Cheese Stuffed BBQ Meatballs

Cheese Stuffed BBQ Meatballs are the easy appetizer you need to serve up at your next party! These juicy meatballs are stuffed with cheese and sauced on the outside for the perfect bite.

These are fairly simple to make and the great thing about them is that you can easily prepare them ahead of time. I smoked these on my pellet grill, but you can use any type of smoker or even cook these in your oven or air fryer. The biggest thing you want to do is control the temperature. They need to be cooked on a low heat so that the cheese doesn’t spill out of each meatball. 

Ingredients you will need

Meat: Burger – use a lean ground beef / nothing fattier than 80/20.

Filling: Onion, garlic, breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, Worcestershire, eggs, mozzarella string cheese 

Seasoning: SPG (salt, pepper, garlic blend) 

BBQ Sauce: Sweet BBQ sauce or Tangy BBQ sauce

How to make Cheese Stuffed BBQ Meatballs

In a large bowl, combine: ground beef, onion, garlic, breadcrumb mixture, parmesan cheese, worcestershire, eggs and a salt, black pepper, onion powder and garlic powder blend.

Place the mixing bowl in the freezer for about 15 minutes to help thicken the mixture and to help when forming up the meatballs.

Grab 5 sticks of mozzarella cheese and cut each one of them up into a cheese cube. 

Take a cookie scoop of the meatball mixture (or 2 tbsp) and form up a ball then press your thumb into the middle to make a dent.

Place a piece of cheese in the center of each meatball. Enclose the cheese to make sure that the cheese does not ooze out when cooking it. 

Place all of your cheese-stuffed meatballs on an oiled wire rack, then season the tops of them with a generous dusting of SPG Blend. 

Place them on your smoker at 250 degrees F using hickory wood for 30 minutes. Brush your favorite bbq sauce on each meatball for the last 10 minutes to allow the sauce to tack up.

Serve them up on a dish or a slow cooker to keep them warm and enjoy!

You can easily make these the day ahead of your party, just store them in an airtight container then reheat them in a slow cooker with more BBQ sauce.

Looking for other great appetizer ideas? Check out my Smoked Street Corn Queso Dip and Smoked Pork Belly Burnt Ends.

,

Cheese Stuffed BBQ Meatballs

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

4 from 2 reviews

Print Recipe

These smoked BBQ meatballs are one of the best appetizers around! They’re stuffed with cheese in the middle and brushed with a zesty BBQ sauce on the outside.

• Total Time: 1 hour
• Yield: 24 meatballs 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 2 lbs 80/20 ground beef
• 4 tbsp of The Go-To Rub 
• ½ sweet onion finely diced
• 5 cloves minced garlic 
• ⅔ cup breadcrumbs 
• ½ cup grated parmesan cheese 
• 2 tbsp worcestershire
• 2 large eggs 
• 5 sticks of mozzarella string cheese
• ½ cup BBQ sauce

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

1. In a bowl, combine: beef, onion, garlic, breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, worcestershire, eggs and The Go-To Blend from Fire and Smoke Society
2. Place the bowl in the freezer for about 15 minutes to help thicken the mixture and to help when forming up the meatballs.
3. Grab 5 sticks of mozzarella cheese and cut each one of them up into fifths. 
4. Take about 2 tablespoons of beef, form up a ball, then press your thumb into the middle and place a chunk of string cheese. Enclose the cheese to make sure that your cheese does not ooze out when cooking it. 
5. Place all of your stuffed meatballs on an oiled wire rack, then season the tops of them with a generous dusting of The Go-To Blend. 
6. Place them on your smoker at 250F using hickory wood for 30 minutes.
7. Brush on BBQ sauce for the last 10 minutes to allow it to tack up.
8. Serve them up in a dish and enjoy!

• Author: Nick Nesgoda
• Prep Time: 30 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes