Recipes

Italian Meatball Sheet Pan Dinner

When you think of sheet pan recipes, you might not think of meatballs, but they’re the perfect protein for a quick and easy meal. With minimal prep and next to no cleanup, you can turn Armanino Gourmet Italian Style Meatballs, fresh produce and seasonings into a satisfying dinner the whole family will love.

Ingredients

1 lb Armanino Italian Style Beef & Pork Meatballs (about 16 meatballs)
¼ medium red onion, cut once lengthwise and once crosswise into big pieces
1 large bell pepper, seeds removed and cut into ½” thick strips (red, yellow or orange)
1 cup bottled or homemade Italian dressing, divided
4 cups broccoli florets (about 10 ounces)
2 medium zucchini or yellow squash, cut into 1” rounds, halved if large
¼ teaspoon crushed red chile flakes, optional
¼ cup grated parmesan
salt and pepper
rice or pasta, for serving

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400°F degrees.
In a medium bowl, toss the meatballs, red onion, and bell pepper with ½ cup of the Italian dressing.
Turn out on a large rimmed sheet pan (13”x18”), spread in a single layer and bake for 15 minutes.
In the same bowl toss the broccoli florets with 2 tablespoons of dressing.
Remove the sheet pan from the oven, nestle the broccoli into the pan, and return to the oven for 15 minutes.
In the same bowl, toss the zucchini and chile flakes (if using) with another 2 tablespoons dressing, add to the pan and push the zucchini in so each piece has contact with the sheet pan.
Bake for another 10-15 minutes until the vegetables are cooked through. Taste and add a pinch each of salt and pepper if needed.
Transfer to a serving dish or individual bowls garnish a little additional dressing and a sprinkling of parmesan. Serve with cooked pasta or rice.

Chef’s Tips

No need to defrost the meatballs first; they’ll slow cook along with the vegetables and will be perfect at the end of baking time – moist, warmed through and a little crispy on the outside.
The trick to a successful sheet pan meal is to consider how long each ingredient will take to cook and add to the pan accordingly. The frozen meatballs and heartier vegetables like peppers, onions, carrots and cauliflower will take the longest so start with those. Medium vegetables like broccoli and thick asparagus fall somewhere in the middle with softer vegetables like zucchini taking the least amount of time. Things like baby spinach can wilt in the residual heat of the pan so stir those in at the very end before serving.
Make sure all the ingredients are in a single layer and have contact with the pan. This will encourage browning rather than steaming. Don’t crowd the pan – divide the ingredients between two pans if necessary.