I remember going to a small Italian restaurant in Brazil and just opening that mouth watering large meatballs filled with mozzarella cheese, just unbelievable!
That memory lingered for all those years and I’ve never found the polpettone in another restaurant here in the US!
So I decided to share this treasure and that memory with my family, but using a healthier version of it!
Let’s get to it!
Ingredients:
1/2 loaf of Italian bread
2 cups of milk
1 1/2 pound of ground beef (I’ve bought the 95% lean)
Salt and Pepper to taste
3 eggs
1 cup of flour
Oregano leaves
1 cup of Canola Oil
1 jar of tomato sauce
3 thick mozzarella slices
1 tsp of parmesan cheese
Preparation:
Break the bread in small pieces and add the milk and let it cool in the fridge for 5 hours:
Season ground beef with salt and pepper
Add 1 egg to the mixture:
Brazilians add cilantro to the meatball mix, so if you like cilantro, try adding it for a little flavor! My family is not crazy about it, so I did not use it in this recipe!
Remove excess of milk and add bread mixture to the ground beef:
Cut the thick slices of mozzarella in 2″ squares or smaller, depending on the size of your meatballs:
Place the square in the center of the meatball and close it:
Coat the meatball with flour and then with a 2 eggs beaten mixture:
I skipped the bread crumbs because we’re working on cutting calories! But if you are not, please add the breadcrumbs step after the eggs!
Heat the oil for 5 minutes and fry the meatballs for 5 minutes only, cooking both sides; remember you will also bake them, so you don’t want to overcook them!
Pre-Heat the oven at 375F and pour tomato sauce and parmesan cheese on the meatballs, baking them for 30 minutes or until the sauce is boiling.
Serve over spaghetti al dente (1/2 cup of cooked spaghetti for 8 minutes which means less carbs and sugar) or with vegetables; garnish with oregano leaves and enjoy!
Have you had Polpettone? Do you like my recipe? As usual, give us Trendy Shout!
This looks so delicious I will definitely be trying it! And I love the idea of putting a piece of cheese inside the meatballs for extra yumminess!
That looks really delicious. I’m going to have to try this out soon. I may actually try this tomorrow since my girls were talking about having spaghetti for dinner!
Great recipe for a week day! It is so delicious and so easy to make
I’ve been looking for some meals to change up our routine! Going to try this one!
that looks soooo good and easy to make. I love meatballs and a good sauce too.
Oh my, this looks AMAZING!! I love pasta, and this just seals the deal!
I love the soaked bread being added into this. You’re making my mouth water with this recipe!
It really makes me hungry, I should try this for my family on weekends. Thanks for this recipe.
Oh, wow, that looks amazing! I will definitely be trying it – and wish I had a plateful in front of me now!
I’ve never heard of Polpettone. But my mouth is watering! This looks so good and easy! Thanks for the recipe!
I love a good pasta dish. I will definitely be checking out your meatball recipe.
I have never had polpettone before! I don’t know why I haven’t, because it sounds great. I will have to make this ASAP.
Seriously drooling over here…this looks delicious.
Good thing I have to go and get milk, I can get the ingredients for dinner tonight!
This recipe looks amazing. I love cheese stuffed meatballs.
Mozzarella inside the meatballs? Sounds interesting, I would really try this. I love pasta dishes, thanks for sharing.
You are speaking to me here! I love meatballs. I love cheese. I love cheese filled meatballs. I love pasta. YUM. I don’t love cilantro, but many do, so it’s nice to see it suggested.
I love pasta and discovering new recipes! I’ll include this on my next to cook 🙂
My favorite “souvenir” when traveling is a dish like this that lingers for years after the trip!
We have made mozzarella stuffed meatballs before, but I never knew the dish had a name. So, thanks! Now I can put Polpettone night on the weekly menu.
Awesome I remember my dad use to make this atleast twice a month.
Thank you for sharing and making me remember great memories
I love the step by step photos. This recipe looks really good.
We’re not skipping the calories and we love the bread crumbs, so I’m definitely adding them. Thanks for the recipe.
What a treat! absolutely delicious! I love pasta more than anything in the world!
I will try this recipe, the meatballs sound delicious. I hope my family will love it.
Ok I am in food heaven. This looks amazing.
So simple yet I bet so tasty. Will be trying this out as I love meatballs.
I can’t believe that you can add bread mixture to the ground beef, this is very clever. I want to try your recipe!
This is a great recipe! I have tried it myself recently and simply loved it. The one thing I did different was to put everything in the slow cooker instead of frying the meatballs.
That’s a very lovely bowl of pasta! I really appreciate the recipe, it’s perfect for dinner parties, especially when the family decides to come together. I’d love to cook this for them.
I would love to make a veggie version of this using quorn mince I bet it would taste amazing!
I love making meatballs and spaghetti with meatballs is my favorite way to eat pasta
You had me at spaghetti. lol. I love pasta, of anykind really. And am always looking for some new way to make it. I dont think I have tried this yet but will be…looks delicious.
wow, I’ve never seen bread used before. What an interesting concept. I’ll have to give it a go.
Oh, my yummm… I recently made cheese-stuffed meatballs but not as terrific as these! I can hardly wait for the weather to cool so I can try this recipe! (it’s much too hot to turn on the stove now…this is Phoenix and it’s over 110 every day!)
I’m an italian pasta fan, this looks so so perfect
I grew up in a big Italian family, so meals like this always go over well with us.