Big meatball energy meets pizza night in this saucy traybake of dreams from Sorted Kids. Serve with crusty bread, pasta or even sandwich it all for the ultimate sub.

Ingredients

• 60g dried panko breadcrumbs
• 50ml milk
• 1 medium egg
• 1 brown onion
• 4 cloves garlic
• 30g fresh parsley
• 6 pork sausages
• 500g beef mince
• 140g diced pancetta
• 100g hard Italian cheese
• 450g jarred roasted red pepper
• 2 tbsp tomato purée / tomato paste
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 400g cherry tomatoes
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 300g mozzarella ball(s)
• 30g fresh basil

Method

Get the oven on. Preheat the oven to 220°C.

Soak the breadcrumbs. Add 60g of panko breadcrumbs, 50ml of milk, and 1 egg to a large mixing bowl. Stir together and leave to soak while you prep the rest.

Prep the veg and herbs. Peel and finely dice 1 onion. Peel 4 cloves of garlic and finely grate them – keep 2 cloves aside for the traybake sauce. Finely chop 30g of parsley.

Make the meatball mix. Squeeze the meat from 6 sausages into an extra-large bowl and add the soaked breadcrumbs. Add 500g of beef mince, 140g of diced pancetta, the chopped onion, 2 of the grated garlic cloves, and the chopped parsley. Grate in 100g of hard Italian cheese, season generously with salt and pepper, then mix everything together thoroughly with your hands.

Prep the tray. Drain and roughly chop 450g of jarred roasted red peppers. Tip them into a large roasting tray along with 400g of cherry tomatoes, the remaining 2 cloves of chopped garlic, 2 tbsp of tomato paste, and 1 tbsp of dried oregano. Drizzle over 2 tbsp of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss everything together to coat.

Form the meatballs. Roll the mixture into 20-24 small meatballs and nestle into the sauce in the tray. Lightly oil your hands to prevent the meatball mix from sticking during shaping. Remember to wash your hands after handling raw meat!

Bake it. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes until the meatballs are golden brown and nearly cooked through. Tear 300g of mozzarella into shreds.

Add the mozzarella. Scatter over the mozzarella and then return to the oven for 10-12 minutes until the cheese is bubbling and the meatballs are fully cooked through.

Serve. Tear over 30g of basil, serve with garlic bread, pasta, rice, or just a leafy green salad on the side.

These also make an amazing sandwich!

Recipes from Sorted Kids, a new initiative from the team behind Sorted Food, designed to shift the narrative. Aimed at primary school-aged children – and the parents feeding them – the project focuses on bringing curiosity and play back into the kitchen, rather than pressure.

At its heart is a new YouTube channel featuring real children experimenting with food: tasting unfamiliar ingredients, testing gadgets and discovering where food comes from. It’s intentionally unpolished, leaning into the chaos of real family life, with games like the “Crunch Test” turning even the most resisted vegetables into something playful.