An Authentic Italian Meatball Recipe - tender and delicious homemade meatballs loaded with herbs and cheese. With only a few simple ingredients, our recipe will leave your friends and family asking for this meal again and again! Don't forget to try out Homemade Tomato Sauce Recipe, too.
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Homemade Italian Meatballs are a labor of love in our family. It's the meal that gets made for holidays or potlucks.
We bring this to friends and family that need just had a baby or surgery or lost a loved one. It is our comfort food.
Mr. Juggling Act is the meatball maker in our home. He perfected his craft as a teen working in his dad's pizza shop. Now, Olivia is learning quickly and getting the hang of it, too!
On Christmas Eve, we put our homemade Italian meatballs with our Homemade Tomato Sauce recipe into the slow cooker. The meatballs become super tender and the whole house smells delicious.
Despite everyone nibbling Christmas cookies and the meat and cheese board, everyone always has room for meatballs! We serve them sometimes with cavatelli or gnocchi, which we save for special occasions!
💭 Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some questions (and answers!) readers often ask about this recipe.
Meatballs fall apart because of the binder. Too many breadcrumbs make them crumble, not enough will do the same thing. This family recipe is tried and true. Perfect meatballs every time!
No, that step is not necessary as these meatballs are baked, not fried.
The meatballs are tough when the meat is overworked. Mix the mixture together just enough to combine the ingredients.
Using your hands will help you know when the meat is mixed well enough. Rolling the meatballs gently between your palms until they just come together, don't overwork.
No, simmering the meatballs in sauce keeps them moist and tender! I recommend serving these in this easy homemade tomato sauce recipe. It's rich and delicious, another family favorite!
Of course, you want to take care not to burn the sauce, because then everything will taste burnt.
Refrigerated, our authentic Italian meatballs will last about a week.
Yes, they freeze great! Here's how to freeze meatballs:
1. Wait until they are completely cooled.
2. Then place them in a freezer bag and remove as much of the air as possible.
3. Store in the freezer for up to 2 months.
🧂 Ingredients
To make these meatballs, you will need dried basil, granulated garlic, and dried parsley as well as salt and pepper from your pantry. You will also need:
- ground beef - 80/20 mix will ensure the meatballs are moist and delicious!
- ground pork - the richness of the pork is key in this recipe
- eggs and bread crumbs - to help bind the meatballs together
- grated Parmesan cheese - this salty cheese is perfect for meatballs!
This is meant to be a brief overview of the Italian meatball recipe. For step-by-step instructions and a full printable recipe card with ingredients, please scroll down to the teal box below or Jump to Recipe.
🔪Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix really well. Mr. Juggling Act uses his hands to mix.
- If the mixture feels very dense, you can add a splash of water.
- Roll the meat mixture into 2″ balls.
- The mixture will feel a little like dough that needs more flour; denser.
- TIP: Do not overwork the meatballs. Roll the meatball mixture gently between your palms until they just come together.
- Place meatballs on a large baking tray.
- Add about ½-inch of water to the tray to prevent the meatballs from sticking or burning.
- Bake in a 350-degree F oven for about 35-40 minutes, or until meatballs are browned.
Equipment
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📖 Variations
- If you do not want to use Parmesan cheese, substitute additional breadcrumbs.
- Instead of dried herbs, you can use half as much fresh. For example, use 1 tablespoon of fresh basil, chopped.
🍴 Serving Suggestions
Keep it simple and serve your pasta and meatball dinner with a Chicken Caesar Salad or Italian Bread Salad and Buttery Dinner Rolls.
My recipe for No-Bake Tiramisu Cups would make a perfect dessert!
😋 Similar Recipes
Next time you're in the mood for Italian food, try one of these tasty recipes:
- Italian Sausage Pasta with Blistered Tomatoes
- Easy Italian Bread Sticks
- Italian Pesto (Homemade Basil Pesto)
- Easy Eggplant Parmesan + Pasta
- Italian Style Chicken Sausage Soup
You'll also love:
- Italian Chicken Meatballs - Yummy meatballs made with chicken instead of beef and pork to cut down on fat. They freeze beautifully, and kids go crazy for them.
- Keto Chicken Meatballs - On a low carb diet? You can still enjoy tasty meatballs without all the carb-laden breadcrumbs. Enjoy them with your favorite keto marinara over zoodles.
Using leftover Meatballs
We love these super delicious and simple recipes for using leftover meatballs:
- Meatball Cupcakes are perfect for parties or game days! With a little store-bought dough, some cheese, and leftover meatballs, you have yourself some seriously delicious grub!
- Flavorful Meatball Calzone loaded with mozzarella and colby jack cheeses make an awesome easy weeknight meal.
- Leftover meatballs are perfect for this Meatball Slider Recipe. Grab some rolls and stack up these yummy little sandwiches.
- Grab some sub rolls and make our easy meatball subs.
📋 Authentic Italian Meatballs
Not ready to make these easy meatballs yet? Don’t forget to pin the recipe for later!
When you do make it, please be sure to tag me on Instagram @jugglingactmama or #jugglingactmama – I’d love to see your pictures! And finally, if you get a chance, please comment and leave me a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating below!
Homemade Meatballs
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Equipment
- Mixing Spoon
Ingredients
Homemade Meatballs
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 lb ground pork
- ½ cup dry breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoons dried basil
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 tablespoon granulated garlic
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 3 eggs
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
Homemade Meatballs
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix really well. Mr. Juggling Act uses his hands to mix. If the mixture feels very dense, you can add a splash of water.
- Roll the meat mixture into 2" balls. The mixture will feel a little like dough that needs more flour, more dense.
- TIP: Do not overwork the meatballs. Roll them gently between your palms until they just come together.
- Arrange the meatballs on a large baking tray. Add about ½-inch of water to the tray to prevent the meatballs from sticking or burning.
- Bake in a 350-degree F oven for about 35-40 minutes, or until meatballs are browned.
- If you wish to freeze some or all of the meatballs, wait until they are completely cooled. Place them in freezer bag and remove as much of the air as possible. Store in the freezer for up to 2 months.
- Cooked Meatballs can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
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Cassie says
I made these for dinner and they were very good. I will definitely make them again!
Ang Paris says
Hey Cassie! I'm SO happy you tried these and enjoyed them!
Thanks so much for stopping by to let me know 🙂
Christina Lamper says
I didn’t expect the recipe to be so simple. Can’t wait to try!
Ang Paris says
Super simple but so amazing!
Thanks for stopping by Christina 🙂
Bert Duplantis says
These are SO delicious! I doubled the recipe ... the others are still in the oven. Oh, and I might have eaten some of them, too.
I separated them into amounts of 6 to 8 and sealed them in Food Saver bags ... now they’re freezing, awaiting the time I need them for an easy meal or unexpected guests. THE BEST MEATBALL RECIPE EVER!
Robin Corby says
Excellent recipe ! The taste was outstanding and I've found my GoTo recipe for meatballs. Thank you
Robin Corby says
Thank you for the recipe!
Sueann says
This is the best meatball recipe I have ever made! I even make them into patties and bake them for Italian burgers!
Shondale Johnson says
This was a good recipe,thanks for posting. I put them in sweet baby rays barbecue sauce and they were good.
Taylor H says
My favorite Italian meatball recipe! Thank you so much for sharing your family recipe!!
Elaine says
Try grating Locatelli cheese and using it instead of the Parmesan...awesome flavor !!
Ang Paris says
Great tip, thanks, Elaine! I've also used grated romano and grated pecorino.