Garlic Bread Meatball Bites are a crowd-pleasing favorite. This dip-able finger food is perfect for the ultimate party snack. Try them today!
These little bites are the perfect Holiday or game day Appetizer you can serve at your next big gathering because they are ideal for dipping with sauces and serving on toothpicks (I love appetizers on toothpicks!). Try my Pizzeria Garlic Knots and Pigs In A Blanket for more finger food snacks.
Why You’ll Love These Bites?
- Easy and delicious finger food snack that is perfect for serving a crowd.
- Takes the classic Pigs in a Blanket appetizer to the next level. Serve and watch them disappear!
Sabrina’s Garlic Bread Meatball Bites Recipe
These little bites are the perfect combination of Garlic Bread and meatballs. Garlic Bread Meatball Bites aren’t a traditional holiday recipe like my popular Sausage Rolls. They are, however, absolutely delicious, and they were the first appetizer to disappear at a rather large Thanksgiving party that I cooked for in previous years.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 1 package crescent dough sheets (8oz) , refridgerated
- 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
Want to save this recipe? Create a free account to easily save your favorite recipes
Note from Sabrina
I’ve tested these bites with puff pastry as well as crescent dough and homemade brioche dough. Crescent dough won the taste test hands down, so I am sticking with the easiest (and fan favorite) option.
Table of contents
About this Recipe
This appetizer is so easy to make since it uses pre-cooked meatballs. You can use store bought or make your own. If you have the time, I recommend trying my Easy Homemade Meatballs. They are then wrapped in a pastry dough. 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, Brown Sugar Bacon Wrapped Smokies, you’re delicious, but you may not be the Appetizer King for long.
Can this be made ahead of time?
Yes, if you are making your meatballs at home instead of buy pre-cooked from the store, you can prep these ahead of time and freeze them until you are ready to make the bites. Just assemble the meatballs and dough, but do not brush with the Parmesan butter. You can make the butter mixture and freeze it alongside the meatballs for a quicker prep on the day you need them. Flash freeze them and then put them in a Ziplock bag after an hour, until ready to bake. Top with the melted butter mixture before baking.
Cooking Tips & Tricks
- While you can use raw meatballs for this recipe, I recommend using pre-cooked meatballs. Using uncooked meat may cause some of the meat juice to leak into the dough while cooking and you won’t get the crisp outside on your bite.
- Once you have wrapped your meatballs, place them on your cooking sheet with the seam side down. This will help prevent the dough from popping open while cooking.
Serving Ideas
These meatball bites are great to pair with other delicious bite size finger foods like my Pepperoni Pizza Bites and Ham and Cheese Puff Pastry Bites at your party. Use toothpicks to make them easy to grab, dip and enjoy. Serve with Basil Pesto and homemade Marinara Sauce, perfect for dipping!
How to Store
- Serve: These are best served warm. Do not leave your bites out at room temperature for more than two hours.
- Store: If you have any leftovers, store them 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. Reheat in the oven at 350 degrees F and bake for 8-10 minutes, until crispy. A light brushing of additional butter never hurts either.
Air Fryer Method
- Wrap your meatballs in the dough and flatten the bottom before brushing with garlic butter
- Line your air fryer with parchment paper before assembling the bites in the air fryer. Space them out so that they are not touching.
- Allow them to cook at 350 degrees for 7-9 minutes.
Variations
- Meat: Traditional meatballs are made with beef, but you can certainly make them with something different. Try my Turkey Meatballs or Chicken Meatballs as another alternatives.
- Chicken Parmesan Bites: 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).
- Bacon Wrapped Meatballs: I love Bacon Wrapped Meatballs at my house! Try wrapping a cooked pork meatball in bacon, then in the pastry dough for an indulgent treat.
- 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 pepperoncini for more pickled and vegetable flavor to go alongside it.
Related Recipes
More Amazing Meatball Appetizers
Photos used in previous version of this post
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.