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These Simple Baked Sheet Pan Chili Cheese Meatballs are best for cold fall and winter nights when you’re looking for simple comfort food. All mixed in one bowl, these meatballs come together easily and are so flavorful. This dish is warm, saucy, cheesy, and amazing. Add soft, homemade, super easy 5-ingredient beer bread on the side for a delicious cold-weather meal. Perfect as a simple family dinner, yet equally great as an appetizer for game night and even upcoming holiday entertaining.
When I arrived home on Friday night, I knew it would be chilly. But over the weekend, we had our first snow, and to say that I’ve entered cozy mode is certainly an understatement. I left 80-degree New York and woke up to 32-degree weather that made it feel like late October, possibly even November.
I was thinking about sharing these cheesy meatballs in a week or so, but now these are all I want to tell you about. Cold weather means it is officially chili season.
These are going to be perfect for those first few nights when the weather really begins to turn and the nights are cool and crisp. You might not be there just yet, but it is coming. After all, it’s officially fall now!
As you might have guessed, Creighton, my oldest brother, inspired this recipe. He’s been asking me to make chili or meatballs for months. It doesn’t matter the season; he will always sit down to a bowl full of meaty chili or a plate of meatballs.
Since he loves both yummy chili and delicious meatballs, I loved the idea of combining the two and making a chili cheese meatball! I sent him the idea, and to no one’s surprise, he said…
“YES, make those. Top of the list!”
I didn’t hesitate. I was kind of excited for these too! Plus, it gave me an excuse to make my beer bread for the first time this season!
These are the Details
Ingredients
- ground beef, chicken, or turkey
- yellow onion
- panko
- an egg
- chili powder
- garlic powder
- smoked paprika
- cumin
- cayenne powder
- fire roasted diced tomatoes
- tomato paste
- poblano pepper
- pickled jalapeños
- black beans
- shredded cheddar cheese
- your favorite chili topping
Kitchen Supplies
- baking sheet
- large bowl
Step 1: mix the meatballs
I love to use ground beef, but ground chicken, turkey, or pork will all work. You can also use a mix of meats. I mixed in panko bread crumbs, an egg, and an onion. Then, I seasoned the meatballs with our favorite mix of chili seasonings: chili powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, cumin, cayenne, garlic powder, and, of course, salt.
Roll this mix together until very well combined, then scoop and roll the mixture into 15-16 bite-size meatballs.
Line them up on a baking sheet with a few pats of butter. Bake until they’re crispy on the outside.
Step 2: make the sauce
In the same bowl you used for the meatballs, mix together a can of fire-roasted tomatoes, tomato paste, poblano peppers, pickled jalapeños, and black beans.
Step 3: add the sauce and cheese
Pull the meatballs out of the oven, pour over the sauce, and add the cheese.
Now bake again until the cheese is melty, around 15 minutes more. During this time, I usually have beer bread baking too!
Step 4: serve your meatballs
When the meatballs come out of the oven, top them with all your favorite chili toppings. For us, that’s a dollop of yogurt, slices of avocado, fresh cilantro, and scallions. SO YUMMY!
Of course, you should serve this with warm beer bread. It’s perfect alongside these saucy cheesy meatballs.
At this point, your kitchen will smell amazing, which always leaves everyone excited for dinner.
This is certainly a great dish for an easy family dinner. Or use these meatballs as appetizers for your next dinner party with friends.
I’m already planning to make these again on Halloween night. They will be especially good after trick-or-treating in the cold, and my family will love that!
Looking for other easy fam dinner recipes? Here are a few ideas:
30 Minute Coq au Vin Chicken Meatballs
Spicy Pumpkin and Pesto Cheese Stuffed Shells
Slow Cooker Mustard Herb Chicken and Creamy Orzo
Roasted Garlic Spaghetti Squash Lasagna Boats
Healthy Slow Cooker Turkey and White Bean Chili
Healthy Slow Cooker Chipotle Bean Chili
One Skillet Saucy Chicken Tortilla Enchilada Rice Bake
Healthy Chipotle Chicken Sweet Potato Skins
Slow Cooker Chipotle Chicken Tortilla Soup with Salty Lime Chips
Lastly, if you make these Sheet Pan Chili Cheese Meatballs, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And, of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Sheet Pan Chili Cheese Meatballs
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 548 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef or chicken
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons cold salted butter, sliced
- 1 can (28 ounce) fire-roasted dice tomatoes
- 1/3 cup tomato paste
- 1 poblano pepper, chopped
- 1 can black beans, drained
- 1/4 cup pickled jalapeños, chopped
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 450° F. Rub a baking sheet with oil or butter. 2. In a bowl, mix the ground beef, panko, egg, 1/2 of the chopped onion, garlic powder, chili powder, paprika, cumin, cayenne, and 1 teaspoon salt. Roll the meat into large tablespoon-size balls (will make 15-16 meatballs), placing them on the prepared baking sheet. Arrange the butter around the meatballs. Bake for 15 minutes or until the meatballs are crisp on the outside, but not yet cooked through on the inside.3. While the meatballs are cooking, mix the tomatoes, remaining chopped onions, tomato paste, poblano pepper, black beans, and pickled jalapeños in a bowl—season with salt. 4. Remove the meatballs from the oven, pour over the sauce, and add the cheese. Bake until the cheese is melted, 15 minutes. Serve warm with your favorite chili toppings: cilantro, scallions, avocado, yogurt – and beer bread!
This post was originally published on September 23, 2024
This was delicious! I filled my 9×13 glass baking dish with the meatballs, poured off the extra fat after the first bake, and then added the sauce. It could have easily fed a family two or three times.
