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French Onion Stuffed Meatballs

French Onion Stuffed Meatballs are the ULTIMATE comfort food. Combining the best of so many worlds with super-flavorful caramelized onions, tender, juicy meatballs, and lots of gooey cheese – these are SO worth the work.
French Onion Stuffed Meatballs

French Onion Stuffed Meatballs

Now that the weather is turning a bit, I can finally share with you guys one of the BEST blogger recipes I have ever tried. Hands down. Brianne from Cupcakes & Kale Chips – this is amazing. It is unique, creative, and so satisfying and delicious.

I made quite a few changes based on the ingredients I had on hand, and my inability to ever follow a recipe exactly as written. It is a sickness. I just can’t do it.

French Onion Stuffed Meatballs

Can I Cook Meatballs in a Slow Cooker?

These french onion stuffed meatballs would be easily adapted to a slow cooker. Just toss the browned meatballs into a crockpot, top as instructed, and cook on low for 2-3 hours or high for 1-2 hours. Adjust the cooking times for your personal slow cooker as needed.

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French Onion Stuffed Meatballs

You probably will miss out on a bit of the cheese browning that you would get in the oven, but if your slow cooker stoneware allows for it you can finish these in the oven.

How To Caramelize Onion

See my post on caramelizing onions if you aren’t familiar with the process.

French Onion Stuffed Meatballs

Can I make this without stuffing the meatballs?

If you find yourself a little short on time you could definitely skip the stuffing part, and just put all the onions and cheese on top of the meatballs. Almost the same effect. You won’t get to cut open a meatball and have delicious cheese ooze out, but the flavors will still all be there. This is also helpful if you have any onion haters in your family.

Need another great meatball recipe? Check out these Traeger Smoked Meatballs, my Smoked Meatball Rigatoni, or my Meatball Subs

French Onion Stuffed Meatballs

These meatballs are perfect for a big pile of garlic mashed potatoes.

French Onion Stuffed Meatballs

You could also serve these with buttered noodles as well, or all on their own if you aren’t into mashed potatoes.

But if you aren’t into mashed potatoes we can’t be friends anymore, mmmmkay?

French Onion Stuffed Meatballs

You also may like my Caramel Roll Cinnamon Cake, or my Raspberry Angel Food Cake to serve as dessert after this meal!

Real Reviews from Readers!

I tried it! It came out AMAZING!!! Thank you for the recipe!!! Followed it exactly!!!

Samantha
Sandy says, “Very tasty! They were easy to make and really delicious :)”
Kayleigh says, “SO GOOD! They were AMAZING! I’ve passed the recipe on to so many others – delicious. Thank you for sharing it!”

To have your photo and review featured, please email me at orwhateveryoudo @ gmail.com!

Yield: 6 people

French Onion Stuffed Meatballs

French Onion Stuffed Meatballs

Cheesy stuffed meatballs baked and loaded with caramelized onions. French Onion Stuffed Meatballs are the ultimate fall and winter comfort food!

Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

Caramelized Onions

  • 4 teaspoons butter
  • 1 large walla walla sweet onion, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 teaspoon thyme
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/2 teaspoon beef flavored Better Than Bouillon
  • 1/4 cup Cabernet

Meatballs:

  • 1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
  • 1 slice white bread soaked in milk
  • 1/2 - 3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
  • 1 teaspoon parsley
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg
  • 8 oz shredded mozzarella
  • 4 oz provolone
  • 1 tablespoon canola oil
  • Fresh chopped parsley for garnish, optional

Sauce:

  • 2 cups water
  • 1 packet beefy onion dry soup mix
  • 1/2 teaspoon chicken Better Than Bouillon
  • 1/4 cup cabernet
  • 1/4 cup chardonnay
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • salt & pepper, to taste

