The Best Italian Meatballs
My Famous Italian Meatballs
UPDATED: After making these meatballs for many, many years, my recipe has slightly evolved and gotten so much better! It was time that I’ve updated this recipe for you.
When I say that this is my most famous (and the most asked) recipe, I’m not exaggerating. Just about every one of my co-workers and family member have tried these Italian meatballs and immediately asked how I make them. (Although, I have to say that my lasagna and meatball subs come close in popularity!)
Every party that we host, I have to make meatballs no matter what else I make. All of my family and friends fell in love with them at first bite and it’s the only recipe they now use.
As a matter of fact, this was one of the first recipes that I posted on this site 11 years ago, when I first started my site. Through the years, I’ve posted hundreds of recipes and this is still one of the most popular ones.
Key Ingredients For The Best Meatballs
The main reason WHY my meatballs are SO incredibly good is the texture and flavor! There are three ingredient tricks that are responsible for the soft, moist and tender texture:
- Meats: the combination of ground beef and pork is the key to the best texture. (I’ve had friends try different meat combinations in my recipe and it did not work out well.) Another important meat suggestion is to use 85%-15% ground beef meat to fat ratio for the juiciest meatballs.
- Milk-soaked bread – that is an old fashioned way to making meatballs but still holds true! It works much better than bread crumbs to keep meatballs moist and to keep them from falling apart.
- Parmesan cheese – fresh grated parmesan is best and it works as a triple threat: adds flavor, acts as a binder, and contributes to juicy texture.
Aromatics – these are your flavor ingredients and I tend to keep them simple but powerful. I prefer to use fresh herbs like basil and parsley for the best flavor punch. (It okay to use dried herbs when needed as well, just use half the amount since they are more potent.) Fresh garlic also tastes far better than pre-minced!
Gluten free option: use gluten free bread instead of regular bread. Gluten free bread slices tend to be much smaller than regular bread, so I usually use two slices of gluten free bread.
How To Make Italian Meatballs: Step-By Step
- Start soaking the bread before fathering the other ingredients, this will give the bread some extra time. Combine all the meatballs ingredients in a mixing bowl and then squeeze the bread and crumble it in last. Mix well but fast and don’t overmix!
- Roll the meatballs first and place them on a parchment paper to wait for the pan to preheat. You never want to start adding meatballs to the pan while still rolling or your first meatballs will be overcooked while last ones are still cooking.
- When the pan is preheated, then add all the meatballs. You will heat the signature beautiful sizzle as you add the meatballs! Sear them on one side for a minute or two and then flip. Let them start cooking on that side and then add the sauce all over.
- Transfer the meatballs into the preheated oven and bake them at 350°F for about 20 minutes. Cooking meatballs in sauce is essentials for the best flavor of the meatballs AND the sauce!
Tips For Making Italian Meatballs
To keep the even size, I highly recommend that you use a cookies scoop. This will help you get an even amount each time. Roll them all before starting to cook. I usually use a #50 or #40 cookie scoop. If you don’t have one, use a spoon and try to keep the meatballs as equal size as you can.
Don’t overmix the meat mixture! Mix just until combined because if you overmix, meatballs are more likely to be dense.
If you plan to serve the meatballs with spaghetti, you can even add a little extra sauce while cooking meatballs, so there is more for pasta.
Freezing Instructions
Best way to freeze meatballs is completely cooked and without sauce. You can still freeze them in this marinara sauce, but it’s best to freeze them without:
- Cook the meatballs per recipe and let them cool completely. To cool faster, transfer the meatballs onto the wire rack and place the wire rack inside a baking sheet.
- Once the meatballs are cooled, move the wire rack into the freezer for about 2 hours. (Set a timer so you don’t forget.) Once frozen, divide them among the freezer bags (or into one large one), close them tight, label and freeze for up to 3 months.
- To freeze with the marinara sauce, transfer cooled meatballs in sauce into a large freezer zip-top bag or divide them into several portions. You can also use a large freezer container. Make sure to get as much air out as you can, label, and freeze for up to 3 months.
Recipe FAQs
Can I prepare the meatballs ahead of time?
You can make the sauce ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator. If you want to make the meatballs ahead of time, cook them first. Store cooked meatballs in the refrigerator and then reheat them in the oven or a slow cooker the next day. Do NOT roll meatballs and store them uncooked!
Can I cook the meatballs in a slow cooker?
Yes, you can carefully transfer the meatballs into the slow cooker after searing (do sear first!) and then add the sauce. Cover and let them cook for 3 hours on high or 6 hours on low.
Will this recipe work with another ground meat?
