This Meatball Recipe makes tender, juicy homemade meatballs with a rich, savory flavor that’s perfect for pasta with homemade marinara sauce, on meatball subs, or as meal prep. Baked in the oven for easy cleanup, they’re simple to make and always a family favorite.
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Holly’s Recipe Highlights: Meatball Recipe
- Flavor: Tender and juicy with a savory, well-seasoned flavor, balanced by hints of Parmesan, garlic, herbs, and onion.
- Freezing: You can bake these meatballs right away or make a big batch and freeze them for easy weeknight dinners.
- Serving Suggestions: Serve with tomato sauce over spaghetti, in a meatball pasta bake, or on their own as a hearty appetizer.
Total Time: 40 Minutes Makes: 48 Meatballs Cooking Method: Baked
Ingredient Notes
- Meat: Use a combination of beef and pork. A little fat keeps them juicy, so I recommend lean ground beef (80/20). Try them with ground turkey or chicken, or swap in veal, lamb, or even a bit of Italian sausage for extra flavor.
- Breadcrumbs: Seasoned breadcrumbs add flavor, but you can use any breadcrumbs or cracker crumbs.
- Onion: Finely dice the onion so it blends evenly into the meat mixture. For a milder flavor, sauté it until softened first, or substitute ½ teaspoon of onion powder.
- Italian Seasoning: Adds an extra layer of herb flavor, but the meatballs are still delicious without it, especially if you’re using seasoned breadcrumbs.
How to Make Meatballs
- Add all ingredients to a medium bowl.
- Gently mix until well combined.
- Shape 48 meatballs, about 1 ½ tablespoons each.
- Bake until cooked through.
Storing Homemade Meatballs
- Leftovers: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Reheating: Reheat them in sauce on the stovetop, in the microwave, or covered in the oven until heated through.
- Freezing Baked Meatballs: Place them on a baking sheet and freeze until firm, then transfer them to a freezer bag or freezer-safe container for up to 4 months.
- Baking Raw Frozen Meatballs: Add 6 to 10 minutes to the baking time and cook to 160°F. To reheat cooked frozen meatballs, simmer them in a covered skillet with a little water or sauce until heated through.
Recipes to Use These Meatballs In
Did you enjoy the following Meatball Recipe? Leave a comment and rating below.
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 pound lean ground pork or additional ground beef
- ½ cup seasoned bread crumbs
- ⅓ cup milk
- ¼ cup finely diced onion *see note, or ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley or 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning optional
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt more to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, add beef, pork, breadcrumbs, milk, onion, parsley, parmesan cheese, egg, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Gently mix until combined.
- Shape the meat mixture into 48 meatballs, approximately 1 ½ tablespoons each, and place on the prepared baking pan.
- Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until the meatballs reach 160°F.
- Serve with tomato sauce if desired.
Video
Notes
*Onion: For a milder flavor, soften the onion in a skillet with a little bit of butter before adding it to the meatballs or replace it with ½ teaspoon of onion powder.
Sauce: To serve with pasta sauce, stir the cooked meatballs into the desired amount of sauce and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes on the stovetop.
- Leftovers, keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- To freeze, prepare as directed and freeze on a baking sheet before or after baking. Transfer to a freezer bag for up to 4 months.
- To bake raw frozen meatballs, add 6 to 10 minutes to the cooking time and ensure the meatballs reach 160°F.
- To heat cooked meatballs from frozen, add them to a skillet with ½ cup of water. Cover and simmer until heated through, for 10 to 12 minutes, adding more water as needed.
- To heat cooked meatballs in pasta sauce, add ½ cup of water to the sauce and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until the meatballs are heated through.
Nutrition Information
Serving: 4meatballs | Calories: 235 | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 72mg | Sodium: 256mg | Potassium: 259mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 174IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 56mg | Iron: 2mg
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Appetizer, Beef, Dinner, Entree, Main Course
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I have often heard adding ricotta to meatballs is a great variation, can I substitute ricotta for milk?
thanks
I haven’t tried it but I bet it would work perfectly! Let us know how it goes.
Thank you, love the meatballs !
So glad you love them Steve!
Just needs a little more seasonings. But for a supper quick meatball it tasted good. Next time will add more Italian seasoning. But they held together great made a quick sauce with spaghetti noodles. Made a quick dinner for 11 of us
I am glad you enjoyed the meatballs Glenn!
Great meatball recipe!
