Our Baked Meatball Parmesan recipe is made with tender savory beef meatballs, delicious marinara sauce and melty cheese. They are so satisfyingly comforting. I mean, look at these meatballs, folks! It’s such a yummy and easy recipe.

oven baked meatballs with parmesan on a plate

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Why We Love This Recipe For Baked Meatball Parmesan

This hearty meatball parmesan bake comes together in a quick 45 minutes so is great for busy days.

These ground beef meatballs are a great entertaining recipe or a deliciously hearty meal on a weeknight for the whole family!

There are tons of ways to serve them. Pile them into hoagie rolls for a meatball parmesan sub. Serve with your favorite pasta or garlic bread.

If you love Italian classics also try our Healthy 30-Minute Chicken Parmesan.

Recipe Highlights

  • This recipe is less than 300 calories per serving and is done in 45 minutes. Healthy AND easy!
  • It’s made with lean beef and bound with whole-grain bulgur.
  • These homemade meatballs are baked instead of pan-fried so they aren’t greasy at all.
  • Baking the meatballs on a baking sheet with foil helps to make the clean-up easy!
  • They have a classic Italian taste and are so versatile.
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Key Ingredients For This Recipe

oven baked meatballs with parmesan in a skillet
  • Bulgur Wheat: To hold these oven-baked meatballs together, I use bulgur wheat instead of Italian breadcrumbs. It is a whole unrefined grain, meaning it’s just wheat that’s been cracked and par-cooked. Because of that, it does act more like a bulking agent than a binder, but it still has all of its fiber and nutritional benefits intact. Soften the bulgur with hot water while you prep the rest of the ingredients.
  • Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
  • Egg White: This acts as a binder in the meatball mixture.
  • Seasonings: Onion, fresh garlic, cayenne, salt and allspice or cinnamon
  • 90% Lean Ground Beef: I prefer freshly ground beef for the best texture for these meatballs.
  • Marinara Sauce: I used store-bought marinara here but you can definitely make a homemade sauce if you’d like.
  • Cheese: Parmesan cheese and cheddar cheese, mozzarella or ½ cup shredded Asiago cheese
oven baked meatballs in a cast iron skillet

Step-by-Step Instructions for Baked Meatballs Parmesan

soak bulgur
saute onion and garlic

Step 1: Cook bulgur to use as binder

Place the bulgur in a medium bowl. Pour boiling water over it and let sit until the water is lukewarm and the bulgur is tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain it through a fine mesh sieve.

Step 2: Cook vegetables for flavor and nutrition

Next, sauté the veggies. This only takes about 5 minutes, and it mellows out the flavor of the garlic and onion and softens the texture so that they just melt into the beef.

Combine drained bulgur and onion mixture in a bowl and let cool 10 minutes. Then stir in egg white, parmesan and seasonings.
Add beef to the bulgur mixture and knead to combine.

Step 3: Combine bulgur and vegetables

Combine the bulgur and the onion in a large bowl. Let cool 10 minutes.

Step 4: Preheat oven

Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Line a rimmed baking sheet with a layer of aluminum foil. Set a rack (as for cooling cookies) on the sheet pan. Lightly coat the rack with nonstick cooking spray or brush with oil.

Step 5: Add spice and Parmesan for flavor

To the onion and bulgur mixture, add egg white, Parmesan, crushed red pepper flakes, salt and allspice or cinnamon and stir to combine. Add the beef and knead to combine until it’s reached a smooth consistency.

Shape into 21 meatballs
transfer baked meatballs to a skillet

Step 6: Shape and bake the meatballs

Finally, once the bulgur is prepared, the meat has been seasoned and the veggies are softened, you can form the meatballs. Form the meatballs into 21 meatballs (keeping them smaller means less cooking time), then place them on the prepared baking sheet. As the meatballs bake, the fat renders out and drips below the rack onto the foil-lined baking tray, and keeps the meatballs from getting all greasy. Place in the preheated oven and bake until golden brown and cooked through, 15 to 18 minutes.

Top the baked meatballs with sauce.
Top with cheese

Step 8: Bake The Meatballs

After the meatballs are baked, transfer them to a large skillet. (I like to use a cast iron pan.) Then top with jarred marinara sauce. Kudos to you if you want to make some from scratch! Top the oven-baked meatballs with 5 ounces of shredded cheese. Bake again until the sauce is hot and the cheese on top is melted, 8 to 10 minutes.

