Great-Grandma’s Italian Meatballs
My great-grandmother started this easy meatball recipe with our family. We use ground beef and turkey for these meatballs, and the flavor’s so good, you won’t miss the extra calories. —Audrey Colantino, Winchester, Massachusetts
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 3/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon each dried basil, oregano and parsley flakes
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 pound lean ground turkey
- 1 pound lean ground beef (90% lean)
- Optional: Hot cooked pasta and pasta sauce
Reviews
I made them with 1 1/2 pounds of ground sirloin and 1 1/2 of ground chuck and three eggs. It came out delicious. These were the best meatballs we ever had. Everyone loved them.
Homemade meatballs are great! No turkey, I use Italian sausage instead, torn bread slices not dry crumbs and more cheese. YUM!
Delicious! However, I did not add the turkey.
This is by far the best recipe me and my sister have ever had. The turkey is not needed and you can substitute it our for more BEEF. The olive oil really adds to the flavor of the onions and makes them caramelized. We enjoyed this recipe and so did everyone I highly recommend it and to just substitute out the ground turkey.
Don’t call this your grandmas recipe. Turkey? Turkey.
Made these meatballs to go in homemade spaghetti sauce for little meatball sandwiches. The meatballs were good, though next time I will increase the spices to amp up the flavor a little.
I seriously doubt great-grandma used olive oil or ground turkey. When recipes such as this group are called "grandma's," then I expect them to be the original recipe used by "grandma," and not made over ones.
These are my go to meatballs. I love that they’re baked so you don’t have to babysit a pan. Also the texture from using turkey and beef makes the meatballs flavorful and tender. I triple the batch and freeze meatballs for quick future dinners.
Just made this for my family. Used ALL ground chuck. It was AMAZING and filling. First time ever making meatballs by hand and it was surprisingly easy. The kids and my husband and I LOVED it!!!! I used the Copper Crisper Pan, it drained off the excess fat and the meatballs were extra moist and yummy!! Like seriously, they were perfect!!
I seriously doubt that anyone’s great grandmother used “ground turkey.” Where I originally came from, NYC, to use anything but ground beef and pork is considered a sin; and I’d have to go to Confession. As a chef, I have nightmares about what’s actually in ground turkey. These meatballs will not be as moist and juicy as they should be. First off, the fat content is way too low and the bread crumbs way too dry. They should be moistened bread or the bread crumbs moistened with milk. Secondly, the meatballs should be fried or baked until the outside is crisp; then finished off in a covered pot of barely simmering sauce; for an hour or more. I usually cook mine for at least 2 hours. Any leftovers are destined to be reheated and served on a homemade, crusty, semolina, sesame Italian loaf. Then smothered with sauce and topped with mozzarella or provolone; then into the salamander/broiler, just enough to melt the cheese.