Okay, this one is going to make you stop, drop, and drool. What happens when you draw inspiration from and combine the likes of a meatball Parmesan hero, a deep dish pizza, a crock of French onion soup, garlic bread and a Georgian-style khachapuri (aka a “cheese boat”)? You get the most photo-worthy and sharable comfort dish known as Meatball Parm Garlic Bread Bowls! And as incredible as it looks, it’s super easy to make. This recipe has you baking my meatballs and then briefly simmering them in some marinara, but they can also be made in your Instant Pot (just see Jeff’s Tips in the recipe card below). Get ready for a serious meal you’ll want to make for yourself and your favorite guests again and again where you’ll not only lick the bowl clean, you’ll eat it instead!
Watch The Video!
Make The Meatballs
Prepare The Bread Bowls
The Garlic Butter Sauce
Say Cheese!
Simmer The Meatballs
Assemble The Bread Bowls
Broil
Dig In
The Taste Test
Meatball Parm Garlic Bread Bowls
Okay, this one is going to make you stop, drop, and drool. What happens when you draw inspiration from and combine the likes of a meatball Parmesan hero, a deep dish pizza, a crock of French onion soup, garlic bread and a Georgian-style khachapuri (aka a "cheese boat")? You get the most photo-worthy and sharable comfort dish known as Meatball Parm Garlic Bread Bowls! And as incredible as it looks, it's super easy to make! This recipe has you baking my meatballs and then briefly simmering them in some marinara, but they can also be made in your Instant Pot (just see Jeff's Tips in this recipe card). Get ready for a serious meal you'll want to make for yourself and your favorite guests again and again where you'll not only lick the bowl clean, you'll eat it instead!
Ingredients
The Meatballs
- 1 pound ground beef (80%-85% lean – the less lean, the better for meatballs!)
- 1/2 pound ground pork
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/3 cup plain breadcrumbs (see Jeff's Tips)
- 6 cloves (2 tablespoons) crushed garlic
- 2 teaspoons seasoned salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 tablespoons dried parsley
- 1/3 cup whole milk
- 1 large egg, slightly beaten
- 5-6 cups marinara sauce (try to use a good one like Rao's or Victoria)
The Bread Bowls
- Bread bowls of your choice (I like semolina and sourdough from my supermarket’s bakery or an Asiago from Panera)
- About 3-5 slices provolone cheese per bread bowl
- About 2-4 slices mozzarella cheese per bread bowl
- Grated Parmesan cheese, for topping
Optional Garlic Butter
- 1/2 stick salted or unsalted butter, melted for 30 seconds in the microwave
- 2 teaspoons grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon Better Than Bouillon Roasted Garlic base OR 2 teaspoons minced garlic
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a large mixing bowl, take ALL of the meatball ingredients (except the sauce) and mix together well by hand. Everything should form together into one huge meatball. From the giant meatball, take some meat and roll into individual meatballs the size of a golf ball. For reference, this should make about 12-16 when all’s said and done.
- Place the meatballs on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes. As the meatballs are baking, place the marinara sauce in a 4.5-5-quart sauté pan and set to medium-low heat until it simmers. Then, cover the pan and reduce the heat to low.
- Add the cooked meatballs to the sauce, cover with the lid again and let the meatballs simmer in the sauce for about 5-10 minutes. This way, the juices from the meatballs really infuse the sauce!
- While the meatballs are simmering, increase the oven temperature to broil and prep the bread bowls. Carefully cut the top of each bread bowl in a circle, making sure not to slice through the bottom. Remove most of the excess bread and hollow it out, leaving some bread on the sides and bottom for some cushioning support. If using the garlic butter, combine all those ingredients in a bowl, microwave for 30 seconds, mix to combine, and lightly brush the inside of the hollowed-out walls of the bread bowls (see Jeff's Tips).
- Place the bread bowls on a foil-lined baking sheet. Then, layer in the provolone so the bottom and walls are covered, overlapping if necessary (NOTE: How many slices you will need will depend on how large the bread bowl is, usually 3-5 per bowl). Ladle in a few meatballs (usually 3 will fit) followed by a generous amount of sauce until it comes up to the brim of the bread bowl. Sprinkle on some Parmesan and then top with a few slices of mozzarella cheese until covered (usually 2-3 per bowl), overlapping if necessary. Feel free to brush any additional garlic butter sauce on the sides of the bread bowls.
- Broil in the oven for 3-5 minutes until the cheese begins to get bubbly brown (NOTE: Keep an eye on it as all ovens vary). Enjoy immediately while the cheese is still hot, melty and stretchy!
Jeffrey's Tips
To make the meatballs in the Instant Pot vs. baking in the oven, follow this recipe and then begin with Step 4 as the meatballs are pressure cooking.
No breadcrumbs on hand or want to live the "waste not, want not" mantra? Use the hollowed-out bread from the bowls as the breadcrumbs for the meatballs! Just rip into small pieces and toast it for a few minutes before breaking down into crumbs and then make your meatballs!
Use any excess garlic butter sauce to brush on the bread bowl tops and broil with the bread bowls for extra garlic bread!
If you want to pre-toast your garlic bread bowls, bake them in the oven for about 5 minutes on 450°F in between Steps 4 & 5 before lining with the provolone cheese.
rangeluckcooking.com
Where pressure cooker?
Jeffrey
In my kitchen
Patty Cekoric
Why do we have to enter our email to print your recipes?
Jeffrey
Because it’s free and supports my hard work 😉
Sam Welch
please tell us which Cookbook we can find the recipes.