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Home » Appetizers » Cheesy Meatball Dip

Cheesy Meatball Dip

Created: June 15, 2018 Updated: September 8, 2020 by lyuba 9 Comments

1.4K shares
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This is one amazing, knock-your-socks-off Cheesy Meatball Dip! Yes, this meatball dip is made with homemade, bite-sized meatballs and layers of marinara sauce, cream cheese mixture, veggies, and cheese. You will fall in love with each creamy, cheesy, meatball filled bite!

Cheesy Meatball Dip recipe in a pan with a meatball being lifted with by a fork

CLICK HERE TO PIN IT!

Cheesy Meatball Dip

I can’t believe Father’s Day is this weekend already. I have one more awesome recipe to share with you to help you make your dads feel happy and appreciated this holiday weekend.

Who loves meatballs? Actually, the question should be “who can possibly not love meatballs?”

My husband could eat a meatball dish every day of the week and with as many of different ones as I’ve made, I could easily fill a month with different meatball recipes.

If I were to choose my favorites, I would have to go with my Shrimp Scampi Meatballs and Creamy Tomato Basil Meatballs. If it was up to my husband, he would always choose my Classic Meatballs first and maybe Roasted Garlic Rosemary Meatballs as a second favorite.

Well, those were my husband’s favorite meatballs recipes but I think that I’ve created a worthy competitor for the number 1 spot. It combined his favorite homemade meatballs with a hot, creamy layer of cream cheese mixture and threw in a few sauteed veggies for some sweetness. “Amazing” is the only word to describe this dish.

Cheesy Meatball Dip recipe in a pan

HOW TO MAKE A MEATBALL DIP:

  • At first glance, you might think that this dip is too much work because there is the cream cheese layer and the meatball layer but DON’T pass it by, it’s really a pretty easy recipe.
  • Both the cream cheese layer and the meatballs are not much work beyond the mixing of all ingredients in a mixing bowl. The meatballs will take a few minutes to roll but that is truly the hardest part.
  • Always start first by prepping the layers before starting to cook otherwise you will be frantically trying to mix and chop while the pan is burning. (I’ve done that too many times.)
  • Prepare the cream cheese layer by beating the ingredients in the bowl. Fold in shredded cheese and set it aside.
  • Prepare the meatballs by mixing all ingredients for meatballs in a separate mixing bowl and roll the meatballs.
  • Finely dice the Vidalia onion and bell pepper, and you are ready get cooking!
  • Start by sauteing onions and peppers and then add the meatballs to the veggies. Cook them until meatballs are just done.
  • Take everything out of the oven-safe pan and start layering those tasty dip layers.
  • Start with half of the marinara sauce, then the cream cheese mixture, them the meatballs and veggies, and finally, more marinara sauce and cheese.
  • Bake it all and enjoy…but let it cool down first!

cooking all the ingredients in a pan

lifting some Cheesy Meatball Dip with a fork out of the pan

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dipping a chip in Cheesy Meatball Dip recipe

Cheesy Meatball Dip

Amazing hot meatballs dip made with layers of creamy cheese mixture, marinara sauce, veggies, and of course, meatballs. All of it is layered and baked with a layer of mozzarella cheese.
5 from 1 vote
Print Pin SaveSaved! Rate
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: American
Keyword: appetizer, cheese, dip, meatballs
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Servings: 8
Calories: 618kcal

Ingredients

Meatballs:

  • 1.25 lb ground beef
  • 1 egg
  • 1/3 cup bread crumbs
  • 1/4 cup minced onion
  • 3 garlic cloves pressed
  • Salt
  • Fresh cracked black pepepr

Cream cheese layer:

  • 16 oz cream cheese
  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • 1/4 cup mayo
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • salt
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Veggies and topping:

