Great Grub, Delicious Treats

Meatball Bagel Bites

by Great Grub, Delicious Treats

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These meatball bagel bites are packed with great Italian flavor. Overflowing with a combination of meatballs, mozzarella cheese, and red sauce, all on a bagel base, these meatball bagel bites are everything we love about both meatball sandwiches and bagel bites all rolled up into one amazing dish that everyone loves.

A picture of Meatball Bagel Bites on a white plate with parsley, cooked meatballs in a white bowl, and plain bagels on a white plate in the background on a brown cutting board.

If your family is anything like mine, bagel bites have been a staple snack for years. They’re the perfect quick bite for after school, movie nights, or as an appetizer at any sort of get-together. The great thing about them is that they can come in all sorts of varieties.

You can make bagel bites with classic cream cheese and lox, create pizza bagel bites, or in this case, tiny Italian meatball sandwiches! They’re always so satisfying and everyone always begs for more.

Meatball Bagel Bites

These meatball bagel bites begin with a crockpot. You’ll cook your store-bought or homemade meatballs with sauce in a slow cooker. From there, you’ll create your own mini bagels. Finally, it’s all put together to create delicious made-from-scratch bagel bites.

Be aware that this recipe isn’t quite as easy as some others, but it’s still fairly simple considering that everything in the recipe except for the meatballs is made from scratch. Trust me, the end product is worth the effort. Tender bagels topped with meatballs in a delicious Italian sauce with melty cheese over the whole thing will have you so thankful that you took every minute necessary to create these delicious bites of heaven.

A close up picture of Meatball Bagel Bites on a white plate, showcasing the melted mozzarella cheese, cooked meatballs, tomato sauce, and parmesan cheese.

Tips

This recipe may be almost completely from scratch, but it’s so straightforward, there aren’t a lot of tips needed. That being said, be sure to read through the ones that are here so that you get the most delicious meatball bagel bites possible.

Water Temperature

Your water should be around 110 degrees. Water that’s too cool won’t “wake up” your yeast, and water that’s too hot will outright kill it.

Use Fresh Yeast

Although active dry yeast may come in powder form, don’t let it fool you into thinking that it will last forever. Yeast is a living thing, and if it’s too old, it’s already dead. Be sure to use yeast that is fresh so you get the best possible outcome to your bagels. Old yeast will either not work well, or it won’t work at all.

Variations

There are a few things you can do to switch up this recipe. From going whole-hog on the idea of from-scratch to making it easier by simply buying the ingredients you need. You can also try different cheeses, as well.

A close up picture of Meatball Bagel Bites with a bite taken out.

Ditch the From-Scratch

If you’re pressed for time, or just don’t want to go through all the steps of making your own bagels, you can – emphasis on “can” – go an easier route. Simply buy some mini bagels. At that point, the only thing you have to do is just cook the meatballs with spaghetti sauce in the slow cooker and then put the whole thing over the pre-made mini bagels after you’ve warmed them.

Be aware, that taking this route will give you an idea of the original recipe. You’ll get all the flavors. However, it won’t be nearly as good.

Make it Entirely from Scratch

The other side of this coin is to make the entire meatball bagel bites recipe from scratch. In addition to making your own bagels, you can also make your own meatballs and even your own sauce. This will, of course, take much more time, but sometimes, you just want that totally homemade flavor.

Try Different Sauces

If you’re using spaghetti sauce from a jar, you can get creative with your sauces. Any sauce will work, really, so feel free to get creative with your choices. There are so many to choose from in the pasta aisle, you’ll have no shortage of creative opportunities.

Try Different Cheeses

If you try different sauces, give different cheeses a try, as well. Mozzarella cheese is the classic meatball sandwich cheese, but any soft white cheese will work well. You can even try a shredded variety like Colby Jack for a different twist.

Meatball Bagel Bites on a white plate with parsley, meatballs in a white bowl, and plain bagels in the background.

Serving the Meatball Bagel Bites

These are great little appetizers. They’re perfect for potlucks, get-togethers, game days, or just a movie or game night. Serve them up any time anywhere you want a zesty Italian-flavored treat. These little bites are so good that they don’t need anything to go with them.

Storing Meatball Bagel Bites

Because these have sauce on the bagels, these meatball bagel bites are best served fresh. However, if you choose, you can refrigerate them for up to three days. Be aware that over time, the sauce will cause the bagels to become soggy, however.

Ingredients to Make Meatball Bagel Bites

  • Warm water
  • Active dry yeast
  • Brown sugar
  • Salt
  • Bread flour
  • Spaghetti sauce
  • Meatballs
  • Mozzarella cheese, shredded
  • Vegetable oil
  • Parmesan cheese

(Actual measurements are listed in the recipe card below.)

