Leftover Meatball Crostini

Leftover Meatball Crostini is the perfect way to repurpose leftover meatballs. It delivers all the flavors of a classic meatball dinner—minus the spaghetti—served on crispy crostini with marinara sauce. Think of it as an open-faced meatball sub, appetizer-style.

Ingredients

• Small crusty bread slices
• Meatballs
• Your favorite tomato/pomodoro/pasta sauce
• Parmesan cheese
• Fresh basil

When you have leftover meatballs and sauce, it’s easy to cook up some pasta—but it’s just as easy to toast a few slices of bread. This no-cook leftover recipe turns them into an effortless, satisfying bite.

There are many ways to assemble this crostini. You can toast the bread first, melt the cheese, then top it with the meatballs and sauce. Or, you can place them directly on the toasted bread, add the cheese, and melt everything together in the oven. Grated Parmesan or slices of mozzarella both work well.

Meatball in Italian

In English, we only have one word for meatball—but in Italian, it depends on size and how it’s served.

• Polpette is the general term for meatballs.
• Polpettine (singular: polpettina) refers to small, often bite-sized.
• Polpettone means a large meatball, more like a meatloaf.

So a dish like Meatball Crostini might be called crostini con polpettine in Italy.

Bruschetta and crostini difference

Both are Italian toasted bread appetizers, but they differ mainly in bread type, size, and preparation. Bruschetta is made with larger slices of rustic bread, typically grilled and rubbed with garlic, then simply topped with ingredients like tomatoes and olive oil.

Crostini, on the other hand, use smaller, thinner slices of bread—often baguette—grilled, baked or toasted until crisp and topped with a wider variety of richer ingredients, such as cheeses or pâtés.

Best bread to use

A sliced ciabatta baguette is my go-to for this recipe – it toasts beautifully while staying sturdy. If it’s not available, a French baguette is a great substitute.

Meatball recipes

Serving suggestion

Again, there are many ways to serve this. I like to slice the meatballs in half, this prevents them from rolling off the bread when you take a bite. This is a nice appetizer to feed a crowd. You can bake as many slices of the bread as will fit on your baking sheet. If you want to make  them extra cheesy, top with a slice of mozzarella cheese and bake until melted. Your kids will love them!

If you’ve made this Leftover Meatball Crostini, please leave a star rating in the recipe card. You can also ask a question or leave a comment below.

Janette is a professionally trained chef based in California who channels her passion for cooking into thoughtfully crafted recipes. Her culinary creations are inspired by her English heritage as well as her favorite global cuisines, including Indian and Italian. Connect with her on  Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram for more delicious inspiration. More About Janette…