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Mini Meatball Cupcakes

Refrigerated dough stuffed with frozen meatballs, pizza sauce, and cheese, baked until warm and gooey to create whimsical shaped savory cupcakes.

March 22, 2023 By Lilly

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A fun and easy family dinner idea! Kids love these mini meatball cupcakes.

Meatball cupcakes are a creative and delicious muffin tin recipe, perfect for a quick family dinner or filling snack. This recipe is especially popular with kids, who are sure to love the whimsical cupcake shape and savory flavor.

With just a few simple ingredients, including frozen meatballs, Pillsbury dough, pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese, these mini meatball cupcakes can be whipped up in no time! They are a great option for a family-friendly meal that is both fun and easy to make on busy school nights.

Are you looking for fun dinner ideas for kids? You can't go wrong with these mini meatball cupcakes! They are cheap and easy to make with just a few simple ingredients in a mini muffin tin including Pillsbury dough, frozen meatballs, pizza sauce and shredded mozzarella cheese! So simple and delicious for busy weeknight meals with the family.

Ingredients

  • 24 frozen meatballs (small 1oz size)
  • 1 Pillbury Crescent dough sheet (8oz tube)
  • 1 cup pizza sauce
  • 1+ cups shredded mozzarella cheese

How to make the best mini meatball cupcakes! This fun and easy family dinner is sure to be a hit with your picky eaters. Everyone loves bite-sized food!

Step 1 Cook the meatballs according to the package instructions, only cut the cook time in half since they will be cooking again once they are stuffed into the Pillsbury crust.

Cooked frozen meatballs for making mini meatball sub cupcakes!

Step 2 Open the tube of crescent dough and form the shape of South Dakota. Just kidding, but seriously, your dough will most likely not come out into a perfect rectangle shape. That’s ok! Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into 24 equalish pieces. I made a few extras there on the bottom and then added them to the smaller pieces.

Cutting up a Pillsbury crescent dough sheet for making muffin tin mini meatball cupcakes.

Step 3 Grease a 24-count mini muffin tin with cooking spray and place your cut dough squares into each cup.

Fun and easy muffin pan recipes for dinner! These mini meatball sub cupcakes are super yummy and kid friendly. Perfect for busy school night meals!

Step 4 Use a small spoon to evenly distribute about a teaspoon of pizza sauce onto the dough.

If you need a few family friendly dinner ideas, you've got to try these mini meatball cupcakes! A super savory and delicious meal for a family with picky eaters.

Step 5 Place the partially cooked meatballs on top of the sauce and push them down so that the sauce kind of spreads and wraps around them.

Are you looking for fun dinner ideas at home? Look no further than these meatball cupcakes! They are made with just 4 cheap ingredients, and are super quick and easy to make in a mini muffin tin.

Step 6 Top with another teaspoon of pizza sauce. There are no exact measurements here, but you don’t want them to become too soggy or too dry.

Mini Muffin Tin Meatball Cupcakes | An easy and super fun dinner idea for a family with kids!

Step 7 Evenly top each sauce covered meatball with shredded mozzarella cheese. You could also add a little parmesan if you’d like!

Cheesy Meatball Cupcakes made in a mini muffin pan!

Step 8 Bake in a 375 degree oven for 10-14 minutes or until the dough is thoroughly cooked. BTW, most frozen meatballs require the same temperature, so you’ll already have your oven preheated.

Yummy dinner idea for a family with kids! These mini meatball cupcakes are fun to make in a mini muffin tin with just a few budget friendly ingredients: Pillsbury dough, frozen meatballs, cheese, and pizza sauce! They make for a wonderful quick meal as well as a filling snack for afters school. Great for sleepovers!

These bite-size meatball subs are super yummy and fun to eat!

We’ve made this unique recipe several times for dinner, but these savory little cupcakes are also the perfect finger food for snacking. Try serving them for a sleepover or family gathering. I promise you won’t get any complaints.

Helpful Tips

  • I used the Kirkland Signature Costco brand of Italian beef frozen meatballs for this recipe. They are definitely on the small side, about 1 ounce in size.
  • If you can’t find the Pillsbury crescent dough sheet at the grocery store, you could also use refrigerated pizza dough or crescent rolls. The crescent rolls usually come in a sheet anyway, you just may need to press the seams together before cutting.
  • We love Rao’s pizza sauce, but it’s expensive! Any kind of pizza sauce or even marinara works well for this recipe.
  • For extra flavor, feel free to season with Italian seasoning or garlic powder before adding the cheese.
  • Grated or shredded parmesan cheese couldn’t hurt either. Add it along with the mozzarella if you’d like.
  • If you end up with any leftovers, try reheating them in the air fryer. Yummy! Don’t have an air fryer? No worries, the microwave is always handy.

