The Best Smoked Cheesy Meatball Pepperoni Bread Bowl

The perfect game-day dish! Grilled Italian crumbled meatballs, zesty pepperoni, & cheese stuffed in a bread bowl then smoked to cheesy perfection!

Cheesy Goodness

This is one of those recipes that honestly came out of panic mode. You see I was slated to get a huge shipment of meats for my freezer. Except, if you’ve ever seen my freezers, you know that I’m lucky I can fit an ice cube in it.

To make room I had to start cooking up stuff I had in there. Out came a few bread boules (I made them using my famous hoagie roll recipe), a package of Italian Meatballs (it’s this recipe minus the cheesy filling), and a bag of my favorite pepperoni.

Ingredients Needed

• Round Bread Bowls (or one large one)
• Cheese Sauce – I whipped up a batch of Hoosier Hill Alfredo Cheese Sauce
• Cubed Cheese
• Meatballs
• Pepperoni
• Italian Seasoning

Watch The Video

Make sure to watch the video to see how I make this. I went with meatballs I already had made up in the freezer. If you wanted, you could make smaller meatballs (think small like Italian Wedding Soup) if you wanted to skip the chopping step.

Grill The Meatballs

1. Preheat the Big Green Egg to 400F. Add a cast iron pan with a tablespoon of oil.
2. Add the meatballs to the pan and cook for about 5 minutes before starting to chop.
3. Continue to chop and stir until the meat is crumbled and cooked all the way through.
4. Remove the pan from the heat, and, with heat-safe gloves, remove the grate, add in the convEGGtor (legs up), replace the grate on top, and set the temperature to 350F.

No Big Green Egg? No Problem, Grill Indirect

If you don’t have a Big Green Egg, simply set up your grill for both direct and indirect heat. See this article for a better understanding of both methods.

Grill the meatballs on the direct heat side and when you’re ready to smoke the bread bowl, place it on the indirect side, rotating every 15 minutes.

Make The Filling

1. In a bowl, mix the grilled chopped meatballs, pepperoni, seasoning, cheese, and cheese sauce until well combined.

Hollow Out The Bread Bowl

1. Using a serrated knife, cut a hole into the top without going through the bottom or sides, pulling out as much bread as you need to fit the dip.
2. When hollowing out the bowl, you want to get it as even on the bottom as possible.

Stuff & Smoke The Bread Bowl

1. Add the filling, place the lid on top, and double-wrap in foil!
2. Place on the preheated grill, indirect heat side (~350-375F) for 35-40 minutes.
3. When it’s done (the filling is melted/cheesy and the bread is crusty, remove it from the smoker/grill and plate.

It’s So Cheesy!

When this comes off of the grill, all you smell is warm toasted bread, hot Italian pepperoni, and cheese. This seriously was amazing.

I kept it rustic when serving so I popped it on a quarter sheet tray, added some brioche toast, some of my favorite crackers, and the lid. The lid is something we all fought over, to be honest.

What To Serve With This Bread Bowl

There are honestly so many things you can serve with this. Heck, you can just eat it as-is with a fork/spoon while tearing off chunks of the bread!

• Crostini
• Breadsticks
• Veggies – Celery and Carrots are our favorites
• Pretzels

Recipe Substitutions

You know how I love this section of the post!

• Meat – Try salami, capicola, hot sausage or even chorizo
• Cheese Sauce – You can use beer cheese or any other type of cheese sauce. Just keep in mind that you want the sauce to pair with the meats
• Veggies – Caramelized onions, mushrooms, peppers, or even olives work

Think of this like a pseudo pizza bowl. Go with what you’d put on a pizza but stuff it in the bowl!

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