Cheddar Bratwurst Meatballs are homemade bratwurst meatballs stuffed with gooey cheddar cheese. Serve with three, easy dipping sauces!
Maybe it’s a Midwestern thing, or possibly a German heritage thing, but one of my favorite foods is bratwurst. I grew up eating them weekly in the summertime, and will never forget the near foot long grilled brat my host family served me in Germany when I was staying in the country as a teenager for a choir trip.
Snappy, sizzling, savory — SO DELICIOUS!
Since my grill is currently buried under 4 inches of snow, I decided to squash a bratwurst craving with homemade Cheddar Bratwurst Meatballs complete with 3 homemade dipping sauces.
Trust me when I tell you that homemade, cheddar cheese-stuffed bratwurst meatballs are a total upgrade from grilled brats!
Cheddar-Stuffed Bratwurst Meatballs
Before you go thinking that I squished fresh bratwurst from their casings then rolled the mixture into meatballs — let me stop you right there.
Cheddar Bratwurst Meatballs are made with ground pork and a handful of everyday herbs and spices to create a homemade brat mixture that taste store bought (that’s a very good thing!)
Stuffed with a molten, cheddar cheese center then served with a plethora of homemade yet EASY dipping sauces, each bite is a delight!
Start by adding 1lb ground pork, 1 whisked egg, 1/2 cup gluten-free panko-style bread crumbs (or Rice Chex that have been pulverized in the food processor,) and a homemade bratwurst seasoning mix into a large bowl then mix with your hands until everything is thoroughly combined.
Next slice 2oz cheddar cheese into 16 cubes by slicing 1/4 of an 8oz block of cheddar cheese into 4 slices then giving the cheese a quarter turn and cutting the slices into 4 slices going the other direction to create 16 cubes. #mathwhiz
Divide the meatball mixture into quarters then form four balls from each quarter. Stuff a cube of cheese into each meatball then pinch to seal and roll into a ball with your hands.
Place the meatballs onto a foil-lined, nonstick-sprayed baking sheet then bake for 18-20 minutes at 400 degrees.
While the Cheddar Brat Meatballs are baking, whip up three easy dipping sauces – Stadium Dipping Sauce, Bourbon-Dijon Dipping Sauce, and Creole Mustard Dipping Sauce. Recipes are below!
Like I said, each dipping sauce is made up of 3 ingredients or less, and they’re all fridge and liquor cabinet (muwahaha!) staples. The Bourbon-Dijon Dipping Sauce is just Dijon mustard combined with honey and bourbon. I want to take a bath in it.
The Stadium Dipping Sauce is ketchup mixed with BBQ sauce and a little yellow mustard, while the Creole Mustard Dipping Sauce is even easier, calling for just spicy brown mustard and Creole seasoning. Try one, two, or heck, try them all!
Best of all is the Cheddar Brat Meatballs and dipping sauces can all be made ahead of time. Roll the meatballs then cover and refrigerate overnight, and then pop into the oven during the pre-game show so they’ll be hot for kickoff. I know you’ll love these – enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground pork
- 1 egg, whisked
- 1/2 cup gluten free panko-style breadcrumbs, or pulverized Rice Chex
- 2 oz cheddar cheese, cut into small cubes
For the seasoning mix:
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon coriander
- 3/4 teaspoon ground sage
- 3/4 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed between your fingers
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Stadium Dipping Sauce:
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 1/4 cup BBQ sauce
- 2 teaspoons yellow mustard
Bourbon-Dijon Dipping Sauce:
- 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
- 2 Tablespoons honey
- 1-1/2 teaspoons bourbon
Creole Mustard Dipping Sauce:
- 1/2 cup spicy brown mustard
- 1 teaspoon creole seasoning
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees then line a baking sheet with foil, spray with nonstick spray, and then set aside.
- Add ingredients for seasoning mix into a large mixing bowl then stir to combine. Add bread crumbs then stir to combine, and then add egg and crumble ground pork on top. Mix using your hands until well combined.
