Cheesy Meatball appetizer bites made with crescent dough, frozen meatballs, marinara sauce and lots of cheese! Easy meatball appetizer recipe perfect for parties & game day.
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These Cheesy Meatball Bites are one of my favorite meatball appetizers ever. They’re only 4 ingredients and super fast to make and have quickly become one of my most popular appetizer recipes.
I’ve made these meatball bites two different ways. One way I’ve made them is using the triangle crescent rolls pieced together like I depict in the video above. The other way is using the round crescents! This is my preferred way being as you don’t have to worry about cutting it or reshaping it to make the recipe. You just open the package and start putting the recipe together.
How do you make cheesy meatball appetizers?
Making these cheesy meatball bites is so simple! You’ll need an 8-oz can of crescent rolls, some mozzarella cheese, marinara sauce and of course, the meatballs. I just use the frozen, pre-made meatballs that I buy from the store. I list my favorite kinds below! Preheat your oven and spray your muffin tin with non-stick spray. Press the crescent rolls into the individual muffin tins, then spoon some marinara sauce on top. Sprinkle some of the mozzarella and repeat the layers, ending in more cheese. Bake the meatball bites and serve immediately. If you’re bringing them to share at a party, I recommend heating them up in the oven for 3-5 minutes once you arrive, and then serving them either in the muffin tin or on a ceramic plate like I describe below.
How to keep meatball appetizers warm
I serve these cheesy meatball bites on a ceramic or porcelain plate or tray that I heated in the microwave. Ceramic and porcelain retain heat well, so if you plate the meatball bites hot, they’ll stay warm for around 15-20 minutes, which is usually more than enough time since they tend to get eaten quickly! If it’s a casual get together, I don’t mind serving the meatball bites in the muffin tray. The muffin tray of course wraps the meatball bites and helps them stay warm as a result.
What is the best brand of meatballs?
My favorite brand of frozen meatballs is Kirkland, from Costco and Armor meatballs. I prefer to use the Italian style meatballs for this recipe, but I’ve also used the homestyle variety and enjoy both! The homestyle variety do seem to be smaller meatballs. I have tried two different off-brand varieties of frozen meatballs and our family didn’t care for either of them, so I only buy either Kirkland, if I’m at Costco or Armor meatballs.
Cheesy Meatball Bites
- 1 8-oz can Pillsbury Crescent rolls
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- about 1/2 cup marinara sauce
- 12 meatballs (I used pre-made, frozen ones)
How to bake this meatball appetizer recipe
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a regular sized muffin pan with non-stick spray.
- Unroll crescent dough. Separate into 2 large sections along the perforated edge. Cut each of the 2 large sections into thirds, then divide those sections down the middle, so that you have 12 squares total. (See video- it’s much easier shown!) I mentioned above how I now prefer to use the crescent rounds instead of the traditional triangle crescent rolls. The crescent rounds make this step so much easier! Just open the package and press one round into each muffin tin. You’ll end up with 8 good sized meatball appetizers this way. If you use the traditional triangle crescent rolls, you can make 12 meatball bites, but they’ll be a bit smaller. If I’m preparing this recipe for a party, I just double the recipe using the crescent rounds.
- Press each square into one of the muffin cups, doing your best to smooth dough around the cup and a little up the sides.
- Spoon about 2 teaspoons of marinara sauce into the bottom of each cup. Follow with a small spoonful of mozzarella cheese. Place 1 meatball (they can be frozen still, no need to pre-thaw!) into the center of each cup. Spoon another 2 teaspoons of marinara sauce on top of the meatball, then finish with another sprinkling of mozzarella cheese.
- Bake for 15-17 minutes, until crescent dough is golden brown and cheese is bubbling. Remove from oven. Let cool a few minutes, then remove each meatball bite from the muffin pan. Serve with additional marinara sauce, if desired.
If you like these Cheesy Meatball Bites, you’ve got to check out some of our other popular appetizer recipes:
- Ranch Chicken Cheese Dip
- BBQ Chicken Bacon Pineapple Kabobs
- Pizza Pinwheels
- Best Chicken Tenders Ever
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CHEESY MEATBALL BITES
Ingredients
- 1 8- oz can Pillsbury Crescent rolls
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- about 1/2 cup marinara sauce
- 12 meatballs I used pre-made, frozen ones
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a regular sized muffin pan with non-stick spray.
- Unroll crescent dough. Separate into 2 large sections along the perforated edge. Cut each of the 2 large sections into thirds, then divide those sections down the middle, so that you have 12 squares total. (See video- it's much easier shown!) You can also use the round crescents and not worry about cutting the dough or anything- just use one roll per muffin cup.
- Press each square into one of the muffin cups, doing your best to press down into the cup and somewhat up the edges.
- Spoon about 2 teaspoons of marinara sauce into the bottom of each crescent dough cup. Follow with a spoonful of mozzarella cheese. Place 1 meatball (they can be frozen still, no need to pre-thaw!) into the center of each cup. Spoon another 2 teaspoons of marinara sauce on top of the meatball, then finish with more mozzarella cheese.
- Bake for 15-17 minutes, until crescent dough is golden brown and cheese is bubbling. Remove from oven. Let cool a few minutes, then remove each meatball bite from the muffin pan. Serve with additional marinara sauce, if desired.
Video
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Rachael says
I’m making for a Christmas party, are these easily reheated? They will only be in transit for about an hour. How should I reheat?
Jessica says
I’d just transport them on a cookie sheet and then pop them in a warm oven for 5 minutes or so! EASY!
Cara says
Has anyone tried these with biscuit dough instead of crescent rolls?
Brenda says
Do you use a regular muffin pan or mini muffin pan?
Jessica says
I used a regular muffin tin. 🙂
Deb says
Mine are in oven now…supper!
Sandra Shaffer says
This is a great party appetizer! I love meatballs and this recipe is perfect finger food so I won’t need to worry about plates and forks. Delicious!
Jessica says
Agreed Sandra! 🙂
jane @ littlesugarsnaps says
Loving how easy these look from the video. I tend to have homemade meatballs & sauce hanging around in my freezer so these could be assembled in no time.
Torrey says
I just made these tonight as a light but protein-packed Halloween dinner before trick-or-treating and they were perfect! I used flaky layers dinner biscuits instead, and just used 2/3 a biscuit for each, so that I could make 12 from an 8 biscuit tin. So easy, and just right – the family loved them. Thanks for sharing!
(I do think my meatballs were maybe bigger than yours, so the only change I’d make is to let them thaw first next time, so I can get the biscuits perfect instead of the barely too crispy we got this time. But just the slightest adjustment.) 🙂
Alison says
Torrey, I love that idea of making them for a light Halloween Dinner! So glad you and your family enjoyed these! Thanks for sharing the changes you made too, sounds perfect!
lisa says
These look like a great idea for appetizers to serve on New Year’s Eve. I’ll be testing them out today. Thanks!
April says
These were such a fun way to serve meatballs! Great for a party, and everybody loved them!
Julia says
Can you make these ahead of time, put in the fridge and just bake later that night?
Jessica says
Yes, absolutely!
Sally says
Did you use precooked or raw meatballs?
Jessica says
I use cooked, frozen meatballs.
Sara says
If I’m making the meatballs homemade and using frozen ones, do I cook them first? Or put in the muffin tin raw? I’m just curious about the grease…
Thanks!
Jessica says
Cook the meatballs first! : )