Yes, this is a very similar recipe that I use for my turkey meatballs or chicken meatballs. If you want to make this recipe with turkey or chicken, don’t mix meats. Use all turkey or all chicken. (Note that if you meat mixture is too thin, you can add a 2 Tbsp-1/4 cup of bread crumbs.)
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The BEST Italian Meatballs Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef 85%-15% meat to fat ratio
- 1 lb ground pork
- 1 thick slice of bread soaked in a little milk (milk squeezed out)
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup yellow onion minced
- 3 garlic cloves pressed
- 1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
- 2 tbsp fresh basil minced
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley minced
- 3 cups good quality Marinara sauce, warmed homemade or store-bought
- 2-3 tbsp olive oil for cooking
- 1 tsp kosher coarse or sea salt to taste
- 1/4-1/2 tsp black pepper to taste
Topping:
- 2 tbsp fresh basil minced to top
- 2 tbsp fresh grated parmesan cheese to top
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Combine the ground beef, ground pork, eggs, parmesan cheese, minced onion, pressed garlic, herbs, salt, and pepper in large mixing bowl. Squeeze out the slice of bread, break it up, and add it to the bowl. Mix everything until combined but don't overmix.
- Preheat a large cooking pan that is also oven-safe over medium to medium-high heat. Add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil for cooking meatballs.
- Grease your hands with some cooking spray. Scoop out some meat using a cookie scoop and roll meatballs. (You can make meatballs bigger or smaller according to your own preference. I usually use #40 cookie scoop. If you want them bigger, use #30 scoop.)
- Roll all the meatballs before adding them to the pan. Once all the meatballs are rolled, add them to the preheated pan.
- Sear the meatballs for a couple of minutes, then flip. Let them sear on that side for a few seconds and pour in warm marinara sauce.
- Gently shake the pan to spread the sauce evenly and transfer the pan into the oven.
- Bake meatballs for about 20 minutes.
- Garnish cooked meatballs with some minced basil and grated parmesan over the top.
Video
Notes
- Gluten free note: use gluten free bread instead of regular bread. Gluten free bread slices tend to be much smaller than regular bread, so I usually use two slices of gluten free bread.
- Store Bought sauce suggestion: You will need a 24 oz. jar. My personal favorite brands are La San Marzano Marinara Sauce or Rao’s Homemade Marinara Sauce.
- Storing: Store cooled meatballs in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Add some spice: if you want to add a little heat to the meatballs, mix in 1/2-1 tsp of crushed red pepper flakes into the meat mixture.
Nutrition
Serving Suggestions
- The most classic way to serve Italian meatballs is of course, over spaghetti.
- Second place goes to the Meatball Sub.
- You can always cut the leftover meatballs and make a Cheesy Meatball Dip.
- Instead of pasta, serve meatballs with a side of mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes, or rice pilaf.
- For a healthier side options, serve them over zoodles, quinoa, mashed cauliflower, roasted cauliflower, or in a lettuce wrap.
More Comforting Meatballs Recipes
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles in July 2018.
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Categories:
Beef Recipes, Dinner Recipes, Gluten Free Recipes, Italian Dinner Recipes, Most Popular Recipes,All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
These are by far the best meatballs I have ever made. They are great to have on hand for a quick protein snack, a few along with a salad for lunch or dinner or for spaghetti and meatballs. Amazing!
Thank you so much! I’m so happy to hear how much you loved the meatballs. Thanks for taking the time to share your feedback, it made my day!
Made these for a potluck and they were a HUGE hit! I ended up using turkey and pork to make it a little healthier & no one could tell (probably because the sauce was chefs kiss)
So glad it worked out well and that it was a hit! Thank you for coming to tell me 🙂
How big exactly is a “thick slice of bread”? An inch, 2 inches?
Hi Sue, you’re looking for a couple of ounces. Just not something “thinly sliced,” and if using super soft bread, maybe a little less than an inch. It’s not like baking, where you need to get super exact, lol.
Perfect meatball recipe.
Thank you, Lousia! I am so glad you like the meatballs!
One of our favorite recipes!!! Always comes ou
That is great to hear! I am so glad you like the recipe!
Can this be done in crock pot as well
Yes, you can cook the meatballs until almost done either in the oven or on stove-top (in a pan) and then transfer them into the crock pot. Top it off with sauce and then finish cooking on Low for about an hour. That’s plenty of time for the sauce to infuse the meatballs with flavor and give them time to finish cooking.
It sounds delicious! I have been looking for a new meatball recipe .Thanks for sharing.❤️
I hope you enjoy it!
would you be able to send your recipes to my E-mail.
Thanks!!
Brenda, you can click into the recipe card to print and it will let you save it to your computer.
Excellent recipe! Best meatballs I have ever made!
I’m cooking this tonight.
Can’t wait!