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oven baked meatballs with parmesan in a bowl

FAQs and Expert Tips

Make-ahead instructions:

Assemble the meatballs a day in advance and store (uncooked) in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to cook.

Storing and Reheating instructions:

Store leftovers of this baked meatball Parmesan in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave until just warmed through, 1 to 2 minutes. Alternatively, keep the meatballs in the skillet (covered with a layer of plastic wrap or aluminum foil in the fridge) and reheat in the oven at 350 degrees F until just warmed through, about 25 minutes.

How to freeze:

To freeze, assemble the cooked meatballs in an aluminum baking dish instead of a skillet, then top with marinara, and wrap in tinfoil and plastic wrap. Freeze up to 6 weeks in the freezer. To heat, remove plastic and bake in a 350 F degree oven covered in foil until steaming hot all the way through. Remove foil, cover with cheese and continue baking until the cheese is melted, about 10 minutes.

Cheese variations to try:

You can use other kinds of cheese like provolone, fontina or Grana Padano.

Other variations to try:

Although these juicy meatballs are delicious just as they are, you can change them up in a variety of ways. You could add Italian seasoning or Worcestershire sauce to the mix and top them with fresh basil. You could also use another lean type of meat like turkey to make them turkey meatballs or try a blend of lean ground pork and beef.

What to Serve With This Healthy Meatball Parmesan

  • Serve them with pasta such as fettuccine noodles, although any type of pasta will do.
  • Try them with zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash cooked in the microwave for a low carb option.
  • Serve them with crusty bread or put them on sub rolls for a meatball sub sandwich.

More Healthy Beef Recipes to Try  

At Healthy Seasonal Recipes, we specialize in cooking with fresh veggies and creating weeknight meals. Sign up HERE to get more produce-forward dinner ideas for FREE! If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review. I would love to hear what you thought! Happy Cooking! ~Katie

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A close up of fork in a Meatball

Baked Meatball Parmesan

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5 from 5 reviews

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Description

Our Baked Meatball Parmesan recipe is made with tender savory beef meatballs, delicious marinara sauce and melty cheese. They are so satisfyingly comforting. If you think baked meatballs are dry and boring, think again! It’s such a yummy and easy recipe.

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1/4 cup bulgur wheat
  • 1 cup boiling water
  • 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 egg white
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • Pinch cayenne, optional
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon allspice or cinnamon
  • 1 pound 90% lean beef, preferably grass-fed
  • 1 cup marinara sauce
  • 5 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese (such as Cabot Alpine), mozzarella or 1/2 cup shredded Asiago cheese

Instructions

  1. Place bulgur in a medium bowl. Pour boiling water over it and let sit until the water is lukewarm and the bulgur is tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain through a fine mesh sieve.
  2. Meanwhile heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring often until the onion is translucent but not brown, 4 to 5 minutes.
  3. Combine the bulgur and the onion in a large bowl. Let cool 10 minutes.
  4. Preheat oven to 400ºF. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Set a rack (as for cooling cookies) on the sheet pan. Lightly coat the rack with cooking spray or brush with oil.
  5. Add egg white, Parmesan, crushed red pepper flakes, salt and allspice or cinnamon to the onion and bulgur mixture and stir to combine. Add beef and knead to combine to a smooth consistency.
  6. Form into 21 meatballs. Set the meatballs on the baking sheet. Bake until browned and cooked through, 15 to 18 minutes.
  7. Transfer the meatballs to a large skillet. Top with sauce and shredded cheese. Bake until the sauce is hot and the cheese on top is melted, 8 to 10 minutes.

Notes

Storing and Reheating instructions:

Store leftovers of this baked meatball Parmesan in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave until just warmed through, 1 to 2 minutes. Alternatively, keep the meatballs in the skillet (covered with a layer of plastic wrap or aluminum foil in the fridge) and reheat in the oven at 350 degrees F until just warmed through, about 25 minutes.

  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 25 minutes
  • Category: Main Course
  • Method: Baked
  • Cuisine: Italian

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 3 meatballs, topped with sauce and cheese
  • Calories: 288
  • Fat: 17 g
  • Carbohydrates: 10
  • Fiber: 1
  • Protein: 23

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