Instructions

  1. In a large nonstick pan over medium-low heat, saute onions and butter stirring occasionally until golden brown and caramelized.
  2. Add the thyme, salt, water, bouillon, and wine. Cook over medium heat until reduced by half. Let cool.
  3. Combine the milk soaked bread, 1/2 cup panko, parsley, pepper, salt, and egg in a bowl and mix together until everything is a happy gloopy mess. Mix in the ground beef with your hands until the gloopy mess is evenly distributed into the meat. If necessary to make the meat formable, mix in additional 1/4 cup of panko.
  4. Grab a small handful of the meat and flatten in your palm. Add some cheese and onions, and fold meat over and around it, sealing the edges as best as you can. This is a messy process. Repeat until all meat has been stuffed.
  5. In a large nonstick skillet, heat canola oil over medium high heat. Brown meatballs on all sides. Remove to an oven safe dish when browned. Don't worry about these cooking all the way through. They will finish cooking in the oven.
  6. Make sauce by combining all ingredients in a saucepan, and simmering for 10 minutes. Pour over meatballs, and top the meatballs with any extra onions, with the shredded mozzarella cheese, and any extra provolone you didn't use to stuff the meatballs.
  7. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, Remove, top with fresh chopped parsley, and serve with mashed potatoes.

Notes

Recipe adapted from Cupcakes & Kale Chips.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 627Total Fat: 34gSaturated Fat: 16gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 182mgSodium: 1537mgCarbohydrates: 23gFiber: 1gSugar: 5gProtein: 51g

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Nicole Johnson

Nicole Johnson, a self-taught expert in grilling and outdoor cooking, launched Or Whatever You Do in 2010. Her blog, renowned for its comprehensive and creative outdoor cooking recipes, has garnered a vast audience of millions. Nicole's hands-on experience and passion for grilling shine through her work. Her husband, Jeremiah Johnson, also plays a pivotal role in recipe development, adding his culinary flair to the mix. Together, they form a dynamic duo, offering a rich and varied outdoor cooking experience to their followers.

Kerry

Sunday 24th of November 2019

My meatballs fell apart when I was transferring from the stove top to oven dish ? still eating them though and crossing my fingers I didn’t mess them up too bad!

Nicole Johnson

Sunday 24th of November 2019

Awww man! They can definitely be a little temperamental. If stuffing them isn't working out, you can also skip the stuffing and just pile all of the onions and cheese on the top. It'll taste the same, but you won't get that presentation of cutting into the meatball and having molten cheese come out. I hope they were still delicious!

15 Marvelous Meatball Recipes - Mom and More

Thursday 21st of February 2019

[…] French Onion Stuffed Meatballs by Or Whatever You Do […]

Sandy Romeo

Thursday 13th of December 2018

I made these with ground chicken and sauteed mushrooms...sooo good! Thanks for the recipe! It adapted very well!

Nicole Johnson

Saturday 15th of December 2018

Yay! Thanks so much for stopping by to let me know. I'm so glad you enjoyed them! I've never had them with ground chicken before. Glad it translated well!

Dex

Sunday 28th of October 2018

I was interested in this recipe when I found it on Pinterest, but gave up after scrolling through 2 miles of pointless typing. It would have been great to see an ingredient list, and simple instructions.

Sondra Allen-Edwards

Wednesday 9th of September 2020

@Nicole Johnson, That was awesome!?

Nicole Johnson

Sunday 28th of October 2018

You can find those at the end of the post. Or you can go figure it out yourself somewhere else. :D I'm cool with either option. There are lots of other recipes out there! If you can find other awesome ones that don't make you go through all of that hard work of scrolling, I wish you all the best.

Have a great day! You sound like a fun dude!

Ninette

Wednesday 25th of October 2017

They were to die for. What a fantastic recipe. I didn't stuff the meatballs, but this recipe was such a hit with my family, even my fussy granddaughter. Thank you.

Nicole Johnson

Wednesday 25th of October 2017

Wow! Thanks so much for coming back to let me know, Ninette! We LOVE these also. So glad to hear they were a hit with your family!

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