I hope you liked it! 🙂
fast – easy – tasty!
I had a few extra that would fit in the cast iron pan, so I air fried them… won’t do that again, use the cooking instruction’s for best results!
I am glad you liked them, Robin! I have never used the air fryer to make them so thanks for stopping by and letting me and my readers know!
These meatballs are to die for!
Awe, thank you so much!
Just lik my mother used to make! Excellent 😍
Aw I am so glad you like the recipe! 🙂
My family loved this recipe!
I am so happy to hear that!
So good!
Thanks, Fran!
Do you have a recommendation for using ground Turkey? Our family doesn’t eat beef. Thanks!
I have a recipe for Italian chicken meatballs and you can always switch the chicken out for turkey here is the link to that recipe https://gesundheitsreport2.org/italian-baked-chicken-meatballs/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
I am so glad he likes it! 🙂
Just made this for tonight’s dinner and approved by my family, even my grandma gave me thumbs up! Thank you for the beautiful recipe!
You are so welcome, Amelia! I am so glad you liked them! 🙂
These were the best meatballs! My entire family loved them and they reheated beautifully.
Thank you, Angela! I am so pleased you liked them!
Oh my goodness!! We made these last week and they are sooo good! If I were going to freeze them would I just cook them in the pan and then freeze so that when they come out of the freezer I just need to cook in sauce?
Hi Courtney,
I am so glad you liked them! I actually have a whole post on how to freeze meatballs that will go over everything you need to know, the link will be at the bottom of this comment. Thanks, for stopping by.
https://gesundheitsreport2.org/how-to-freezing-meatballs/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
These look amazing. Can I ask, do you drain the pan before adding sauce? I plan to try these tonight!
Hi Lori,
I don’t drain the pan because it has a lot of flavor but you can if you like.
Do you add basil in the meat also, or just for garnish?
Hi Alexandra,
Yes, I add 2 tbsp fresh minced basil into the meatball mixture. You can see the list of ingredients above in the recipe card.
I’m using this recipe to freeze the meatballs. The freezer directions sound like you only cook them in the oven and not in the pan first. What do you recommend doing?
I have heavy cream. Do you think I could add some water and soak the bread or oats in that?
Hi Rachel,
Yes, you can soak them in the heavy cream that will be fine just make sure to squeeze out excess cream. I hope you enjoy them!
I’ve been using this recipe for a long time now and it is PERFECT. I always make it using just Italian breadcrumbs and I have no complaints. Thank you for this and for your directions on how to freeze meatballs! <3
Hi Alexis,
I am so happy you enjoy these meatballs! Thank you for taking the time to stop by and tell me!
Delicious with TONS of flavor! I just baked them in the oven, then added to sauce before serving. Amazing!
Excellent meatballs!
Thank you, Jacquie!
Delicious meatballs! We loved them! I added Parmesan, used dried basil, 1 tsp of salt, and cooked in the oven at 400 for 18 minutes before adding to the sauce. Perfect for your meatball sub recipe!
Thanks, Crissy! I am so glad you liked them so much!
I tried this last evening. Five stars. I have cooked all my life, but had never made meatballs. These are delicious!!! I did a couple things differently but great recipe. Got lucky my first time!!!
That’s great to hear! Glad you liked them, Laurie!
Looks like a wonderful recipe I will have to try yours. But I have to say (and I am not sure if you are Italian or not) but all the ingredients are spot on only problem is a REAL Italian meatball is more like 3 to 4 inches not one inch unless you are trying to stretch the recipe to serve more
Thanks, Bobby! I am glad you like them!
Seriously???????
Where is the Italian in the name“ Bobby”??
If I were putting these in a crockpot with sauce in it can I just put them In after I cook them? I precook my sauce because sauce not cooked all day makes me sick.
Yes, you can just put them in the crockpot once you cook them. Hope you like them, Misty!
Just made your meatballs. Definitely my favorite! I subbed3 slices of white bread and used all beef, basil, and green onion from my garden. It’s funny that I don’t even like meatballs, or ground beef in general, but I could eat these all day!
Hi, Elyza! I am so glad you liked them!
Great meatball recipe! Flavorful, moist meatballs!
Thank you, Marilyn!
This is my go-to recipe for meatballs. I make mine gluten free and soak up as much milk as I can in the bread/crumbs. This is my trick and shouldn’t be overlooked. I give this step up to 30 minutes and keep adding milk until the bread won’t absorb any more. Great Recipe!!!
Oh, I’m so glad you like it! I make a batch for myself gluten free as well. I use the Schar brand of gluten free bread because it’s the closest to regular bread. I don’t even notice a difference!
