Meatball Pie with Burrata

Real simmered meatballs crumbled over the cheese, finished with basil, torn burrata, and Parmigiano, in that order.

Time: 45 min | Yield: 1 pizza | Difficulty: Intermediate | Serves: 3 | Published: 2026-07-24

Meatballs on pizza usually means sad pre-cooked spheres sliced into coins. This pie does it right: you make the actual meatballs, simmer them in the sauce, then CRUMBLE them over the cheese so every slice gets craggy, saucy meat in every bite.

The meatball half of this recipe is the full build, panade, gentle mixing, a real simmer. Then the pie comes together fast: seasoned sauce, pecorino, whole-milk mozz, crumbled meatballs, 8 minutes on the steel.

The finish is the name of the recipe: fresh basil, torn burrata, and Parmigiano, in that order, so the basil perfumes up through the cream. Room-temperature burrata on a hot slice is one of the best bites on this site.

Ingredients

Meatballs

• 1 lb 80/20 ground beef
• ½ lb ground pork
• ½ lb ground veal
• ½ cup bread crumbs
• ½ cup whole milk
• ½ minced onion
• 5 pressed garlic cloves
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• ½ cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano
• ¼ cup finely chopped parsley
• 1 whipped egg

Sauce

• ½ chopped onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 tsp oregano
• 4 chopped basil leaves
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper

The Pie

• 1 cup pizza sauce
• ¼ cup pecorino romano
• 1 ½ cups shredded whole milk mozzarella
• 5 - 6 Meatballs (from above)
• burrata
• fresh basil
• Parmigiano Reggiano

Directions

1. In a large bowl, add your breadcrumbs and whole milk. Mix and let sit for a minute ½ cup bread crumbs, ½ cup whole milk
2. Add all other ingredients to the bowl. for the onion, I use a hand shredder to make it really fine 1 lb 80/20 ground beef, ½ lb ground pork, ½ lb ground veal, ½ minced onion, 5 pressed garlic cloves, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper, ½ cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano, ¼ cup finely chopped parsley, 1 whipped egg
3. Mix with your hands until well combined, but try not to over mix them or they become dense.
4. Cover your mixture and put in the fridge for 30 minutes
5. Now it's time to form the meatballs. I aim for a size about the palm of your hand. Should make 15-18 meatballs.
6. Heat up your pan on medium heat with olive oil.
7. Sear top and bottom of each meatball in batches. 2-3 minutes per side. Then set them aside. Repeat until all are seared.
8. In the same pan add a tablespoon of olive oil.
9. Add diced onions and sauté for 2-3 minutes.
10. Then add chopped garlic and sauté another minute.
11. Mix in a tablespoon of tomato paste.
12. Add a can of crushed tomatoes. I prefer Bianco di Napoli.
13. Mix in oregano, salt, pepper, and 4 chopped basil leaves.
14. Turn the pan to low heat, place your meatballs in there and cover for 20-30 minutes.
15. Remove the meatballs from the pan, set aside, and optional blend the sauce for a smoother consistency.
16. Making the Meatball Pie
17. Pre heat your oven to 550 degrees with a baking steel.
18. For the dough, reference one of my recipes on the page. Stretch it and place on a lightly dusted peel.
    You'll know it's right: Stretch on a lightly dusted peel and do the shake test before anything lands, this pie carries weight.
19. Evenly spread a layer of sauce. You can reference the sauce on my page, but in one cup of sauce there's a pinch of salt, oregano and chopped basil.
    You'll know it's right: One cup of sauce, seasoned in the cup: pinch of salt, oregano, chopped basil. Taste it before it goes on.
20. Evenly sprinkle on the pecorino Romano, then the shredded whole milk mozzarella.
21. Crumble up your meatballs and evenly spread them on top of the cheese.
    You'll know it's right: Crumble the meatballs into rough craggy chunks, not slices. The broken edges catch heat and crisp.
22. Bake in the oven for about 8 minutes.
23. Finish with fresh basil, burrata and Parmigiano Reggiano, in that order.
    You'll know it's right: Finish order matters: basil first, then torn burrata, then Parmigiano. The heat blooms the basil under the cream.
24. Enjoy!

Troubleshooting

Meatballs dried out on the pizza

Crumbled lean, fully cooked meatballs and re-baked them. Simmer the meatballs in sauce first so they go on juicy, and crumble in big rough chunks, not fine crumbles.

Soggy center

Sauced meatballs plus a heavy sauce layer. One cup of sauce on the dough, that's the budget. The meatball crumbles bring their own moisture.

Burrata turned to soup

Added it before the bake. Burrata never sees the oven. Torn over the finished pie, it warms without breaking.

The finish tasted flat

Wrong order. Basil, burrata, Parmigiano, in that order. Basil under the cream steams fragrant; basil on top just wilts.

Slices collapsed

Overloaded with meatballs. Five to six crumbled meatballs covers a 14-16 inch pie. Extra meatballs are a sandwich tomorrow.

Nutrition (2 slices (1/4 of the pie)): 470 calories, 26g protein, 39g carbs, 24g fat.