Chef John's Italian Meatballs Recipe

"Homemade meatballs are a very easy to make, and since we skip the very messy step of pan-frying these before they hit the sauce, it becomes downright simple. Here I use a standard half-beef/half-pork mixture. You can substitute water or beef broth for the milk, if preferred."

Ingredients

  • Adjust
  • US
  • Metric
  • 1/3 cup plain bread crumbs
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 pound ground pork
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/4 bunch fresh parsley, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 teaspoon dried Italian herb seasoning
  • 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
  • Directions

  • Prep
  • Cook
  • Ready In
    1. Cover a baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.
    2. Soak bread crumbs in milk in a small bowl for 20 minutes.
    3. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir onions in hot oil until translucent, about 20 minutes.
    4. Mix beef and pork together in a large bowl. Stir onions, bread crumb mixture, eggs, parsley, garlic, salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, Italian herb seasoning, and Parmesan cheese into meat mixture with a rubber spatula until combined. Cover and refrigerate for about one hour.
    5. Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
    6. Using wet hands, form meat mixture into balls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Arrange onto prepared baking sheet.
    7. Bake in the preheated oven until browned and cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes.

    Footnotes

    • Cook’s Notes:
    • Some recipes use equal portions of beef, veal, and pork, which is also nice, yet more expensive. These days you can find all sorts of lean-to-fat ratios for ground beef. Most stores sell 90% lean, 10% fat, but I prefer the 80% lean, 20% fat ratio for this recipe.
    • Once cooked, you can add the meatballs to your favorite prepared tomato sauce for 1 to 2 hours.
    • Tip
    • Parchment can be used for easier cleanup/removal from the pan.

    Nutrition Facts

    Per Serving: 82 calories;5.5 g fat;1.7 g carbohydrates;6.2 g protein;32 mg cholesterol;192 mg sodium.Full nutrition
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