Halloween Meatballs
These spooky Halloween meatballs, topped with creepy mozzarella ‘eyeballs,’ are a fun and easy addition to any Halloween dinner or party. Serve them over spaghetti for a frightful feast!
Servings 4
Ingredients
- 1 pound (453 grams) ground beef
- 1 pound (453 grams) ground pork
- 1 cup (100 grams) grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano
- 1 cup (112 grams) breadcrumbs
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 2 large eggs room temp
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 °F (204 °C) and lightly grease a baking sheet large enough to fit 24 1” meatballs.°
- Use clean, dry hands to gently combine all the meatball ingredients in a large mixing bowl, until well incorporated. Be careful not to overwork the mixture to avoid making the meatballs dense.
- Shape the mixture into 24 1-inch (2.5 cm) balls and place about 1” apart on the baking sheet.
- Bake for about 14-17 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 160 °F (71 C). Cook the pasta according to package instructions while the meatballs are baking. Reserve 1/4 cup of pasta water before draining! Then drain, but don’t rinse. While the pasta is cooking, cut the mozzarella balls in half lengthwise. Put them on a paper towel to help soak up some of the moisture. Pat dry with paper towels.
- Cut up the olives. I cut away the top and bottom and just used the middles so that they’d lay flat. Also place them on paper towels and pat dry.
- When the meatballs are done cooking, remove from the oven, add a halved mozzarella ball to the center of each meatball, and put back in the oven for 2-3 minutes or until the balls have melted a bit to create the eyeball.
- Remove from the oven and add the olive to the center of each eyeball.
- Add the spaghetti sauce to the now-empty spaghetti pot and warm up over medium-high heat until hot and steamy. Stir in 2 tablespoons of the reserved pasta water, and if it’s not too thin, the remaining 2 tablespoons. This will help the sauce stick better to the noodles.
- Add the pasta to the pot and stir until well combined.
- Top with basil, oregano, or parsley.
- Cool leftovers and refrigerate in an airtight container (preferably glass, so it doesn't stain) for up to 4 days.
Notes
If you're gluten-free, use gluten-free breadcrumbs and pasta.