Garlic Bread Meatball Bites are the perfect finger foods for your holiday parties that elevate pigs in a blanket to the next level!
These little bites are the perfect combination of Garlic Bread and Classic Beef Meatballs you can serve at your next holiday party. Perfect for dipping with sauces and serving on toothpicks (we love appetizers on toothpicks!).
GARLIC BREAD MEATBALL BITES
Garlic Bread Meatball Bites aren’t a traditional holiday recipe like our recently posted Sausage Rolls. They are, however, absolutely delicious and they were the first appetizer to go at a rather large Thanksgiving party that I cooked for this year.
These Meatball Bites use pre-cooked meatballs – I won’t judge, you can use store bought pre-made meatballs or use my classic meatball recipe (linked below) to make these delicious bites. Then they’re wrapped in pastry dough.
Let’s pause here to discuss the dough. We tested these bites with puff pastry as well as crescent dough and homemade brioche dough. Crescent dough won the taste test hands down, so we are sticking here with the easiest (and fan favorite) option.
A rich buttery, garlicky, Parmesan filled glaze goes over the dough before baking and you end up with a delicious party appetizer people will crowd the plate for. Sorry Bacon Brown Sugar Smokies, you’re delicious but you may not be Appetizer king for long.
Want a delicious dipping sauce?
Quick and Easy Marinara Sauce
Easy Pizza Sauce
Ranch Dip
Basil Pesto
How to Make Garlic Bread Meatball Bites:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Wrap the meatballs in crescent dough or puff pastry.
- Brush with garlic parmesan butter.
- Bake until crispy and golden brown.
- Serve with marinara or pizza sauce for dipping.
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FLAVOR VARIATIONS:
- I used my homemade meatball recipe but you can certainly use any flavor you’d like for this recipe. If using Chicken Meatballs you can add extra parmesan to the mixture to make them taste more like a Chicken Parmesan Bite also using Marinara for dipping (you can also add a small piece of mozzarella cheese under the crescent dough before baking.)
- Pork Meatballs would be a great option, we love Bacon Wrapped Meatballs, you could wrap a cooked pork meatball in bacon then in the pastry dough for an indulgent treat.
- Go vegetarian! Use falafel, wrap in crescent dough then dip in Classic Hummus. You can even make it into a skewer with a small grape tomato or pepperoncinis for more pickled and vegetable flavor to go along side it.
APPETIZER FINGER FOODS:
Pigs In A Blanket
Cocktail Meatballs Recipe
Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts
Sausage Balls
EASY COOKING FAQs:
- Can I freeze these uncooked? Yes. Assemble the meatballs and dough but do not brush with the parmesan butter. You can also make the butter mixture and freeze it along side the meatballs for a quicker prep on the day you need them. Then transfer to a bag until ready to bake. Top with melted butter mixture before baking.
- How do you reheat these Meatball Bites? Cook the meatball bites in the oven at 350 degrees F and bake for 8-10 minutes, until crispy. A light brushing of additional butter never hurts either.
HOW TO SERVE AND STORE:
- Serve: These appetizers are good at room temperature for up to 2 hours.
- Store: In an airtight container these are good for up to 4 days in the refrigerator.
- Freeze: Freeze these baked or unbaked for up to 2 months.
Ingredients
- 1 package refrigerated crescent dough sheets (8 ounces)
- 24 beef meatballs , precooked
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter , melted
- 3 cloves garlic , minced
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°.
- Cut the crescent dough into rectangles.
- Place meatballs at the ends of the rectangles and roll up.
- Place the wrapped meatballs on a baking sheet, seam side down.
- Combine butter, garlic, parmesan and salt in a bowl.
- Brush the tops of the wrapped meatballs with the butter mixture.
- Bake 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.
Nutrition
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If you make these a few hours ahead of time, will they stay warm in a crockpot maybe? Without getting soggy?
You want the Garlic Bread to taste light and flaky. Check out the “How to Cook FAQ’s” to see options for making ahead. Hope that helps.
Are you supposed to thaw meatballs prior to wrapping them in the dough? Or is the meatball still frozen and cooks with the dough?
I haven’t made these yet but they sound good. I too am somewhat confused about the directions. What are the dimension of each piece of dough to wrap the meatballs in? We don’t know how long or how wide the strips should be . Thank you
I am so sorry, I am just seeing this tonight. I am sure the recipe has long been cooked/or not but I still want to try to help.
The strips should be about 1 inch by four inches, depending on the size of the meatballs.
Great and easy to make. Very tasty.
This was such a quick recipe and delicious. Will keep it in our weekly rotation! Thank you!
I just made them and they came out fantastic! I added one little half slice of bacon to each one and it worked out so good! Thank you for giving me such a good recipe that I’ll make over and over!
You’re welcome, Tony. Thanks for the 5 stars.
Made these with dinner tonight and it has easily become a new family favorite recipe! Restaurant worthy, indeed!
I’m so glad to hear, Sara. Thanks for the 5 stars.
Oh my gosh, these are so good. What a great idea to give the old pigs in a blanket a new look and taste!
Thanks!
I’m always looking for new ideas to serve at fun gatherings and parties, these look absolutely perfect!
These are great for parties!
Looks scrumptious but wish it said what size to cut crescent dough. Is it rolled out first? Directions are a little lacking. Maybe I missed that part?
Sorry for the confusion. You’ll roll out the crescent dough and cut into rectangles to roll the meatballs up into. Hope this helps. Enjoy!
I don’t understand what you do with the Crescent Roll dough ?
Recipe says “Cut the crescent dough into rectangles”, but the dough separates into triangles.
I’m confused…….
Once you unroll the dough, cut it into rectangles to wrap around the meatballs. You won’t need to use the perforated holes for the triangles. Hope this clears up any confusion. Enjoy!
Hello, did you buy the reg crescent rolls or were you able to find the sheets, that’s maybe what happened, it says the sheets. There are so many crescents out there that it is confusing at times.