These mouth-watering taco-stuffed meatballs are an easy and fun way to spice up your dinner routine! Perfect for a quick weeknight meal or as a fun twist on game-day snacks, this taco stuffed meatballs recipe is sure to be a hit with the whole family.
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Taco meatballs combine the savory flavors of ground beef, and the bold taste of traditional taco seasoning, and are stuffed with a surprise burst of gooey cheese in the center. Not only are these meatballs delicious, but they are also incredibly versatile.
You can serve them on a bed of rice or make them into mini meatballs and serve them as an appetizer or party snack.
For more easy meatball recipes, try these BBQ Bacon Meatballs, Chicken Firecracker Meatballs and Honey Garlic Meatballs
Why We Love This Recipe
This is a great meatball recipe that is easy to make and can be customized in many ways. No matter how you choose to make them, these taco-stuffed meatballs are a delicious and satisfying way to switch up your usual dinner choices.
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- 30-Minute Meal: With minimal prep time and only 30 minutes in the oven, these stuffed taco meatballs can be whipped up in no time. Great for taco Tuesday.
- Easy Ingredients: This recipe consists of common household ingredients you most likely already have. You can make the taco seasoning for the taco filling.
- Makes Great Leftovers: These meatballs are so easy to reheat and still keep the same delicious taste, even leftovers.
Ingredient Notes for Mexican Stuffed Meatballs
- Ground Beef: While this recipe calls for ground beef, you can make these meatballs with whichever meat you prefer for the seasoned taco meat. You could use ground turkey, chicken, or pork.
- Taco Seasoning: If you have all the ingredients except for the seasoning, you can easily use homemade taco seasoning recipes with spices you already have.
- Cheese: Mozzarella Cheese or choose between Italian or Mexican cheese mixtures.
Variations and Substitutions for Delicious Taco Stuffed Shells
The meatballs are a flavorful twist on traditional meatballs, combining the bold taste of tacos seasoning with gooey cheese in the center. These versatile meatballs can be served as a main dish or appetizer, and can be customized to suit different spice preferences.
- Cheese variations – You can make this recipe with whichever cheese is your favorite. Remember to get whichever cheese you choose in cubes so that is can be placed. Mexican Cheese would be great too.
- Garnish substitution – If you aren’t a big fan of cilantro, a sprinkle of fresh parsley, or green onion would be a great substitute for the garnish.
- Rice – This recipe calls for the meatballs to be served with Mexican rice if desired. The recipe is perfect with white or brown rice if you prefer.
- Cheesy Taco Stuffed Shells Recipe: Make a new version of traditional stuffed shells by filling the jumbo pasta shells with a meat taco filling and creating taco pasta shells. Taco stuffed peppers are also a good recipe to use taco meat is the perfect filling or taco stuffed pasta shells, just top with cheese and bake in a casserole dish until warmed through and the cheese is melted.
How to Make Taco Stuffed Meatballs Recipe
These are the basic steps for making a taco meatball recipe. Please refer to the recipe card below for more detailed instructions. Find other recipes you will love for quick and easy ideas to get dinner on the table quickly on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.
STEP 1: PREPARE TACO MEAT
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Get a rimmed baking sheet and line it with parchment paper. In a bowl, add all the ingredients excluding the cheese cubes and garnish. Mix the taco meat mixture until well combined.
STEP 2: FORM MEATBALLS
Scoop out about 4 tablespoons of the meat mixture and flatten it down a bit. Put a cheese cube in the middle of the flatten meat and start bringing up the sides to enclose the cheese in the meat. Make sure your meatball is completely sealed and closed.
STEP 3: BAKE AND SERVE
Place your cheese meatballs on the line baking sheet or casserole baking dish. Place each meatball about an inch from each other. Bake for 30 minutes. Serve with rice or your favorite taco toppings such as sour cream on top, shredded cheese on top, or diced tomatoes.
