Italian Meatballs
Updated
Updated
These classic Italian meatballs are an easy homemade foolproof meatball recipe that will be your go-to. They’re a million times better than anything store-bought with better texture and way more flavor. Use them right away or freeze a bunch and have them on hand for later to use with pasta or in soups and sandwiches!
Pin this now to find it later
Pin ItThis post may contain affiliate links. If you click on one and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only recommend products we genuinely love.
5 STAR REVIEWS
Best Homemade Italian Meatball Recipe
Meatballs! Glazed meatballs, Swedish meatballs, meatball subs, meatball and rice casserole, meatball soup. And, of course, spaghetti and meatballs. A classic…a force to be reckoned with. Too far? Well, a classic for sure.
Naturally, with so many recipes incorporating meatballs, you’re going to find about a gazillion variations. They’re like meatloaf in that sense – “kitchen sink”, as in “anything goes.” This particular recipe makes THE BEST Italian Meatballs with a combination of ground beef and pork, aromatics, just the right seasonings, and a secret ingredient – ricotta! They’re so flavorful and tender.
This meatball recipe makes a lot, so you can freeze some for later and alway have them on hand to use as desired. They’re my absolute favorite and go-to.
Helpful Tips
- Two different meats. I use a mixture of lean ground beef and seasoned ground pork for the best flavor. For the pork, you can incorporate sweet, mild, or hot depending on how spicy you want them.
- Binders. Egg and some Panko breadcrumbs help hold the meatballs together.
- Ricotta cheese! This is my secret ingredient. Trust me! It won’t make the meatballs taste like ricotta, instead it helps make these meatballs so tender.
- Pan fry and bake. Browning the meatballs in a skillet first provides a wonderful crust and additional flavor, then finishing them in an oven ensures they’re cooked through.
Italian Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 pound Italian ground pork sausage, (sweet, mild, or hot)
- 1 small sweet onion, diced small
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 & 1/4 cup ricotta cheese, fully drained
- 2 teaspoons coarse salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more if needed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Coat 2-3 baking sheets with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine with your hands the beef, pork, onion, garlic, Italian seasoning, parsley, egg, parmesan, breadcrumbs, ricotta, and salt.
- Using a small cookie scoop, form 1 & 1/4-inch balls out of the mixture.
- Heat olive oil over medium-high in a large skillet. Working in batches, add the meatballs and brown on all sides, about 4 minutes. (Add more olive oil if needed and turn down heat if they’re starting to burn.)
- Place browned meatballs on the baking sheets and transfer to the oven to finish cooking for 10 minutes.
- Use as desired. They're great with spaghetti of course, and also in soups, casseroles, or for meatballs sliders. Or let cool and freeze for another day! (Freezer instruction is included in the article.)
Video
Nutrition
Nutritional information given is an automatic calculation and can vary based on the exact products you use and any changes you make to the recipe. If these numbers are very important to you, I would recommend calculating them yourself.
Did you make this? Leave a rating below!How to Make Meatballs Step By Step
- Combine the ingredients. In a large bowl, combine with your hands 1 pound each lean ground beef and Italian ground pork sausage, 1 small diced sweet onion, 4 cloves minced garlic, 1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning, 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, 1 large egg, 1/2 cup grated parmesan, 1 cup panko breadcrumbs, 1 & 1/4 cups ricotta, and 2 teaspoons coarse salt.
- Form the meatballs. Form the mixture into 1 & 1/4-inch balls. Using a cookie scoop is the easiest and best way to make sure they’re uniform, so they cook at the same rate.
- Brown in a fry pan. Working in batches, brown the meatballs in a skillet with olive oil on all sides so they develop a nice crust. Heat olive oil over medium-high in a large skillet. (Add more olive oil if needed and turn down heat if they’re starting to over-brown.)
- Finish in the oven. Place browned meatballs on the baking sheets and transfer to a 425F oven for 10 minutes to finish cooking.
- Use as desired. They’re great with spaghetti of course, and also in soups or for meatballs sliders and casseroles. See below for more suggestions.
What to Make with Italian Meatballs
Enjoy these meatballs however you please! Use them with spaghetti sauce, for meatball sliders, in meatball soup, in a meatball rice skillet or meatballs and rice casserole, for grape jelly meatballs as an appetizer, in your favorite recipes, or let cool and freeze for another day.
Make Ahead and Storage
This recipe yields about 80 meatballs. Once a month I spend an hour prepping them, then package them up 10-12 per bag, and freeze them for later. That way, I have them ready to go when I need them!
