Easy Cheesy Meatball Casserole – A Quick Dump and Go Recipe!

When it comes to an easy to prepare, weeknight meal that the entire family will love it is hard to beat this Easy Cheesy Meatball Casserole recipe. Small, bite size meatballs are tossed in a baking dish with pasta, water and marinara sauce.

Then they are put in the oven to bake until the pasta is al’ dente. Finally the entire casserole is topped with Mozzarella cheese and put back in the oven until the cheese melts and the casserole is hot and bubbly.

Once the baking dish comes out of the oven, a complete family friendly meal is ready to be served. However, don’t worry if you are on a low carb or watching your carbohydrate intake while following a Keto diet.

You can still enjoy dinner with the family. Simply use a marinara sauce that has no added sugar.

Then when it comes to serve your portion, scoop out just the meatballs and cheese for your plate. Serve it with a side salad, over a bed of zucchini noodles or cauliflower rice.

Because the meatballs are easily recognizable and hold up well during the baking process, they are easy to scoop away from the pasta. It is a great way to make dinner that everyone can enjoy!

Yes, I mean everyone. For those vegetarians and vegan eaters, you can use plant based meatballs. Although vegetarians can eat the shredded Mozzarella cheese, vegan eaters can opt for a plant based cheese instead.

It really is a versatile recipe that can be enjoyed by all. In addition, there are some quick recipe tips that will make this meatball casserole become one of your favorites!

Recipe Tips

1. Meatballs

For this recipe, it is best to use small, cocktail size meatballs. This will allow the meat to heat through to the appropriate serving temperature while the pasta is cooking.

Although you could take the time to make your own meatballs using my favorite Authentic Italian Meatball recipe, most of us will opt to purchase a bag of frozen appetizer size meatballs.

However, you most likely won’t find them in the frozen meat section at the grocery store. Instead, look where the frozen appetizers are located.

Then when you go to make this recipe let them thaw before tossing them with the pasta. However, if you are making meatballs from scratch, be sure to brown them in a skillet before adding them in the baking dish.

Then proceed with the recipe as instructed.

2. Pasta

The cheesy meatball casserole is made with either uncooked rotini or penne pasta. Both types of pasta will grab the sauce perfectly when you go to take a bite.

I have also used Banza chickpea pasta as well This naturally gluten free pasta is a great alternative for those who are on gluten free diet.

Although this is a dump and go recipe using uncooked pasta, you can use cooked pasta instead. Simply cook the pasta until it is 1 minute less than the al’ dente instructions on the package.

Then drain the noodles and toss them with the other ingredients. Omit the water in the recipe and then cook the casserole uncovered for 20-30 minutes, or until the meatballs are cooked through. Then top the dish with cheese and let it melt.

3. Marinara sauce

You can use your favorite store bought jar of pasta or marinara sauce. Or if you prefer to make Homemade Pasta Sauce, you can use that as well.

This is the time that you can switch up the flavors of the sauce. There are several different varieties, including Four Cheese Pasta Sauce, Garlic Marinara sauce and Chunky Vegetable Spaghetti sauce.

All which work great in this meatball casserole recipe. In fact, feel free to spruce up the store bought sauce to your liking.

For example, add in a little diced onion, green pepper or mushroom. And if you like things a little spicy, add in a few hot pepper flakes or a dash or two of cayenne pepper powder.

The choices are endless!

4. Shredded Cheese

To keep things authentic, I most often use shredded mozzarella cheese. However, feel free to use shredded Provolone, Swiss, or an Italian blend.

I have even made this recipe with Pepper Jack cheese when I made my homemade meatballs with spicy sausage. It was absolutely delicious!

However, if you want completely smooth, melted cheese, be sure to grate a block of cheese. The bags of shredded cheese that you purchase at the grocery store have been coated with an anti-caking agent to prevent the cheese from clumping together.

Therefore, when the cheese gets put in the oven, it still may remain stringy or even taste a little gritty. Although, I am a realist and know that most of us (including me) will use the bags of pre-shredded cheese.

And there is nothing wrong with that! It still tastes delicious.

Easy Meatball Casserole Recipe

*Specific measurements and complete recipe instructions are located in a printable recipe card at the bottom of this article. However, be sure to continue to read the tips and tricks to making this recipe below.

INGREDIENTS

• 16 ounce package rotini or penne pasta
• 24 ounces marinara or pasta sauce
• 3 cups water
• 14 ounce package fully-cooked appetizer size meatballs, thawed
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• Optional: red pepper flakes

Serving Ingredients (Optional)

• Grated Parmesan cheese
• Fresh chopped parsley

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C). Then spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with non stick cooking spray.

Add the pasta, pasta sauce, water and meatballs to the baking dish and stir. Add salt, pepper and red pepper flakes (if using) to taste. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and place in the preheated oven for 35 minutes.

Carefully uncover the meatball casserole and stir. Check the pasta to see if it is done to al dente consistency. If so proceed to the next step. If not, cover and return the baking dish to the oven until the pasta is cooked to al dente.

Once the pasta is ready, sprinkle mozzarella over the top of the pasta and meatballs. Then place the dish back in the oven and bake uncovered for 10 minutes or until the cheese has melted.

*Optional step – once the cheese is mostly melted, turn the oven on the Broiler setting to lightly brown the top of the cheese. Be sure to keep a close eye on the casserole so that the cheese doesn’t burn.

Serve warm with additional Parmesan cheese and chopped fresh parsley if desired.

Enjoy! Mary

To receive our 3 Recipe Articles in your inbox each week, sign up for our free email list located in the middle of each recipe or email me at contact@makeyourmeals.com. You can also follow us on Facebook and Pinterest. This article may contain affiliate links where a small commission is paid if you purchase a product at no additional cost to you.