“This is one of my family's favorite 'comfort' foods - by all six generations. Don't let the applesauce scare you off; you can't taste it, but it keeps the meatballs tender and moist. Add mushrooms and/or pearl onions for an even heartier 'comfort' meal! Serve over hot buttered noodles or rice. We like a salad and garlic bread, or a plate of sliced tomatoes and cucumbers. Enjoy!” - by Pipster
Ingredients
Adjust Servings
Original recipe yields 6 servings
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- Whisk the egg and milk together in a large bowl, and stir in the croutons. Allow the croutons to soak up the milk mixture for about 2 minutes. Lightly stir in the applesauce, onion, garlic, Cheddar cheese, and salt and pepper, and mix in ground beef with your hands until thoroughly combined. Form the meat mixture into 1 1/2-inch balls, and place into the prepared baking dish. In the same bowl, whisk together the cream of celery soup with evaporated milk. Pour the sauce over the meatballs.
- Bake, uncovered, in the preheated oven until the sauce is bubbling and thickened and the meat is no longer pink in the middle, about 45 minutes. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese 15 minutes before end of baking, and bake until the cheese is melted and beginning to brown. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of a meatball should read 160 degrees F (70 degrees C).
Nutrition
Amount Per Serving (6 total)
- Calories
- 430 cal
- 21%
- Fat
- 27.4 g
- 42%
- Carbs
- 18.2 g
- 6%
Based on a 2,000 calorie diet
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Reviews (7)
Rate This Recipe
"Yum, my husband said these were the best meatballs I've ever made. They are so moist & flavorful. I will admit that I subbed ingredients that I had on hand. I only had 1 pound of 85/15 sirloin. I had ..." See morehomemade ww seasoned bread crumbs so I used a bit less milk. I only had monterrey jack. I always sneak veggies in so I added garlic, carrots and celery with the onion & chopped very fine in the food processor. I cooked them at 325 for longer just to make sure the carrots cooked. We are eating it over ww penne. Delish! I'll make meatballs with natural applesauce often!"
~TxCin~ILove2Ck
"This was very good. Nice and homey. It had a creamy mild sauce and wasn't weird with the celery at all. I only had chipotle cheddar on hand so that is what I used. My hubby loved this and went back fo..." See morer seconds. I didn't have canned milk so I used 2% and it turned out fine. Thanks Pipster, we liked this a lot."
Grandma Lizzy
"These were very good. A nice change from meat loaf and other ground beef dishes. I am always looking for new things, after 40 years of cooking you kind of run out of ideas. I made these as the recipe ..." See morewas written. Served with salad and buttered noodles. Thanks for the recipe, from one grandmother to another :-)"
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