How to Make Meatball Bagel Bites

  • In a small crockpot, add meatballs and spaghetti sauce.
  • Cook on high for 2 hours.
  • In a large mixing bowl, add warm water, 1 tsp of brown sugar, and yeast. Let bloom for 10 minutes.
  • Add the rest of the brown sugar, salt, and 2 cups of flour. Stir to combine well.
  • Add the rest of the flour (½ cup at a time) making sure to stir well in between. Once the dough is no longer sticking to the spatula/hook attachment, knead the dough by hand until the dough becomes smooth and has good stretch. Form dough into a ball.
  • Grease a clean large mixing bowl with vegetable oil and place the dough ball into the bowl.
  • Set aside and let rise until the dough has doubled in size (1-2 hours).
  • Preheat oven to 375°.
  • Prepare a baking sheet by placing a piece of parchment paper and spraying it with a non-stick cooking spray.
  • In a large pot, boil 6 cups of water.
  • Transfer the dough to a well-floured surface. Slightly press the dough out and cut into 2×2 pieces.
  • Form each dough piece into a ball. Using a clean finger, poke a hole into the middle of each dough ball.
  • Using your hands, shape dough into a bagel shape. Repeat until all of the dough balls are shaped.
  • Drop bagels into the boiling water and boil on each side for 30 seconds.
  • Place boiled bagels on a drying rack to drain any excess water. Once all of the bagels have been boiled and drained, place them on prepared baking sheet and place in oven.
  • Bake for 20-22 minutes or until the tops of bagels are slightly brown.
  • Remove bagels from baking sheet and place on a cooling rack. Let bagels cool for 5-10 minutes.
  • Once bagels have cooled to the tough, slice bagels in half.
  • Place a scoop of spaghetti sauce on each bagel, then top it with shredded mozzarella cheese, a meatball, and parmesan cheese.

A double picture of Meatball Bagel bites on a white plate with parsley in the background and the title in the middle.

Try These Delicious Meatball Bagel Bites Today

A collage of three pictures of Meatball Bagel Bites with the title in the top left picture.

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Meatball Bagel Bites
Ingredients
  • 1⅓ cup warm water, 110°-112°
  • 1 tbps active dry yeast
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 3½ cups bread flour
  • 24 meatballs
  • 24 oz spaghetti sauce
  • 2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • parmesan cheese, for topping
Instructions
For the meatballs

  1. In a small crockpot, add meatballs and spaghetti sauce.

  2. Cook on high for 2 hours.

For the bagels

  1. In a large mixing bowl, add warm water, 1 tsp of brown sugar, and yeast. Let bloom for 10 minutes.

  2. Add the rest of the brown sugar, salt, and 2 cups of flour. Stir to combine well.

  3. Add the rest of the flour (½ cup at a time), making sure to stir well in between. Once the dough is no longer sticking to spatula/hook attachment, knead the dough by hand until the dough becomes smooth and has good stretch. Form dough into a ball.

  4. Grease a clean, large mixing bowl with vegetable oil and place dough into the bowl.

  5. Set aside and let rise until the dough has doubled in size (1-2 hours).

  6. Preheat oven to 375°.

  7. Prepare a baking sheet by placing a piece of parchment paper and spraying it with a non-stick cooking spray.

  8. In a large pot, boil 6 cups of water.

  9. Transfer the dough to a well-floured surface. Slightly press the dough and cut into 2x2 pieces.

  10. Form each dough piece into a ball. Using a clean finger, poke a hole into the middle of each dough ball.

  11. Using clean hands, shape dough into a bagel shape. Repeat until all of the dough balls are shaped.

  12. Once all of the dough balls are formed into bagel shapes, drop bagels into the boiling water and boil for 30 seconds on each side.

  13. Place boiled bagels on a drying rack to drain any excess water. Once all of the bagels have been boiled and drained, place bagels on prepared baking sheet and place in oven.

  14. Cook for 20-22 minutes or until the tops of bagels are lightly brown.

  15. Remove bagels from baking sheet and place on a cooling rack. Let bagels cool for 5-10 minutes .

  16. Once bagels are cool to the touch, slice bagels in half.

  17. Place a scoop of spaghetti sauce on each bagel, then top it with shredded mozzarella cheese, a meatball, and parmesan cheese.

Recipe Notes

Homemade bagel recipe adapted from ashleemarie.com

Here are a few pics that are the perfect size for pinning to Pinterest.

Four Meatball Bagel Bites on a white plate with parsley in the background, a white bowl filled with cooked meatballs in tomato sauce, and a white plate with stacked plain bagels, with the title in the top left corner.A close up picture of a Meatball Bagel Bite on a white plate with bagel bites in the background, along with parsley, cooked meatballs covered in spaghetti sauce in a white bowl, and plain bagels.

Enjoy, Terri

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