- To freeze meatballs: prepare as directed in the recipe card. Let cool to the touch; then place meatballs on an ungreased cookie sheet and “flash freeze” uncovered about 30 minutes or until firm. Place partially frozen meatballs in a heavy plastic freezer bag or freezer container. Seal, label, and freeze no longer than 2 months.
- To reheat meatballs: thaw in the refrigerator, on the stove in sauces, or in the oven (350F for 20 minutes).
What is flash freezing?
When you flash freeze something, you set it, unwrapped, into the freezer for a short time (in this case, 30 minutes) until the surface hardens enough that it won’t stick to the other items when fully frozen. Flash freezing meatballs helps each meatball hold its individual shape and not stick to the other meatballs around it, so you can use as few or as many as you need.
More Meatball Recipes:
I hope you love this delicious and easy recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!
Love this recipe and this is the second time I’ve made them. Family and company love them . Made 72 because I increased the recipe and froze them.
I made about 400 meatballs from this recipe. Snacked on a couple as they came out of the oven, delicious! Not dry at all and full of flavor. I used them to make meatball sliders with provolone and homemade marinara for my staff of 43. I can tell you they were all gone before the lunch hour.
My new favorite meatball recipe! The whole family loved them. Adding to my rotation. Thanks for your recipes!!!
Excellent! Easy to prepare and loved by the family. Will be making these again!
I’m currently making the meatballs so that I can try the crockpot Salisbury steak meatball recipe. I decided today that you are right up there with Ina Garten in the taste and ease of your recipes to read and then prepare. I follow you daily and look forward to making many more recipes. Thank you for the time it takes to create all layers of your creative and delicious Belly Full process! 🥰
I made them and they were very good! Lots of flavour! Thank you for sharing!
I have made these several times. Love them. I also use them in swedish meatballs recipe.
I recently saw your video for Italian meatballs and was intrigued. I’ve never had good luck over the years making various meatballs recipes but this one with the ricotta cheese caught my eye. Made it last night for the family and got rave reviews. I followed the recipe exactly and they were perfect. Excited about all the extra leftovers that are now in the freezer. Keep up the good work. I enjoy watching your recipes and have saved many for future use! 🙂
Absolutely the best meatballs I’ve made! Thanks for another winning recipe, Amy!
I made these meatballs and they are delicious. I never buy frozen meatballs I always make my own but this is my new recipe. Delicious thank you.
Do you have to use ricotta cheese in this recipe…we don’t like ricotta or cottage cheeseand wonder if we could use something like mozzarella instead or just leave it out.
Thanks for all the wonderful recipes you
Maureen
Hi Maureen – the ricotta helps make the meatballs so nice and tender, you can’t really taste it. If you’re absolutely opposed to using it, yes you can omit.
I just made these, and OMG the taste and texture is wonderful. I’ll never buy store meatballs again!! I did skip the frying part and went straight to oven for 20/25 mins that i saw you mention on another review, worked great. Thank you so much!!
These meatballs are the best! They are so favorable
I plan on making these for the first time, wondering if I want to make and then serve the following day, heating in a crockpot, would I just brown them, refrigerate then put in crockpot to finish cooking? Or should they be baked also and then reheat in the crockpot?
Hi Pat – You should fully cook them in the fry pan and finish baking, per the instructions. Are you planning on placing them in the crockpot with anything – like a sauce? I’ve never reheated these alone in the crockpot, I always do that in the oven.
These were quite tasty. I make meatballs often but had never put ricotta in them. Nice addition.
Have you or anyone else tried to make these with ground venison instead of beef?
Delicious! I love spicy foods so I added a bit of Jalapeno cheese to 1/2 of the mix and I loved both of the mixes. Your recipes are simple and down to earth, I am a cooking husband and I like using simple recipes that call for ingredients found in your pantry or the back of the fridge. Keep them coming!
My family loves these. So moist and flavorful. Even used them when I was making lasagna.
Hi Amy-do you purchase the Italian ground pork from a butcher, or if bought at the grocers, what brand do you suggest? Thank you.
Hi Joyce. I just buy it where all the other meats are. If your grocery store doesn’t carry their own brand, you can just use Jimmy Dean.
Silly question…how do you drain the ricotta?
Put it in a colander or through a fine mesh sieve.
Family loves them! I’ve made these now 2x in the last week or so, they are delicious!
Question – If I want to make a new batch and use them in your crockpot Salisbury meatballs recipe on the same day, would you change process cooking wise? Or cook them per recipe and cool them or flash freeze and then proceed with recipe instructions for the crockpot Salisbury meatballs?
Hi Jen! I’m so glad you love them! I would cook as directed, but instead of freezing, you can just use directly in the crockpot salisbury steak meatball recipe but decrease the cook time to 3-4 hours instead of 5.
