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Smoked Stuffed Meatballs

3 from 1 vote
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By: the Evinks6 Comments
Posted: 08/28/23

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Smoked Stuffed Meatballs GSG Pin Image
Smoked Stuffed Meatballs GSG Pinterest Image
Smoked Stuffed Meatballs GSG Pin Image

Homemade Smoked Stuffed Meatballs will have your mouth watering! Smoked Meatballs that are stuffed with ooey gooey mozzarella cheese, smoked on the pellet grill and finished off with BBQ sauce. They are the ultimate game day food, appetizer or main dish for your next party.

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Smoked Cheese Stuffed Meatballs on serving platter

Wait, don’t scroll yet! Look at that picture above again. Did you look at it? Is your mouth watering?! Don’t these smoked stuffed meatballs look INSANE?! When we mastered this creation, our whole family just couldn’t get enough of these cheesy bbq bites of goodness. They’re addictive in the best sense of the word!

We love to smoked these alongside smoked potato skins. This combo is perfect for party appetizers and for a main meal! These protein packed meatballs are bursting with incredible flavor. From the gooey cheese center to the candied brown sugar BBQ coating, you’ll love every single bite of this delicious creation.

Why You’ll Love Smoked Stuffed Meatballs

  • It doesn’t take long to smoke these stuffed meatballs. Recipes in the smoker can often take hours and hours on end, and these are done smoking in under and hour!
  • You can adapt this recipe to create a variety of different flavors. Make a more sweet meatball, spicy meatballs, or something extra savory.
  • Smoked mozzarella stuffed meatballs can be used an appetizer or a main dish. This is a very useful recipe to have in your arsenal!
Overhead Image of Smoked Stuffed Meatballs Ingredients

Ingredients for Smoked Stuffed Meatballs

  • Ground beef – We recommend using lean ground beef to keep down on the amount of fat and grease that will cook off of each meatball.
  • Ground pork – Using both ground beef and ground pork adds a great variation in flavor to the smoked stuffed meatballs.
  • Yellow onion – Dice your yellow onion into really small pieces so that it mixes well into the other ingredients.
  • Italian panko crumbs – You can use plain panko crumbs, but the flavor that Italian panko crumbs adds to the homemade meatballs is great!
  • Eggs – When you make homemade meatballs, you need something that will act as a binder to keep everything together. For best results, allow your eggs to come to room temperature before mixing into the meat mixture.
  • Grated parmesan cheese – Smoked stuffed meatballs are stuffed with mozzarella in the center, yet we add more delicious cheese right into the meat mixture too! Grated parmesan is just the best touch.
  • Milk – Use whole milk for best results. However, 1% milk and 2% milk will both work too.
  • Beef seasoning – We may be biased, but we have some delicious beef seasoning right here at Gimme Some Grilling! If you don’t have that on hand, grab something from your local grocery store to use in this recipe.
  • Honey – Honey will make the BBQ sauce extra sticky sweet. It’s a great addition to compliment the flavors of the meatballs and the sauce.
  • Salt, pepper, garlic powder – All you need to use to season this smoked meatball recipe is these three seasonings and some beef seasoning. The perfect flavor combo!
  • BBQ sauce – Make your own homemade bbq sauce or grab a bottle of your favorite pre-made sauce.
  • Brown sugar – Using brown sugar along with honey and BBQ sauce on the outside of the meatballs makes an almost candy-like coating. Savory sweet and oh so mouthwatering good!
  • Mozzarella string cheese – Feel free to use fresh mozzarella instead, but we’ve found chopping up string cheese is the easiest way to stuff each meatball.

Helpful Tools

  • Mixing bowls
  • Measuring cups and spoons
  • Basting brush
  • Baking Sheet & Wire rack
  • Smoker
  • Cookie scoop
Meatball ingredients in mixing bowl for Smoked Stuffed Meatballs recipe
Combined meatball ingredients in mixing bowl for Smoked Stuffed Meatballs
Cubed string cheese chunks for Smoked Stuffed Meatballs recipe

How to Make Smoked Stuffed Meatballs

Preheat the smoker to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Then combine ground beef, pork, Italian panko crumbs, yellow onion, milk, parmesan cheese, salt, eggs, Beef seasoning, pepper, and garlic powder in a mixing bowl.

Place the bowl of meatballs mixture into the freezer for about 15 minutes to allow it to thicken a bit. Don’t skip this step, it really helps to easily form the meatballs!