Do you recommend using any specific milk? Whole milk, 1% etc
Hi Catherine, you can use whatever milk you have in the fridge
Half and half?
I made these tonight and they were delicious,!! I wouldn’t change anything about this recipe. Thank you for sharing.
I’m so happy to hear that, Sheila! Thank you 🙂
Confusing video. You have us preheat oven and say to “bake” for 20 min but you show frying pan in which you have seared them. As if that’s how you complete the task. But you have to transfer to baking pan to put in oven do you not? Why skip final step? If we’re making them in frying pan why did we preheat an oven and use term “bake”?
Oven safe pan on stovetop to start….Finish in oven…”Preheat a large cooking pan that is also oven-safe over medium heat.” Hope that helps,making these today
Hello Pam!
I’m sorry, the video is a bit fast I can see how it can be confusing.
Paul is correct, you start on the stovetop by searing the meatballs and then, after adding the sauce, the meatballs in the pan go into the oven to be baked. Make sure to use an oven-safe pan that can go from stovetop to oven (no plastic handles and that can go into high heat).
I normally don’t comment on recipes even if they are 5 stars but I had too.
Made these meatballs tonight and they were beyond fantastic.
I added grated parmigiana reggiano to the meatball mixture & used dried basil because I didn’t have fresh.
Super easy one pot recipe since the covered pan goes into the oven.
Will definitely make more and freeze.
Hi!
Do I leave the lid on when I put them in the oven?
I have the same question but figured it was just me who was uncertain.
I am such a sucker for meatballs and these are perfect!
I’m so glad you liked them, Erin! These are my family favorite as well 🙂
These meatballs look so good!
Thank you so much, Christy! I hope you will like the taste as much 😀
Seriously delicious comfort food. My guys would eat this every night of the week!
I hope you will like it as much as your boys 🙂
This is very similar to recipes I’ve made over the years for stuffed cabbages or meatballs. Very very good and very close. To my homemade. The pork or ground lamb is the thing that holds them together and keeps them tender I just add a little bread and a little milk and eggs it works fine for me.
Thank you, Emerson!
You reminded me of stuffed cabbage and now I really want some 🙂
I am making now and I just realised no where in the recipe does it say how much salt and black pepper to use. So do I assume it’s a.dash ???
Hi Veronica!
I really hope you enjoyed the meatballs! I don’t usually put how much salt and pepper because people have such different salt and pepper tolerance. Even in my own family, we like different amounts of salt. It’s easy to adjust the sauce because you can taste it but in meatballs, I always estimate. And remember, it’s better to under-salt because you can always add more but you can’t take away 🙂
I made these today! They’re in the oven right now. I can’t wait to try them! Will let you know how they turned out later. I usually put cheese in my meatballs so I’m curious to see how these come out tasting…
Thank you, Connie! How was it? You can definitely add Parmesan cheese to it right inside if you wish 🙂
These are truly the best homemade meatballs ever! My boyfriend and I both agree 🙂 Thanks for a wonderful recipe Lyuba!
Awe, thank you, thank you, thank you!
And thank you for coming to tell me!
Lyuba thanks for this recipe, my boyfriend looooooves meatballs! We can make these together! 🙂
He will be happy then 😉 It would be such a fun date night!!
These meatball have been popular at every party I’ve ever brought them. Thank you, Amanda!!
We
My wife and I loved the recipe! She is not a fan of meatballs but with these she is hooked. We did a “Godfather” dinner and enjoyed them and then a few months later cooked up some of the meatballs we froze and made meatball subs. OMG! Thanx for the recipe!
Haha, that’s awesome!
I’m so glad she liked them 🙂 that makes me happy!
WOW!!! We made these the other night and they are AWESOME!! Even my extremely picky 9 year old loved these. Thank you so much for sharing. I am new to your blog and cannot wait to cook more of your recipes 🙂
This makes me to happy! I’m so glad you liked it 🙂
i do love a good meatball…i think i would stuff 2 or 3 of those bad boys into a roll and chow down. boy am i craving these now! thank you for sharing with tuesday night supper club.
Hi! I hope you are having a wonderful day. I loved this recipe so much that I featured it on Yummy Thursday over at Humble Homemaking. Thanks so much for sharing your inspirational recipe! Head over to the link below to check it out and collect your featured button. 🙂Humble Homemaking
This looks yummy. I need a link to my party added in your post please. Not just on the sidebar. No one knows what party you are linked, too. Thanks for joining WUW.
we love recipes like this at my house believe I will save recipe and share it with my family
Your meatballs look delicious. Thank you for sharing and you have a great day!
Look and sounds so yummy! – Bloghopping from C.R.A.F.T! Have a nice day!
These sound delicious. My hubby loves meatballs.megancraftycpa.blogspot.com