Our baked meatball recipe shows you how to whip up this delicious comfort food quickly and easily.
Meatballs
Updated Aug. 08, 2024
Homemade meatballs are so much tastier than anything you’ll pick up at the supermarket. They’re the ultimate comfort food, perfect for quick pasta dishes, stews, appetizers and hearty meatball subs. This easy meatball recipe is an economical, approachable 30-minute meal that’s fantastic when you’re looking for quick meal prep ideas.
Meatball Ingredients
- Ground beef: We like to use at least 80% ground beef in our meatball recipe so there’s still a good amount of fat (aka flavor!) in the beef. Yes, the seasonings and spices add a lot of flavor to baked meatballs, also, but it’s the fat in the beef that makes the meatballs so juicy and rich.
- Eggs: This is one of the binding agents for any meatball recipe. Thanks to their moisture content, eggs also help keep your meatballs nice and tender.
- Bread crumbs: This recipe calls for soft bread crumbs—not panko (bigger, crispier bread crumbs), dry or seasoned bread crumbs (sometimes called “Italian bread crumbs”). Luckily, you can make your own soft bread crumbs at home. Just put a slice or two of bread in a food processor, and voila! Fresh, soft bread crumbs. One slice of bread typically yields about 1 cup crumbs.
- Parmesan: Try using freshly grated Parmesan, Parmigiano-Reggiano or Romano cheese to add deep flavor to this simple meatball recipe.
Directions
Step 1: Make the meatball mixture
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Crumble the ground beef into a large bowl. Add the eggs, onion, garlic, water, bread crumbs, Parmesan and Italian seasoning.
Using your hands, combine everything but do not overwork the mixture.
Editor’s Tip: Don’t overmix the beef mixture here! You run the risk of making tough meatballs. Instead, gently work the mixture until it’s just combined.
Step 2: Shape into meatballs
Once you’re happy with the beef mixture, gently shape into 1- to 1-1/2-inch balls.
Editor’s Tip: To prevent the mixture from sticking as you form your meatballs, try lightly coating your hands with just a bit of oil or water.
Step 3: Cook the meatballs
Grease a wire rack, and place it in a shallow baking tray. Arrange the meatballs on the rack. Bake, uncovered, until the meat is no longer pink and an instant-read thermometer in the center of each ball reads at least 160°, 15 to 18 minutes.
Editor’s Tip: If you’d like, you can brown the meatballs before you bake them. This gives a bit more texture, flavor and of course, color to the meatballs.
Recipe Variations
- Make your own bread crumbs: To make homemade bread crumbs the way Nonna used to, soak leftover stale bread in milk for a few minutes. Remove the excess milk by squeezing the bread with your hands, then break up the bread into small pieces.
- Add fresh herbs: Add Italian-inspired fresh herbs and spices like crushed red pepper flakes and fresh parsley or oregano. They will make these meatballs sing! This recipe calls for dried Italian seasoning, but an extra sprinkling of chopped fresh herbs like rosemary, thyme and basil would pack some serious flavor. Mint would be gorgeous with ground lamb meatballs, while cilantro would give pork and chicken meatballs a clean, peppery flair.
- Swap out the water for milk: Milk will add moisture to your meatballs—not to mention much more flavor than water.
- Find an egg substitute: If you’re out of eggs or would rather not use them in your meatball recipe, you’ve got options. You can substitute a few tablespoons of applesauce per egg, or you can prep a flaxseed mixture instead. To do this, combine 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed with 6 tablespoons water, and let stand until mixture thickens, 5 to 10 minutes. Learn more here about using egg substitutions.
How to Store Meatballs
To store the uncooked meatballs, assemble them but do not cook them. Put them in an airtight container in the fridge to cook later in the week. Just be sure to cook them within two to three days of the beef’s original purchase date so the ground beef doesn’t go bad.
To store leftover cooked meatballs, allow them to cool completely to room temperature, then store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.
Can I freeze meatballs?
Yes, you can freeze your cooked meatballs to enjoy later. After they’re out of the oven, let the meatballs cool to room temperature. Place them in an airtight container, and store in the freezer for up to two months.
To eat, allow the frozen meatballs to thaw overnight in the fridge. Reheat in the oven, microwave or in a skillet until warmed through and their internal temperature reaches 165°.
Meatball Recipe Tips
Can I use a different meat?
Yes, you can use a different meat! Try a 50/50 mix of beef and pork as your base, or use a blend of beef, pork and veal. You can also swap the beef completely for pork, chicken, lamb, turkey or game meat to put a new spin on this simple meatball recipe. Just make sure you cook whichever meat you use to the food-safe cooking temperature!
If you’re hankering for ultra-tender meatballs, fatty meats are the way to go. If you use lean meats like chicken or turkey, consider adding a splash of milk to the egg mixture. This will moisten the bread crumbs and help prevent the meatballs from getting tough.
Do you need to cover the meatballs with foil in the oven?
According to Peggy Woodward, Taste of Home senior food editor, these baked meatballs cook fast enough in the oven that they don’t need to be covered. And, in fact, they’ll have better flavor and color if you don’t cover them!
What can you serve with meatballs?
Of course, baked meatballs go perfectly with a heaping plate of spaghetti! You also can’t go wrong with putting them in a meatball sub sandwich or as a topping on a hearty meatball pizza. Or make this easy meatball recipe ahead of time, and freeze the meatballs so you can make meatball casserole in a moment’s notice.
Baked meatballs are also a great homemade main course when you pair them with garlic bread and roasted vegetables or a side salad.
Now that you’ve mastered the art of the perfect meatball, here are some of our best Italian meatballs and meatball recipes from around the world to try out.
Watch How to Make Oven-Baked Meatballs
Oven-Baked Meatballs
Prep Time
20 min
Cook Time
15 min
Yield
48 meatballs
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1-1/3 cups soft bread crumbs
- 2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375°. In a large bowl, crumble beef. Add eggs, water, onion, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, garlic and seasonings; mix lightly but thoroughly. Shape into 1-1/2-in. balls. Place meatballs on greased racks in shallow baking pans. Bake, uncovered, until no longer pink, 15-18 minutes.
Nutrition Facts
3 meatballs: 276 calories, 17g fat (7g saturated fat), 122mg cholesterol, 533mg sodium, 6g carbohydrate (1g sugars, 0 fiber), 24g protein.
Keep a batch of these meatballs in your freezer for an easy weeknight meal. This simple meatball recipe can be used for pizzas, sub sandwiches, in soups and more. —Taste of Home Test Kitchen, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Recipe Creator