Thank you Janet!
A great thanks to you Holly because its really easy to make and yeah a good snack for kids. Thanks for sharing it with us. Just a doubt. Can I use chicken instead????
Nicole, I have only made this recipe as written, but if you prefer ground chicken I believe that would be a fine variation.
Didn’t have ground pork, so used ground turkey instead. Still came out great.
That sounds like a great substitution Ashley! Glad you liked them!
I didn’t find it flavorful, however I forgot to add salt and pepper. Would that bring out the flavors better next time?
I am sorry you didn’t find it flavorful. Salt, pepper and any other favorite seasonings will definitely bring out the flavor more.
Salt is especially needed to bring out the flavor. It doesn’t add flavor
It enhances it. And be generous with it
Soo good!!! I use this recipe all the time! I notice I make around 30 meatballs for this recipe. Non-stick foil helps the meatballs slide off.
I see the nutrition facts but how many meatballs is considered one serving?
I make 48 meatballs and 4 meatballs would be one serving for the nutritional information. For 30 meatballs, nutritional information would be for 2.5 meatballs. Hope that helps. Enjoy Amber!
Information said 4 meatballs were serving portion.
Do you add milk like it says ? It’s my first time making this and I’m like add milk!! Lol
I’m with you milk in meatballs. Weird
Ummm…why is it weird? Because YOU never used it? Milk is pretty much a staple in meatball recipes.
Its to moisten the bread crumbs. Very standard like Leo said. What I do is pour just enough milk to wet the bread crumbs and let it sit for 15 minutes then drain, because you are adding more moisture with the egg you don’t want it too wet.
Made this for tonight and everyone loved them. I just realized that I had actually forgotten to add the milk. My husband did say that it felt like it was missing something but I had just assumed more salt. Would the milk have made a big difference?
The milk would add a lot of flavor!
Hello,
If I were to omit the breadcrumbs, would I still add milk?
Thank you.
I haven’t tried this without breadcrumbs. You can make the mixture without milk and add a little bit if needed at the end.
I made these tonight, and they are delicious! That being said, the prep time on this is a joke right? Cutting an onion, chopping parsley, mixing, and balling takes a lot longer than 10 minutes. I think even if you only mixed and balled it’d be longer than 10 minutes. I might just be extremely slow. I am not a chef by any means. Lol
These did come out delicious, so kudos for making a great foolproof recipe.
Glad you enjoyed these! Sorry the prep time took longer than expected.
Kids Loved them! Used dry parsley because i was pressed for time but still turned out awesome! Thanks!!
So glad your family enjoyed them Max.
This recipe was fabulous! I made it for my wife to go with a pasta dish and it came out great. I stuck to the exact recipe except for making homemade breadcrumbs. Very tasty , very juicy and perfect for a quick and easy recipe.
So glad both you and your wife loved them Sabrina!
Can these be served as is from a Crock-Pot, or do I need to add some kind of sauce?
These can be served as is, but are lovely with a sauce. You could try Crockpot Meatballs or our family favorite Sweet and Sour Meatballs (Cocktail Meatballs)!
I made this tonight and it came out soooo goood. Thank you for the recipe!
So glad you loved them Dana!
These look good. However, I wish to cook them in an airfryer. Any idea what temperature and the time? I only bought ground pork because I cannot consume red meat. I think I have breadcrums or could make some with the bread I have. I probably have the Itallian spices too and eggs. I hopevwhat little I do have will make some meatballs. Please advise.
I would suggest 350° for about 10-12 minutes or until cooked through.
Why is there a liquid in some of your meatball recipes, and in the crockpot version there is not.Does the crockpot change the consistency.
The slow cooker holds steam while an oven baked recipe will allow liquids to evaporate.
Thank you for this recipe! I made them tonight and my family devoured them! They were so delcious!
Yay Dina, so glad they were a hit with your family!
I need these to be gluten free so I’m going to swap out the breadcrumbs for oatmeal.
Do you think I should add more liquid?
I’ll report back how they come out for anyone else interested. :-)
Hi Mary, I have only tried this recipe as written so I don’t know about the liquid addition. Let me know how they turn out!
How did they turn out with the oatmeal?
Hi, thanks for sharing. keep up the good work.
Made this last night. Came out fantastic. More importantly, taste was rich and every bit as good as frying, so saving fat calories. Win-win! Thank you.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Barbara!
Yummy and easy to make recipes
Enjoy!