of making large batch at once, freezing, and then reheating as needed for snack?

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    1. I've never tried it, but perhaps another reader may have. Maybe you could freeze them in the "assembled" but then bake them as you would a frozen dinner roll as you need a few. Sorry, I wish I had a better answer for you. Julie

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  18. Just made these. Turned out great! Thanks

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  19. I served these for lunch to a group of hungry kiddos - some of whom are ridiculously picky. I got a resounding THUMBS UP!

    I must say that your blog/site has the best looking and easiest to follow recipes and menu ideas of any I've seen. Can't wait to try some of your other things. So glad I stumbled across you!
    (and thanks for the pictures - they are not only adorable, but helpful too!)

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  20. Super easy & came out yummy!Thanks for sharing!

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  21. Made them last night...they were wonderful! My husband absolutely loved them!! He ate so many of them that it was ridiculous!

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  22. I am thinking of making these for a party: The recipe itself says to use two sticks of string cheese and to cut each one into ten pieces. The instructions accompanying the pictures say to cut them into four pieces each. Can you tell me which is correct? Thank you!

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    1. OMGosh, Rhonda!
      That is SO crazy!! LOL.... I must have had a serious brain lapse that day! You need 20 small pieces. I did cut them into 4 each. So you will need 5 sticks, NOT 2 sticks. I can't decide whether I should be completely mortified or just laugh about it! Thanks for catching that. I'll go back and edit it right now!

      Hope you enjoy,
      Julie

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    2. Laugh! If you have an option, always choose to laugh.
      Thanks, Julie.

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  23. when you separate the biscuits do you only use half per (half meatloaf & cheese) or do you use both of the biscuit? i didnt get the whole separate them. do you make them like sandwich like?

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    1. Each final bun will consist of a one half of a biscuit, one "piece" of cheese, and one half of a meatball. The halved biscuit will then be brought up around the filling (meat and cheese) and squished back together. The "seam" will be on the bottom. You do not make a sandwich with the other half of the biscuit. I hope this clears it up.

      Julie

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  24. Oh my gosh! I am making these right now and came back to read all the reviews because I couldn't figure out why I had leftover meatballs. Must have had a senior moment because I ended up making 10 buns instead of 20! Hope they're just as yummy, though!

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  25. Made these using Grands Biscuits...cut them into 4 pieces and flattened out.YUMMY!!!!!!!! A true keeper!! I make homemade buttermilk bread and want to try this with my homemade bread sometime. THANKS!!!

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  26. Just made these for dinner tonight. They turned out so good, my husband had devoured 3 before he even asked dc me what they were!! Thanks for sharing this recipe! :-)

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  27. OK, two years later and I found your recipe. I didn't have meatbals on hand so I improvised. I had polish sausage. I browned it, then followed the rest of the recipe except I hand buttermilk biscuits. Rather than the herbs in top I sprinkled with seasoning salt. I'm making a "thousand island dressing dip" to go with it. Thank you for the inspiration

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  28. I was afraid the cheese would leak out so I put mine with the cheese first... Mine won't be as perfect shaped but I'm not Martha Stewart. My husband's family will have to get over it and just enjoy. The biscuit package says you can't freeze the raw dough. So maybe bake them till they start to brown then freeze. Take them out and finish baking later. I like the pepperoni idea. Olive oil on top sounds great! Can't wait to try these later. Merry Christmas all!

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  29. I DID IT YOUR WAY FIRST AND THEY WERE GOOD. SO I TRIED IT WITH WHOLE MEATBALLS AND SHREDDED CHEESE. REALLY GOOD. AND I ROLLED THE TOPS IN A MIX OF SEASONING AND PARMESAN. MADE IT MUCH EASIER. THANKS FOR THE RECIPE. WE LOVE IT! GOOD AS APPETIZERS AND FOR LUNCH. I EVEN WENT ONE FARTHER AND TRIED USING PRECOOKED TURKEY BREAKFAST SAUSAGE LINKS AND SHREDDED CHEESE. THEY WERE GOOD TOO.

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  30. Just wondering if anyone has tried to assemble & freeze to have on hand when needed.

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  31. this lady is not only using your recipe, but is using your photos http://www.recipebyphoto.com/meatball-stuffed-biscuits/

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