Meatballs, tomato sauce, cheese, pizza dough—a recipe for meatball pizza heaven.
Meatball Pizza Recipe photo by Taste of Home

What happens when you combine meatballs and pizza, two of the tastiest comfort foods ever? You get a delicious and tasty meatball pizza for the ultimate pizza night.

By using store-bought dough and meatballs, this pie comes together in just 20 minutes, making it a perfect weeknight meal. And like many homemade pizza recipes, it’s affordable, better than delivery, and sure to be a hit with the whole family.

Ingredients for Meatball Pizza

  • Pizza crust: You can’t have pizza without the crust! Thankfully, you can find great premade pizza crust at the grocery store, which saves a lot of prep time. If you make your own pizza dough, just make sure to bake the crust before topping it.
  • Pizza sauce: This pizza calls for a traditional tomato-based pizza sauce. Buy your favorite brand, or make a homemade pizza sauce. Store leftovers in the freezer for your next pizza night!
  • Meatballs: Meatballs turn an ordinary pizza into a hearty meal! Use store-bought or simple homemade meatballs.
  • Cheese: Cheese is integral to pizza. The combination of mozzarella and cheddar cheese in this recipe makes this pizza rich with ooey-gooey flavor. Whether grating your own or buying it already shredded, here are our Test Kitchen’s picks for best mozzarella cheese and best cheddar cheese brands.

Directions

Step 1: Prep the crust, and add toppings

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place your prebaked crust on an ungreased 12-inch pizza pan or baking sheet. Spread the sauce over the crust, leaving a bit of space around the edge for the border. Sprinkle the sauce with garlic powder, Italian seasoning and Parmesan cheese. Then top with the onion and meatballs, and finish with the remaining cheeses.

Step 2: Bake the pizza

Meatball Pizza slicedTMB Studio

Bake the pizza for 12 to 17 minutes, until the cheese is melted and browned on top. Top with extra Parmesan cheese if you wish.

Recipe Variations for Meatball Pizza

  • Add more toppings: Make this an everything-pizza with some of your favorite toppings like sliced olives, pepperoncini, mushrooms or sliced bell peppers. Be aware, though: One of the biggest pizza mistakes is adding too many toppings. Keep it light so you don’t weigh down the dough too much.
  • Try a different meat: You can always substitute meatballs for another meaty topping, whether it’s pepperoni, sausage or bacon. Just make sure to cook any raw meat before using it as a topping for the pizza. Or try turkey, chicken or your favorite plant-based meatball for a twist.
  • Caramelize the onions: For a slightly sweeter touch and another layer of flavor, try using caramelized onions instead of raw onion.

How to Store Meatball Pizza

Store leftover meatball pizza wrapped tightly or in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days. You can always eat it cold (a classic!), or reheat your pizza in the oven, toaster oven, or microwave, or in a skillet.

Meatball Pizza Tips

Meatball Pizza sliced and servedTMB Studio

Can I use homemade meatballs for meatball pizza?

Homemade meatballs are delicious, and you can definitely use them for this pizza! Try one of our meatball recipes to set yourself up for success.

How can I prevent meatball pizza from being too greasy?

To prevent meatball pizza from getting too greasy, make sure not to overdo it with the cheese or meatballs. Both can contribute a lot of excess fat.

Meatball Pizza

I always keep meatballs and pizza crusts in the freezer to make this specialty on the spur of the moment. Add a tossed salad and you have a delicious dinner. —Mary Humeniuk-Smith, Perry Hall, Maryland
Meatball Pizza Recipe photo by Taste of Home
Total Time

Prep/Total Time: 25 min.

Makes

8 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 prebaked 12-inch pizza crust
  • 1 can (8 ounces) pizza sauce
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 small onion, halved and sliced
  • 12 frozen fully cooked Italian meatballs (1/2 ounce each), thawed and halved
  • 1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°. Place crust on an ungreased 12-in. pizza pan or baking sheet.
  2. Spread sauce over crust; sprinkle with garlic powder, Italian seasoning and Parmesan cheese. Top with onion and meatballs; sprinkle with remaining cheeses. Bake 12-17 minutes or until cheese is melted. If desired, top with additional Parmesan cheese.

Nutrition Facts

1 serving: 320 calories, 16g fat (8g saturated fat), 35mg cholesterol, 754mg sodium, 28g carbohydrate (3g sugars, 2g fiber), 17g protein.