Meatballs

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

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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.

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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

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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

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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.

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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°.