Garlic Bread Meatball Bombs

4.88 from 8 votes

Make the best Garlic Bread Meatball Bombs with dinner rolls, garlic butter, meatballs, and melted cheese.

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Course: Appetizer, Dinner

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 273kcal

Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray a 9x13 baking pan with olive oil cooking spray. Set aside.
To make the garlic butter, add the melted butter, grated garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, and black pepper to a small bowl. Whisk to combine. Set aside.
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, 2 teaspoons grated garlic, ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Place the dinner rolls into the prepared baking pan. Cut out a 1½-inch well in the center of each roll with a small, sharp paring knife. Be careful not to cut too deep into your roll. You want the meatball to not sink to the bottom of the roll.
12 count package bakery-style dinner rolls
Using a pastry brush, brush the garlic butter into the wells and around the tops of all the dinner rolls.
Spoon 1-1½ tablespoons of the marinara sauce into each well (you should have sauce remaining).
1½ cups marinara sauce
Add a meatball to each sauce-filled roll and top them with the remaining sauce.
12 Italian-style meatballs
Sprinkle the grated parmesan cheese and shredded mozzarella cheese over the entire surface of the meatballs and rolls.
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese, 8 ounces block whole milk mozzarella cheese
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
Sprinkle the garlic meatball bombs with the chopped fresh parsley and serve while warm.
1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley

Tips:

You can use one of your thawed meatballs as a guide for how big you need to cut out the center of each roll. I like to hold it onto the top of my first roll and then cut just around the meatball. This will help to ensure that your center well is not too big.
You can use your favorite homemade or jarred marinara sauce. I used a jar of Ragù traditional sauce because I like that it has a thicker consistency. Your favorite brand will work just as well.
If your local grocery store doesn’t carry fresh bakery dinner rolls, you can certainly use a shelf option. I like the King’s Hawaiian brand butter rolls as a substitute.