Cut 9 sticks of mozzarella cheese into fifths.

Forming meatballs around string cheese chunks and arranging on wire rack for Smoked Stuffed Meatballs recipe
Placing meatballs on wirerack in smoker for Smoked Stuffed Meatballs

Then take a medium size cookie scoop and scoop the meat mixture out of the bowl and form a ball. Press your thumb down into the middle of the meatball to create a cavity, and stuff it with a piece of mozzarella cheese.

Wrap the edges of meat around over the stuffed cheese and seal it well so that it doesn’t ooze out when cooked.

Place each stuff meatball on a oiled wire rack and place into the smoker and smoke for 35-40 minutes.

Smoked Stuffed Meatballs sauce ingredients in mixing bowl ready to combine
Sauce brushed onto meatballs in smoker for Smoked Cheese Stuffed Meatballs recipe
Smoked Cheese Stuffed Meatballs just out of the smoker on wire smoking rack

While they smoke, mix together the bbq sauce, honey, and brown sugar.

After the 35-40 minutes have passed, brush the BBQ sauce mixture onto the meatballs and then cook for another 10 minutes. Once the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit, they are fully cooked.

Remove the meatballs from the smoker and serve immediately!

Smoked Stuffed Meatballs stacked on plate with food pick
Smoked Stuffed Meatball  pierced on food pick ready for the first bite

How to Store Leftover Smoked Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs

FRIDGE: Place leftovers into an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can also prep these meatballs ahead of time and store them in the fridge for 24-48 hours before smoking them.

FREEZER: Freeze fully cooked meatballs on a baking sheet. Once frozen solid, transfer to an airtight container or freezer-safe bag and freeze for up to 2 months. We recommend freezing meatballs that have not been coated in BBQ sauce for the best results.

How to Reheat Leftover Meatballs

To reheat, place in the oven or until each meatball reaches a safe internal temperature. Coat in some more BBQ sauce to make them sticky and savory sweet again.

What to Serve with Smoked Stuffed Meatballs

Make a spread of smoked appetizers by cooking smoked chicken wings, smoked queso dip, and armadillo eggs to serve with smoked stuffed meatballs.

Or serve this as a main dish with a side like smoked baked potatoes or grilled baked potatoes. A veggies side like grilled asparagus or grilled zucchini would also pair deliciously too.

What substitutions or additions can I make to smoked mozzarella stuffed meatballs?

Freshly minced garlic and fresh parsley would both be great additions to the flavor of the meatballs. You can also use any other fresh herbs or spices.

Swap out the mozzarella for ricotta cheese or goat cheese for a more “fancy” appetizer. These would meatballs would taste incredible with a honey garlic sauce instead of BBQ sauce too!

Get really adventurous and wrap each meatball in bacon before smoking. Secure the bacon with toothpicks!

Pro Tips!

  • Make these smoked stuff bbq meatballs gluten free by using gluten free Panko crumbs.
  • Don’t be stingy with the BBQ sauce coating. Make sure each meatball is completely coated in the sauce all over for best results.
  • Serve these as a mess free appetizer by sticking toothpicks in the top of each one!
Smoked Cheese Stuffed Meatballs on plate with cheese oozing

Make a double or triple batch of these incredible smoked stuffed meatballs so that you have plenty to eat when you devour the first batch in minutes!

More Smoker Recipes You’ll Love

  • You can make your next cook-out burgers on the smoker with this recipe for Smoked Burgers!
  • Revolutionize your deviled eggs with this Smoked Deviled Eggs recipe.
  • If you’ve never had Smoked Meatloaf, then you’ve gotta try this incredible recipe!
  • Looking for some snacks? Check out this recipe for Smoked Pretzels.

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Did you make this? If you snap a photo, please be sure tag me on Instagram at @gimmesomegrilling or #gimmesomegrilling so I can see your grilling masterpieces!