- Divide meatball mixture into quarters, then each quarter into four meatballs. Stuff a cube of cheese into the center of each meatball then pinch to close, roll into a ball, and place onto prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining meat mixture and cheese. Bake meatballs for 18-20 minutes, or until cooked through, then serve with dipping sauces.
For the Dipping Sauces:
- Combine ingredients in three separate bowls then serve. Can all be made up to 3 days ahead of time.
Notes
- Estimated nutrition information is for meatballs only.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
What can I replace the bourbon with to make the Bourbon Dijon dipping sauce kid friendly?
I’ve been married to a bratwurst loving Wisconsinite for 18 years. It’s been a long road of “same ole brats the same ole way” in our house. Why have I never thought of something like this? Thank you for the inspiration! I think I might add a thin slice of jalapeño to each one with the cheese. Gotta add my SoCal take to it some how, right? I’m off to the store . . .
Penzeys Spices (they have one in Des Moines) has a Bratwurst Seasoning. I mix it with ground turkey to make turkey brat patties. You would never know it wasn’t a brat! It’s that good. They also carry a breakfast sausage seasoning that I do the same with! I’m making these this weekend…thanks!
Kristin, you are brilliant. I’ve been trying all sorts of things to make my meatballs, some of which have worked better than others. But crushed rice Chex is sheer genius. The texture looks divine in the photos. I can’t wait to try these, sans cheese as I have a dairy allergy as well.) Thanks for another great recipe!
Delicious! I had the same problem of the cheese oozing out about half of them, but the flavour of the meat is so good it doesn’t even need the cheese. The stadium and honey mustard (skipped the bourbon to make it family friendly) dipping sauces were spot on as well. These have been requested for Super Bowl
This recipe is NOT Gluten-free. I will be making it for hub and I who are full gluten but I would hate for someone to make it saying it was GF when it isn’t. True celiac disease is a real thing.
Hi Judi Jo! Curious to know why you don’t think this recipe is gluten-free? I have Celiac Disease, and these meatballs are GF.
So excited! This is the first time, ever, that I have successfully made meatballs that are amazing. Thank you for a foolproof recipe! My husband thanks you as well! My previous meatball attempts have not been very impressive to say the least. : )
So, so glad to hear it – we LOVE those meatballs around here!
I make something like these but use ground turkey instead of pork. I may or may not add a bit of bacon grease to it. And if I am lazy, I just make it into patties and we have Brat Burgers with cheese. ?
Faaaantastic idea – I love it!
So I made these for our Super Bowl party last night and heard “did you really squeeze out brats from their casings to make these?” on repeat. To which I flipped my hair like the kitchen rockstar that I am and said, “Of course not I just made my own brats using ground pork and spices!” *mic drop* They were rightfully impressed. These were such a hit and so easy will definitely be a repeat item! :)
HAHAHAHA!! You go, girl!! Love it – thanks for letting me know!
I know right!? I felt so cool having made my own bratwurst!! My 9 year old measured the seasonings and wow I just can’t say how cool I feel that I did that from scratch! I had no idea it was even an option LOL! They were AMAZING! Great recipe!
These were a huge hit yesterday at our Super Bowl party! Thank you so much! My only question would be, how do I keep the cheese from oozing out when they cook? They were still tasty but all of the cheese melted out during cooking.
I’m so glad to hear it, Christy! I can think of three reasons why the cheese might have fallen through – the cubes might have been cut just a bit too large, the pork might have had more fat than mine which allowed the cheese to ooze through when it melted, and is it possible you had a little less than a pound of pork? I tested these with about 2oz less than a pound once and the cheese oozed out of many of them because there just wasn’t enough pork to cover the cheese. I hope that helps, and I’m glad you still enjoyed them!
I made these for the Superbowl yesterday and they were a big hit! These were so simple to make, but they made me look like a rock star :)
That’s great, Celeste! Thanks so much for the feedback!
Since I have all the ingredients, I’m adding it to the menu. I showed my hubby the photo and he was open to trying them. Then I told him that the recipe was an Iowa Girl recipe.
“Oh, yeah! Make that!” — direct quote with exclamations. ?
Aww, warms my heart! ;)
This is the on the List for Game Day!