Name: Bacon Wrapped Meatballs
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 1 1/4 lb. ground beef; 1 egg; 1/3 c. breadcrumbs; 2 garlic cloves (minced); 1 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teaspoon black pepper; 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce; 10 pieces bacon (cut in half); 1/3 c. brown sugar; 1 Tablespoon chile powder

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Crispy bacon wrapped meatballs are coated in a sweet and spicy crust that gives this appetizer a burst of delicious flavor in every bite.

A plate of Bacon wrapped meatballs with toothpicks in them.

I recently realized that I don’t have a ton of appetizer recipes on my blog even though I often make small bites. I usually make things that we eat for lunch or a snack and I don’t take pictures or blog about them.

This week I had extra ground beef that I needed to use up and I had zero idea of what to do with it. That’s when I saw the bacon in the refrigerator and decided to get crazy with homemade meatballs wrapped in bacon.

Now I do make meatballs a lot. My favorite meatballs are these Meat and Vegetables Meatballs that are in desperate need of updated photos. They are great with spaghetti.

I also love my Banh Mi Meatballs or Firecracker Meatballs served over top of rice for a spicy meal. For a game day favorite Easy Pull Apart Meatball Sliders can’t be beat.

For the bacon wrapped meatballs I wanted to coat them in a sweet and spicy crust but I wasn’t sure my husband would like that. So I decided to do half with the sweet and spicy crust and half without.

Ingredients:

ground beef (I prefer 85/15 but 80/20 would be good a well)
egg (this binds the meatballs together)
breadcrumbs (don’t use panko as it is too thick for the meatballs)
garlic cloves (this adds flavor to the meatballs but you don’t have to use it)
salt and black pepper
Worcestershire sauce (this is always good to add to beef)
bacon (do not get thick cut as it will take too long to cook)
brown sugar (don’t substitute granulated sugar, you need the flavor from the brown sugar)
chile powder (this adds the spiciness to the sweet and spicy coating)

To make the meatballs place the egg in a bowl and beat. Add in the ground beef, breadcrumbs, garlic cloves, salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce. Mix until just combined. You do not want to over mix the beef mixture.

can I use frozen meatballs instead of homemade?

You can use frozen meatballs in place of the homemade meatballs but be advised that they will be much dried than the homemade meatballs. You will need to defrost the meatballs before using them in this recipe. You can definitely use refrigerated, raw meatballs in this recipe and they will work out perfectly. I just prefer making my own meatballs because I can adjust the seasonings to the likes of my family.

Once the beef mixture is ready use your hands and roll the mixture into 1 to 1 1/2 inch meatballs. Place them on a foil lined baking sheet with sides. Make sure to line the baking sheet because these meatballs make a lot of grease.

Cut your bacon strips in half. Wrap half of the bacon around each meatball and secure with a toothpick. Using a homemade meatball it may be difficult to keep the shape of the meatball but it won’t matter once it’s all cooked.

In a small bowl combine the brown sugar and chile powder. This is what will form the sweet and spicy crust on top of the meatball and bacon. Dip as many bacon wrapped meatballs as you’d like into this mixture and rub it all over the meatball and bacon.

What else can I rub on the outside of the meatballs?

If you want a sweeter meatball just rub it with the brown sugar. You can also use a BBQ seasoning to rub all over the meatballs. I use a combination of 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1 tablespoon smoked paprika, 2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon chile powder, and 1 teaspoon garlic powder. It’s delicious. You can also sprinkle dry mustard, salt, and pepper on the meatballs.

You can simply sprinkle the other meatballs with salt and pepper if you’d like or just leave them as they are. Place them on the baking sheet and cook for 25 minutes.

Remove from oven and serve immediately. You can take the toothpicks out before serving or just let people know they are in the meatballs.

What DIp can I serve with the meatballs?

Barbecue sauce is a nice dip for these meatballs. A sweet honey mustard is another good option. If you just go with the salt and pepper on the meatballs then you could serve them with marinara sauce.

These meatballs were super easy to make and they were so good! I was worried the ones with the brown sugar would be really sweet but with the bacon and ground beef meatballs they really weren’t.

The crust on them was both sweet and spicy and worked nicely with the saltiness of the bacon and the meatball. We enjoyed these during the football game bu they would be great as a party appetizer too.

If you’ve tried my Bacon Wrapped Meatballs or any other recipe on Hezzi-D’s Recipe Box please take a minute to rate the recipe and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. I love hearing from you! You can FOLLOW ME on:

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