Prep and Storage Tips for Taco Flavored Meatballs
HOW TO MAKE THIS RECIPE AHEAD OF TIME
To make these meatballs ahead of time, just prepare your meat and create the meatballs, you can then place them in the fridge or freezer until ready to cook.
HOW TO STORE THIS RECIPE
Allow meatballs to cool completely and place them in an airtight container or ziplock bag. Store in the fridge for up to 4 days.
HOW TO FREEZE THIS RECIPE
Let meatballs cool to room temperature and place in a freezer bag or airtight container. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
HOW TO REHEAT THIS RECIPE
First, let the meatballs thaw to room temperature. You can reheat them in the microwave for about a minute or two, or you can bake them in the oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Alternatively, try reheating the meatballs in a large skillet on medium-high heat.
Recipe FAQs
Yes! For this recipe, you can use whatever cheese blend you prefer best. Pepperjack and cheddar cheese would go great with these taco-flavored meatballs.
Yes! To make your meatballs in an air fryer just cook on 375 for 10-12 minutes. For the best results flip the meatballs halfway through.
Eggs act as a binding ingredient for meatballs. Adding a small amount of egg will help your meatball keep its shape.
Expert Tips for Making This Recipe
Are you looking for an easy dinner that will make your family happy? Look no further than these taco meatballs! Making them is easy, and the perfect combination of ingredients ensures that they turn out juicy and flavorful. Not only are these meatballs delicious, but they can also be made with ingredients you already have in your pantry.
- Great for Freezing: This is a great recipe to store in the freezer and reheat. Double the ingredients when baking and stick the second batch in the freezer to have on hand and ready to cook.
- Addition tip: For more flavor or spice, you can add chipotle sauce to your meat mixture. Roasted tomato salsa is another great add-in. Different vegetable such as bell pepper is great in the meatballs or place the meatball mixture into the pepper to make stuffed peppers.
- Tortilla Chips: For some extra crunch, you can crush up tortilla chips or leftover shells and use them in place of the breadcrumbs.
- Toppings: Salsa and cheese, or your other favorite taco toppings like top with sour cream add the taco seasoning for more flavor, avocado or taco sauce.
- Rolling Meatballs: Rolling a perfect meatball isn’t as intimidating as it may seem, Just make sure to flatten the meat with enough room for the sides to completely seal together.
What to Serve with Taco Stuffed Meatballs
Taco Stuffed Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 pound Ground meat, beef or turkey
- ¼ cup Breadcrumbs
- 1 Egg
- ¼ cup Milk
- 1 Taco seasoning, package
- Colby jack cheese cubes, 1 for each meatball
- Chopped cilantro, for garnish
- Mexican rice, if desired
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add ground meat, breadcrumbs, egg, milk, and taco seasoning in a large bowl and mix until well combined.
- Scoop out about 4 tablespoons of meat, then flatten it slightly, placing cheese cube in the middle. Bring the sides up and seal it up completely.
- Place rolled meatballs on prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- Sprinkle with chopped cilantro if desired.
Expert Tips
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- Great for Freezing: This is a great recipe to store in the freezer and reheat. Double the ingredients when baking and stick the second batch in the freezer to have on hand and ready to cook.
- Addition tip: For more flavor or spice, you can add chipotle sauce to your meat mixture. Roasted tomato salsa is another great add in. different vegetable such as bell pepper is great in the meatballs or place the meatball mixture into the pepper to make a stuffed peppers.
- Tortilla Chips: For some extra crunch, you can crush up tortilla chips or leftover shells and use them in place of the breadcrumbs.
- Toppings: Salsa and cheese, or your other favorite taco toppings like top with sour cream add the taco seasoning for more flavor, avocado or taco sauce.
- Rolling Meatballs: Rolling a perfect meatball isn’t as intimidating as it may seem, Just make sure to flatten the meat with enough room for the sides to completely seal together.
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