  • 2 tbsp canola oil for cooking
  • 1 medium Vidalia onion finely diced
  • 1 large bell pepper red or yellow, finely diced
  • 1.25 cups marinara sauce
  • 1.25 cups shredded mozzarella
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Beat cream cheese, mayo, sour cream, salt, and garlic powder until all smooth and combined well. Fold in 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese. Set aside.
  • Combine all the ingredients for meatballs in a mixing bowl. Mix very well. 
  • Roll small meatballs that are about 1/2 an inch in diameter or even smaller if you wish. They need to be bite-sized. Lay the mini meatball on a parchment paper. 
  • Heat up a large pan that is also oven-safe on stove-top, over medium heat.  
  • Add oil to the pan and add diced onion and bell pepper. Saute until softened and starts to brown. 
  • Add meatballs in one even layer. Cover and cook for a few minutes.
  • Flip the meatballs, cover and cook until just done. This won't take long since the meatballs are so small. 
  • Turn off the stove-top and preheat the oven to 375.
  • Take out the meatballs and set them aside. 
  • Spread about 1/2 of the marinara sauce in the bottom of the pan that was used to cook meatballs and veggies. 
  • Spoon cream cheese mixture over the marinara and try to even out the layer. 
  • Spread meatballs and veggies over cream cheese layer evenly. 
  • Spoon remaining marinara sauce over the meatballs. 
  • Spread the 1 1/4 of shredded mozzarella over the top and sprinkle with some dried oregano. 
  • Bake for 10 minutes.
  • Serve with toasted slices of bread, chips, or crackers. 

Notes

All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe. Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have a slight variation.

Nutrition

Calories: 618kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 51g | Saturated Fat: 22g | Cholesterol: 164mg | Sodium: 723mg | Potassium: 543mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 1680IU | Vitamin C: 24.4mg | Calcium: 264mg | Iron: 2.6mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @willcookforsmiles and tag #willcookforsmiles

Cheesy Meatball Dip recipe collage

Cheesy Meatball Dip. Amazing hot dip recipe made with homemade, bite-sized meatballs and layers of marinara sauce, cream cheese mixture, veggies, and more cheese. You will fall in love with each creamy, cheesy, meatball filled bite! #dip #hotdip #cheesedip #groundbeef #meatballs #appetizer

LYUBA

ABOUT LYUBA

I’m Lyuba Brooke, mother of 2, the cook, recipe developer, photographer, and author behind willcookforsmiles.com. I share many classic and original recipes, cooking tips, and tutorials. My passion is sharing delicious meals for everyone to try. Read more...

1.4K shares

Filed Under: Appetizers, Beef, Dips, Gluten Free, Super Bowl Recipes Tagged With: ground beef, meatball

All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe. Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.

Comments

  1. Hofterzielbeek says

    June 16, 2018 at 9:00 am

    Hi, this is so amazing! Trying it very soon. Thanks for sharing this recipe. 🙂

    Reply
    • lyuba says

      June 19, 2018 at 6:07 pm

      I hope you like it! Thank you.

      Reply
  2. Sean Mahan says

    July 3, 2018 at 9:49 am

    5 stars
    I’m still looking for a good gluten-free meatball recipe, but this will sure go on the list to try after I find it!

    Reply
    • lyuba says

      July 10, 2018 at 1:10 pm

      I hope you will like it, Sean!
      I’m having a hard time making GF meatballs the same as regular but the closest I’ve come is with a slice of GF bread instead of bread crumbs. I use GF bread crumbs when I don’t have bread but bread get a better texture to the meatball.

      Reply
      • Dina Swank says

        October 14, 2018 at 7:33 pm

        Use ground flax seeds as a binder.

        Reply
        • lyuba says

          October 15, 2018 at 11:07 am

          That’s a great idea, Dina! I’ll definitely have to try it.

          Reply
  3. Corey Costa says

    January 29, 2020 at 9:49 am

    If you don’t have canola oil but have extra virgin olive oil, regular olive oil, and possibly vegetable oil. Will one of those do? Or should I go out and buy canola oil?

    Reply
  4. Magi Guilfoyle says

    September 20, 2021 at 1:08 pm

    Are any of your recipes gluten free, or gluten free adaptable?

    Thank you
    Magi

    Reply
    • LyubaB says

      September 21, 2021 at 10:58 am

      Hi Magi, A lot of my recipes can be made gluten-free! Here is a link to my gluten-free category where you can find all the recipes.

      https://www.willcookforsmiles.com/category/gluten-free/

      Reply

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Well, hey there!

I’m Lyuba Brooke, mother of 2, the cook, recipe developer, photographer, and author behind willcookforsmiles.com. I share many classic and original recipes, cooking tips, and tutorials. My passion is sharing delicious meals for everyone to try. Read More.

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