The best Italian-Style Meatball Recipe

Ingredients

Meatballs

• 1 pound extra-lean ground beef, 4% fat at most
• 1/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 3/4 cup reduced-fat marinara sauce
• 1/4 cup egg whites or fat-free liquid egg substitute
• 2 teaspoon chopped garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon each salt and black pepper

Topping

• 1 cup seeded and chopped tomato
• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
• 2 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
• 1/4 cup finely hashed sweet onion
• 1/4 teaspoon each salt and black pepper

Directions

Prep time: 20 min | Cook time: 35

1 . Set oven to 350 degrees and preheat. Choose 8″ X 8″ baking pan and spray with nonstick spray.
2 . Combine all topping ingredients in a medium bowl. Mix softly until homogenous. Then refrigerate covered.
3 . Combine in a large bowl the following ingredients: ground beef, egg whites or substitute, breadcrumbs, onion powder, garlic, salt, and black pepper. Make 12 equal sized meatballs.
4 . Place meatballs in the baking pan, and evenly garnish with marinara sauce.
5 . Use foil to cover pan before baking for 20 minutes.
6 . Remove foil, bake again about 10 minutes until meatballs are cooked through.
7 . Scatter mozzarella and Parm, bake for 5 minutes until mozzarella melts.
8 . Garnish with topping.

Nutritional information

Servings: 4 | Serving Size: 1/4th of recipe, about 3 garnished and saucy meatballs 

• Calories: 255
• Fat: 8.5g
• Sodium: 681mg
• Carbs: 11g
• Fiber: 2g
• Sugars: 4.5g
• Protein: 31.5g

PointsPlus: 6 | SmartPoints: 5