Meatball Parmesan Potato

Meatball Parmesan Potato

David Venable

Cheese and meatballs make this potato dish absolutely irresistible!

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Serves: 8

Ingredients

  • 4 russet potatoes of equal or similar size, washed and dried
  • 1 16-oz container of seasoned raw meatballs or 1 16-oz bag of frozen cooked cocktail meatballs
  • 1/2 Tbsp salt
  • 2/3 cup ricotta cheese
  • 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
  • 1/3 cup grated parmesan
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp minced garlic
  • 1/4 cup chopped basil
  • 1 cup of your favorite store-bought marninara sauce

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400℉.

Using a fork, poke holes along the top of your washed and dried russet potatoes. Wrap them in pieces of tin foil and place them on a sheet tray. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

If you purchased the raw seasoned meatballs, now is the time to break them apart and reform them into roughly 40 smaller meatballs. You will need between 4–5 meatballs per potato skin. Once formed into smaller meatballs, place on a tray and bake at 400℉ until cooked through, for about 10 minutes. Once cooked, set aside to cool. Lower oven temp to 350℉.

When potatoes are easily punctured all the way through with the tip of a small sharp knife, pull from the oven and let them rest until they are cool enough to handle. Unwrap from foil and slice potatoes completely in half lengthwise. Scrape the insides of the potato into the bowl of a stand mixer. Be careful to leave a small border of potato around the entire skin, and don't puncture the bottom. Lay the hallow shells back on the baking sheet.

Add the salt, ricotta, 1/2 cup of the mozzarella, and parmesan cheese to the potato scrapings into the bowl of a mixer, fitted with the whip attachment. Mix on low, just to incorporate cheeses, being careful not to over-mix and make rubbery potatoes. While the mixer is running, place the olive oil and garlic in a small sauce pan and heat until fragrant and just beginning to soften. Add this mixture to the potatoes along with the chopped basil. Fold together.

Using two spoons, fill the potato skins with the mixture evenly. The mix might heap over the top of the skins a bit. Toss the cooked meatballs with the marinara sauce and distribute the meatballs among the tops of the filled skins. This will be between 4 and 5 meatballs each. Push them down just a bit so that they nestle into the filling. Spoon the rest of the marinara over the tops of the meatballs and top the skins with the remaining 1-1/2 cups of mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350℉ for 12 minutes, until mozzarella is melted and just starts to brown and the meatballs and filling are heated through.

Print Recipe