Smoked Stuffed Meatballs on White Plate
3 from 1 vote

Smoked Cheese Stuffed Meatballs

Delicious Smoked Stuffed Meatballs have melty mozzarella cheese in the middle and are glazed with BBQ Sauce.
Prep:20 minutes mins
Cook:1 hour hr 20 minutes mins
Total:1 hour hr 40 minutes mins
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Ingredients

Meatballs

  • 2 pounds ground beef
  • 1 pounds ground pork
  • 1 cup Italian panko crumbs
  • ½ cup yellow onion chopped
  • ⅓ cup milk
  • ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoon Beef Seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 9 sticks mozzarella string cheese

BBQ Sauce

  • 1 cups BBQ sauce
  • 1 Tablespoon honey
  • 1 Tablespoon brown sugar

Instructions

  • Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • In a mixing bowl combine ground beef, pork, Italian panko crumbs, yellow onion, milk, Parmesan cheese, salt, eggs, Beef seasoning, pepper, and garlic powder. Mix gently until combined, don't over mix.
  • Place the bowl in the freezer for about 15 minutes to help thicken the meatball mix. This helps you easily form the meatballs.
  • Take 9 sticks of mozzarella cheese and cut each one of them up into fifths.
  • Then take a medium size cookie scoop and scoop the meat mixture out of the bowl, form up a ball in your hand, press your thumb into the middle of the meatball and place in a piece of string cheese in the cavity. Wrap the meat over cheese to make sure that your cheese does not ooze out when cooking it.
  • Place all your stuffed meatballs on an oiled wire rack and place the balls in your smoker at 250 degrees Fahrenheit and smoke for 35-40 minutes.
  • Meanwhile a small bowl mix together the BBQ sauce.
  • After 35-40 minutes of smoking time brush prepared BBQ sauce on the meatballs and cook for an additional 10 minutes or until internal temp is 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Remove from smoker and serve immediately.

Tips

FRIDGE: Place leftovers into an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can also prep these meatballs ahead of time and store them in the fridge for 24-48 hours before smoking them.
FREEZER: Freeze fully cooked meatballs on a baking sheet. Once frozen solid, transfer to an airtight container or freezer-safe bag and freeze for up to 2 months. We recommend freezing meatballs that have not been coated in BBQ sauce for the best results.
To reheat, place in the oven or until each meatball reaches a safe internal temperature. Coat in some more BBQ sauce to make them sticky and savory sweet again.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 407kcal (20%), Carbohydrates: 18g (6%), Protein: 23g (46%), Fat: 26g (40%), Saturated Fat: 10g (63%), Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 11g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 127mg (42%), Sodium: 646mg (28%), Potassium: 438mg (13%), Fiber: 1g (4%), Sugar: 11g (12%), Vitamin A: 178IU (4%), Vitamin C: 1mg (1%), Calcium: 104mg (10%), Iron: 3mg (17%)
© Gimme Some Grilling ®

We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information. The information in the nutrition box is calculated through a program and there is room for error. If you need an accurate count, I recommend running the ingredients through your favorite nutrition calculator.

Did you make this?

Be sure to upload a photo & tag me at @gimmesomegrilling. I love seeing what you made!

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Meet the Evinks

Hi! We are Jason & Julie! We focus on easy, simple recipes that everyone can tackle on their smoker and grills that the entire family will enjoy!

Read more...

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Reader Interactions

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Recipe Rating




  1. Gina says

    Posted on 8/25/24 at 6:20 pm

    Could I use ground chicken ?

    Reply
    • the Evinks says

      Posted on 8/26/24 at 10:22 am

      Yes that should work fine.

      Reply
  2. Jody says

    Posted on 7/15/24 at 4:23 pm

    3 stars
    If I make this recipe again I’ll definitely be sautéing the onions before I mix them in. Nothing worse than crunchy onions in your meatballs. I even cooked them for over an hour in an effort to soften those onions, which I had diced super fine, since I’m not a big onion fan. Thankfully I used sweet onions so the taste wasn’t overwhelming.

    I used all beef and fresh garlic, otherwise followed recipe as written.

    Reply
    • Sarah Hill says

      Posted on 7/18/24 at 9:52 am

      That sounds like a good way to mix in the onions especially if you aren’t a fan of onions in the first place! I will even use a cheese grater to create an onion mince for flavor without having the texture. They could easily be omitted as well!

      Reply
  3. Nancy says

    Posted on 5/14/24 at 3:39 pm

    I do not have a smoke. Can I use an oven?

    Reply
    • Sarah Hill says

      Posted on 5/16/24 at 9:36 pm

      You’ll miss out on the smoky flavor of these meatballs but they can be done in the oven as well!

      Reply

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Hi! We are Jason & Julie! We focus on easy, simple recipes that everyone can tackle on their smoker and grills that the entire family will enjoy!

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