Hey Margaret,
Fantastic! So glad to hear this turned out well for you, I appreciate you making it! Happy Friday:) xT
Can you help me understand what I did wrong? I have been making your weekly meal plan to the T for years. I’ve cooked your recipes even longer, since you first started out and I was learning to cook. This is the first time I’ve had a recipe fail.
Recipe calls for 15-16 meatballs at a heaping tablespoon, but mine made almost 50 of that size. The diced tomatoes stayed large chunks and were not tasty. What the heck did I do?
I ended up cooking the meatballs at 400 for 15 minutes, used an immersion blender on the tomato sauce part, layered in a casserole dish with pepper jack cheese. Baked at 350 for 30 minutes. It made the most fabulous meatballs ever, but I still don’t know what I did wrong on the original recipe and would love your advice!
This was fantastic. My daughter has a tomato allergy, so I food processed a couple of red bell peppers to substitute. I also substituted GF panko for gluten allergies (my family is a mess….). The flavor was the bomb 🙂 This is a keeper for us.
Hey Grant,
Awesome!! So glad you were able to make some adjustments for your family! Thanks for making this recipe! xT
Another hit! I was a little leery of the recipe after reading the earlier comments. However, I adjusted the dish accordingly and it was good! After baking the meatballs, I added them to a Dutch oven with the rest of the ingredients. I also added more spices to the the sauce. I baked the dish for another 20 minutes, adding cheese (probably 3/4 cup) after 15 minutes.
Thank you!
Hey there,
Wonderful! So glad to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it! Have a great Monday! x
Giving five stars! I was so excited to try this, went to my local butcher and had a 2.5 lb roast ground. I did use a half an onion in the meatballs and the other half for the sauce. The only change I will make next time is use half the amount of cheese sprinkled on top. As far as the beer bread, it could not have been easier or more delicious! The only modification I will make is to top it with a half a stick of butter, I felt that a full stick of butter was a bit too heavy for my taste. I will definitely make this again, thank you Tieghan. You are a culinary genius!
PS I posted this on my IG story today!
Hey Deborah,
Thank you so much for making this recipe and your comment:) So glad it was enjoyed! Thanks so much for your kind message! Happy Friday! xT
Made this and the bread last night! Outstanding and will definitely make again!
Hey Kate,
Awesome! Thank you so much for trying this recipe and your feedback, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! Xx
Yum!!! my best friend from work, with whom I trade recipes all the time, including many from HBH, texted me to say I HAD to make this and it was so, so good. Look delish, can’t wait to try it!!
Thanks so much, Sarah!! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xT
This was not good. The meatballs had way too much onion and seasoning (and I see today the recipe posted on IG stories has the onion added to the sauce, not the meatballs, which probably would have been much better.) The sauce didn’t come out like chili at all, it just tasted like canned tomatoes since there was no seasoning in the sauce and nothing to cut the acidity of the tomatoes.
Hi Jeff,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear it was not enjoyed! Please let me know if there is something that I can help with! xT
I posted on 9 Favorite Things today and it was deleted within 60 seconds. I wrote a polite, non-argumentative question about why there are so many typos EVERY DAY on her blog, stories, NFT, etc. She obviously doesn’t use spellcheck for a reason; I’m just not sure what the reason is. “Pretend this is chicken”? “Ignore this” on the ramekin of chocolate chips? So unprofessional.
Are you serious? It’s a free Country- no one is forcing you to read her blog. If you don’t like the typos or feel that’s it’s unprofessional, why are you wasting your time here? Move along! ✌️👋
Tieghan,
In the same bowl you used for the meatballs, mix together a can of fire-roasted tomatoes, tomato paste, poblano peppers, pickled jalapeños, and black beans.
Are you saying after the meatballs have baked to pour this onto the meatballs and bake?
Add cheese when done for melting on top.
Will have to use pinto beans. Husband doesn’t care for black beans.
Thank for your awesome recipes.
Hi Diana,
Yes, that is correct, but use a clean bowl for step 3. I hope this helps, please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
The post still says “in the same bowl” though. Why is that? Thanks!
Yes, I have the same question! Thanks team HBH!
looks scrumptious!! where do the beans come in?
Thanks so much, Karen!! The black beans are going to be added in step 3:) I hope you love this recipe! xT
If you’ve pregreased the pan, what purpose does the extra butter serve between the meatballs?
Hi Julian,
I feel like the butter keeps the meatballs moist and adds richness, but you could skip it if you wanted:) I hope you love this recipe! xT
What about the black beans ? I see them in the ingredient list but not the instructions. Thanks !
It looks like the beans should have been included in Step 3 of the recipe for the sauce. They were included in Step 2’s instructions prior to the recipe.
Hey Lisa,
So sorry about that, the black beans are going to be added in step 3. I hope you love this dish! xT
Where do the black beans go? I don’t see them in the instructions.
To answer your question; step 2
Hi Jennifer,
You are going to add the black beans to step 3. I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xT
This looks delicious, but my husband is allergic to tomatoes and read sauces. What substitute could I do with a white sauce?
probably make something else?????????????
Is this a serious question? If you husband is allergic to tomatoes perhaps do not make a tomato based chili recipe?!?!
Maybe try it using white chili.. I actually prefer white chili.
Sherry,
Use ground chicken and make a white sauce, like white chicken chili. Use Green chilis and jalapenos instead of poblanos and Monterey Jack cheese. Please post and let us know how it turned out. 🙂
Hi Sherry,
What if you did this with a white chicken chili? I think that might work nicely for you:) Please let me know if I can help in any other way! xT