These classic Italian meatballs are an easy homemade foolproof recipe that will be your go-to. Makes 80, so you can freeze a bunch and have them on hand for later!
Meatballs! Glazed meatballs, Swedish meatballs, meatball subs, meatball casseroles, 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! They’re my absolute favorite and go-to.
Meatballs Recipe
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Meat – 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.
- Sweet Onion and Garlic – a staple in Italian cooking
- Seasoning – dried Italian seasoning, kosher salt, and chopped fresh parsley
- Binders – a large egg and some Panko breadcrumbs help hold the meatballs together
- Cheese – I use freshly grated parmesan and also…ricotta! It’s the secret (and awesome) ingredient that helps make these meatballs tender.
- Extra virgin olive oil – for sautéing and getting that golden crust.
How to Make Meatballs
These Italian meatballs are so easy to make and deliver fantastic flavor. (Scroll to the bottom for the detailed printable recipe.) Here’s a brief summary:
- Combine the ingredients: using your hands, combine the beef, pork, onion, garlic, Italian seasoning, parsley, egg, parmesan, breadcrumbs, ricotta, and 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.
- Finish in the oven: Transfer to the oven to finish cooking.
- Enjoy them however you please! Use them with spaghetti sauce, for meatball sliders, in meatball soup, in a meatball rice skillet, in your favorite recipes, or let cool and freeze for another day!
Make Ahead and Storage
This recipe yields 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 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.
Other Meatballs Recipes
- Skillet Chicken Parmesan Meatballs
- Chicken Chorizo Meatballs
- Thai Shrimp and Pork Meatballs
- Sweet, Hot and Sour Cocktail Meatballs
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 Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!
Classic 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
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
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.
- Remove from oven and combine with spaghetti sauce and pasta, or let cool and freeze for another day!
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.
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 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!!!!
Yay, I’m so glad! Thanks, Shelly!
Have you ever used Ground turkey instead of beef?
Yep! Ground turkey is delicious also.
These are the best meatballs I’ve ever made – thank you for a great recipe!
Spicy pork? Is that like Italian pork sausage?
These are now my favorite meatballs. Perfect recipe, no changes needed.
Those are perfect looking meatballs! Fantastic recipe :)
Oh yeah…if you’re gonna make meatballs, you have to MAKE MEATBALLS. No sense getting everything in your kitchen dirty for just one meal!