Made these today and had them with spaghetti for dinner. Very flavorful and I can think of several meals to make, using them. Thanks Amy!
amazing flavour and texture, plus I MADE THEM. definentely recommend.
5 STARs
Just finished making these. Delicious 😋
Will definitely be making again!
Making these today with your Salisbury steak meatball recipe! Can’t wait for dinner!
Thank you for posting such delicious recipies. Tried these meatballs tonight, and they are amazing! Will always make these ones from now on. 😃 This one is a keeper!
Do you have a cookbook. I am interested to check it out and possibly purchase.
Yep! It’s called Good Fast Eats. You can order it via Amazon.
These are the best meatballs I have ever tasted AND I made them!!!! I made small ones as recipe states and then more a little larger. Both were moist and delicious!
I flash froze the small ones and put them in a zip lock freezer bag and will pull them out as hot appetizers. The ricotta must be the secret ingredient!!
Question. How long can they stay in fridge before freezing? I would love to make these a few days in advance.
Can’t wait to try them!!
A couple days in an airtight container will be fine
I dislike the texture of ricotta. Can you feel the grain-ness of the cheese in the meatballs?
I love your videos!
Hi Suzanne – no, you can’t feel (or taste) the ricotta. It just makes the meatballs very tender!
good to know!
Curious if the ricotta melts out of the meatballs if they simmer in sauce all day?
These are hands down THE BEST beef meatballs! So glad I cam across your Instagram video. Made these the next day and we all loved them so much. What a gem you are! Thank you!
These are the “BEST” meatballs ever!! I just made them for dinner tonight, but it was hard to stop sampling them ;) Thanks for a great recipe Amy.
Made these meatballs today…. love them. Will be making them again,as well as, trying your other recipes. Thank you for a very flavorful meatball!
I love these meatballs – just made more!
Such a great recipe. The ricotta made the meatballs so soft and the flavor is delicious!
I loved your video because you explained every step – from the amount of the ingredients to the cooking time. And I was able to find your recipe online so I can print it. One question though, will the taste of the ricotta come through in the meatballs, I don’t like ricotta.
I don’t think the ricotta is a noticeable flavor, but I can’t guarantee you won’t taste it.
small tweaks, chopped pork instead of sausage, and a full container of Ricotta cheese.
container of
I just made these meatballs. The whole house smelled amazing.
Our house too!!!! Like a high end Italian restaurant
They were very good
This was an outstanding meatball recipe! I made my own breadcrumbs in the food processor,and totally did them in the oven! Perfect!
I made these tonight and they are sooooo good! I couldn’t find the pork sausage in the recipe so I used Italian sausage and I think it’s awesome. Thanks for the recipe!
can’t find spiced pork-should I use just plain ground pork or can I use italian sausage?-THANKS-Would like to make today if I can
Hi Dan – sweet, mild, or hot Italian ground pork is ideal, but you could definitely use Italian sausage links (casings removed.) Just make sure you break it up into smaller chunks, so it gets incorporated into the mixture better.
Hello
Can you just finish cooking them on the stove top?
Thanks!
For the classic meatball recipe, what fat ratio do you suggest for the ground beef? Also, if I make these a little larger how long should they cook in the oven? Thank you!
I use 85% lean ground beef. Cooking time will depend on your oven and the exact size of the meatball – just make sure the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer
I’m wondering how do you reheat the frozen meatballs when your ready to use again??
All storage and re-heating information is included in the article.
I made this recipe using ground turkey and shaped it into a meatloaf. Excellent!
How would you describe the consistency of these meat balls. I don’t like them too hard OR too soft. Does the ricotta make them soft? thanks anne
They’re tender.
Do I have to put ricotta cheese in them or is there something else I can use.
Hi Pauline! Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications. For optimal results, use the ricotta. Thank you!
I have made this recipe many times and my family loves it!
First, this recipe looks so good, I can’t wait to try it! ? Quick question though, when you brown the meatballs in the pan, is it 4min per side, or 4min total?
4 minutes total
Made these today! So delicious. Thank you!
I made these tonigjt! SO GOOD!! Definitely going to do ahuge bath and freeze!
Can I bake these without browning them? What would the temp be and how long? Does 350 for 25 minutes sound right?
400 degrees F for about 25-30 minutes.
Great recipe!
We loved these so much. The addition of ricotta is wonderful!
I’m going to try these…sounds wonderful. Do you fully cook them before freezing?
Yes. Follow the directions, and then see my freezer notes in the recipe card. Enjoy!
I made this tonight, it was AWESOME!!!!
Have you ever used Ground turkey instead of beef?
Yep! Ground turkey is delicious also.