Mini Meatball Sub Cupcakes | A fun and easy meal, snack or even appetizer! This 4 ingredient recipe super simple to make and everyone loves them.

Print Recipe

Mini Meatball Cupcakes

A fun and easy family dinner idea made with just a few ingredients! Kids especially love the whimsical cupcake shape and savory flavor. This is such a creative and delicious muffin tin recipe, perfect for a quick family meal or filling snack. 
Course: Appetizer, Main Course, Snack
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: easy dinner, few ingredients, fun snacks, mini muffin tin, quick meal
Servings: 24 cupcakes

Equipment

  • 1 mini muffin tin

Ingredients

  • 24 small frozen meatballs (1oz size)
  • 1 (8oz) tube Pillsbury crescent dough sheet
  • 1 cup pizza sauce
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Instructions

  • Cook the meatballs according to the package instructions, only cut the cook time in half since they will be cooking again once they are stuffed into the Pillsbury crust.
  • Preheat oven to 375° F (this happens to be the same temperature that my Costco brand meatballs were cooking at).
  • While the meatballs are cooking, open the tube of sheet dough and place it onto a large cutting board. Use a pizza cutter to cut it into 24 equal squares.
  • Grease a 24-count mini muffin tin with cooking spray and place your cut dough squares into each cup.
  • Use a small spoon to evenly distribute about a teaspoon of pizza sauce onto the bottom of the dough.
  • Place your cooked meatballs on top of the sauce and push them down so that the sauce kind of spreads and wraps around them.
  • Top with approximately one more teaspoon of pizza sauce.
  • Evenly top each sauce-covered meatball with shredded mozzarella cheese. You could also add a little parmesan if you’d like!
  • Bake for 10-14 minutes or until the dough is thoroughly cooked.
  • Allow them to cool for a few minutes before removing from the pan. We usually dip them in the remaining pizza sauce we have left in the jar because we like things extra saucy.

Notes

  • I used the Kirkland Signature Costco brand of Italian beef meatballs for this recipe.
  • If you can't find the Pillsbury crescent dough sheet at the grocery store, you could also use refrigerated pizza dough or crescent rolls.
  • We love Rao's pizza sauce, but it's expensive! Any kind of pizza sauce or even marinara works well for this recipe. 
  • For extra flavor, feel free to season with Italian seasoning or garlic powder before adding the cheese. 
  • If you end up with any leftovers, try reheating them in the air fryer. Yummy!

If you like this recipe, check out this list of 20 Cheap & Easy Family Dinner Ideas! 🙂

If you're looking for fun dinner ideas for your family, these mini meatball cupcakes are super quick and easy to make with just a few cheap ingredients! My kids love them. They are perfect for family game night, sleepovers, or busy school night meals. I love making dinner in a muffin tin because it makes for the perfect whimsical finger food. These little meatball bites are made with a Pillsbury dough sheet, frozen meatballs, pizza sauce, and mozzarella cheese. So simple and delicious. Your picky eaters are going to love them!

Do you have picky kids to feed? This family friendly meal is a keeper! How to make mini meatball cupcakes in a muffin tin using just 4 ingredients. These are perfect for busy weeknight meals, family game night, sleepovers with friends, holidays, or anytime you want your kids to be full and happy. If you're looking for fun dinner ideas for family meals, these mini meatball cupcakes are a total hit with my picky eaters! Kids love the fun cupcake shape and the savory flavor. They are super quick and easy to make with just a handful of cheap and basic ingredients. Nothing exotic here! Just pure fun. Meatball Cupcakes | Yes, you heard me right! These are cupcakes in the form of a fun dinner. Not sweet, but savory. Your picky kids are going to love them! I make them often for busy weeknights, but they are especially great for sleepovers because then you're the coolest mom ever. This budget meal is made with just a few simple ingredients that kids love!The Best Meatball Cupcakes Recipe | A fun and easy dinner idea for a picky family! These mini meatball cupcakes are simple to make with basic ingredients including Pillsbury crescent dough, frozen meatballs (I use the Costco brand), your favorite pizza sauce, and mozzarella cheese. That's it! A super yummy meal for busy weeknights. Are you looking for fun and easy food ideas for your picky family? Try these meatball cupcakes! They are such a unique and yummy dinner idea that comes together in no time thanks to a mini muffin tin and a few budget ingredients. The best comfort food in bite-size! They are like eating mini meatball sub sandwiches.

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Filed Under: 5 Ingredients or Less, Appetizers, Comfort Food, Featured Recipes, Fun Snacks To Make, Kids, Lazy Recipes, Quick & Easy Dinner Recipes, Recipes Tagged With: budget meals, easy dinner, family meals, few ingredients, frozen meatballs, fun snacks, kid friendly, meatballs, muffin tin, Pillsbury

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