Savory, homemade meatballs wrapped in bacon, and with a sweet-hot bite! They're so tasty as an appetizer, snack or casual dinner.
These little Spicy Bacon Meatball Bites were created as my second entry for our great Meatball Showdown. That was the day we came together with friends to have a little meatball cook-off, and needless to say it was a delicious afternoon!
Since then, these spicy, meaty meatballs have become quite popular: as a casual dinner was well as an appetizer... once we even had them as a savory breakfast treat!
Why you'll love these meatballs
The meatballs are homemade, a savory blend of ground pork and chicken with spices. The meatballs are wrapped in smoked bacon, and rolled in a sweet-spicy blend before they're bakes.
The meatballs emerge hot and delicious, with a crispy wrapping of bacon and a caramelized sugar coating.
This is an amazing recipe to make for a Super Bowl party, as a holiday appetizer, or as a fun weekend snack for your family movie and game nights.
🔪 How to make this recipe
Step 1: Shape the meatballs
Mix together the ground meats, parsley, onion, and spices. Shape the mixture into balls.
Step 2: Wrap them in bacon
Wrap each meatball in a short piece of bacon, and skewer them with toothpicks. Wrap the meatballs and chill them for 1 hour.
Step 3: Coat the meatballs in a sweet-savory blend
Coat the meatballs in a blend of sugar and cayenne pepper, along with a drizzle of Vermont maple syrup.
Step 4: Bake!
Bake the meatballs for about an hour, until they're cooked through and the bacon is crisp. Serve them while they're hot!
Notes:
- Soak the toothpicks in water for an hour before skewering the meatballs. This will keep the toothpicks from burning in the oven.
The recipe for Spicy Bacon Meatball Bites is below. Here are a few other meaty treats you'll want to make, too!
💬 What do you think of these spicy, bacony meatballs? Leave a comment and a star rating!
Spicy Bacon Meatball Bites
Equipment
- 50 toothpicks, soaked in water for at least 1 hour
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1 pound ground pork
- ½ cup diced onion
- ⅓ cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
- 1½ tablespoons cayenne pepper, divided
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 pound smoked bacon strips
- ¾ cup light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons Vermont maple syrup
Instructions
Shape the meatballs:
- Set a wire rack into a baking sheet and cover the rack with foil. Poke holes through the foil in several places.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together by hand the chicken, pork, diced onion, parsley, Parmesan, 1 tablespoon of the cayenne, salt, and pepper. Mix just until ingredients are evenly combined.
- Roll the meat mixture into 1½-inch balls, repeating until all of the meat mixture is used.
Wrap the meatballs:
- Cut the bacon strips into thirds.
- Wrap a piece of bacon around each meatball and skewer the meatball with a toothpick (that has been soaked in water) to hold the bacon in place. Place it on the foil-covered rack.
- Repeat with the remaining bacon pieces and meatballs. (Any meatballs leftover after the bacon is used up can be frozen for future use, or just baked naked alongside these.)
- Cover the meatballs loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Coat the meatballs:
- Preheat oven to 375° F. When the oven is hot, remove the plastic wrap from the meatballs.
- In a shallow dish mix together the brown sugar and the remaining ½ tablespoon of cayenne.
- One at a time, roll each bacon-wrapped meatball in the brown sugar mixture and place back on the rack.
- Sprinkle the remaining sugar mixture over the tops of the meatballs. Drizzle the Vermont maple syrup over the tops of the meatballs as well.
- Bake the meatballs for about 30 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through (to an internal temperature of 160° F.)
- Use tongs to place the meatballs on a serving platter, and serve while hot.
- Makes about 50 bacon-wrapped meatballs.
Notes
- Soak the toothpicks in water for an hour before skewering the meatballs. This will keep the toothpicks from burning in the oven.
Nutrition
Post originally shared in 2017. Recipe and post updated in January 2021.
Tell me what you think - comment below!