These classic Italian Meatballs are my family’s absolute favorite. Juicy, tender, meatballs made with a combination of ground pork and ground beef, parmesan cheese, garlic, herbs, and cooked in a delicious marinara sauce. Serve them over spaghetti, baked in a sub, or with your favorite sides.
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Family Favorite 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 comes 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 the first one my husband asks for.
I wanted to resurrect this classic dish from the years of newer recipes and share it with all my new readers. It’s a dish worth re-sharing over and over again.
Ingredients Notes and Substitutions
Meat – using ground beef and group pork together will make the best juicy meatballs. You can use lean ground beef like 90/10, but it tends to be chewier due to the lack of fat. I prefer to use 85/15 or even 80/20 ground beef for juicier and tastier beef.
Bread – use a slice of wheat or white bread. If you need to make it gluten free, use 2 slices of gluten free bread. (If you’d rather use bread crumbs, use 1/2-3/4 cup plain bread crumbs or Panko bread crumbs. Use gluten free if needed.)
Garlic – using fresh garlic is always your best option.
Herbs – use an aromatic combination of fresh basil and fresh parsley. If you don’t have access to fresh herbs, it’s completely okay to use dried herbs. Just remember that dried herbs do tend to me more potent, so use half the amount listed in the recipe.
Parmesan Cheese – you will need freshly grated parmesan cheese for the BEST results. It has the best potent flavor and melts better. If you don’t have the time to grate it yourself, some deli sections of the grocery store will have freshly grated parmesan cheese available. For the best tasting soup, save the rind of the parmesan block and cook it with the soup.
Eggs – eggs are important to use because they serve as a binder to keep that meatballs together.
Marinara sauce – this is, where I believe, is a great chance to make your Italian meatballs shine. Prepare your own, homemade marinara sauce for the best tasting meatballs. Marinara sauce is easy to make ahead of time or freeze it for later.
See recipe card for complete information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Italian Meatballs
Prepare the meatballs: Combine all of the ingredients for the meatballs mixture and mix it thorough but fast.
Roll them up: 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.
PRO TIP: 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.
Cooking:
Preheat a large skillet (or another cooking pan that can go stove to oven safely) over medium heat and add olive oil.
Sear the meatballs until golden, flip, and add the sauce. Gently shake the pan to spread the sauce and pop it into the preheated oven. Bake at 350° for about 20 minutes.
Tips For The Italian Meatballs:
- For juicy, tender Italian meatballs it’s best to combine ground beef and ground pork together. Ground beef on it’s own can be tough and dry, adding pork will give you juicier and softer texture.
- When choosing ground beef, don’t get lean ground beef but get about 85% lean to 15% fat ratio. (It will say the meat to fat ratio right on the package label.)
- Either bread crumbs or milk soaked bread can be used. I prefer to use milk soaked bread because there is something about this old traditional way that creates a tastier, more tender meatball.
- Finely dice yellow onion and press fresh garlic for the meat mixture to infuse more flavor and again, it will create the best texture over using powder onion and garlic.
- Adding fresh herbs will give you more flavor and aroma in the meatball, rather than dried herbs. Fresh ones are more aromatic than dried.
- When choosing marinara sauce, use your favorite one. Whether it’s homemade or store-bought, your favorite sauce will always taste the best to you.
- If trying to decide on store-bought sauce, personally, I like La San Marzano Marinara Sauce or Rao’s Homemade Marinara Sauce.
- For the last flavor enhancing step, add sauce when the meatballs are only about half way cooked and then finish cooking them in sauce. Flavor, flavor!
Frequently Asked Questions
This is a very simple swap actually! You can 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. (If you don’t plan to use bread, there are lots of gluten free bread crumbs options that you can use.)
Make sure to double check the labels of remaining ingredients and if using store-bought sauce, check the label of it as well.
Even though I always prefer homemade pasta sauce, I still keep a jar of marinara in a pantry just in case. Personally, I like La San Marzano Marinara Sauce or Rao’s Homemade Marinara Sauce. For a more budget friendly option, Whole Foods has a pretty good sauce in their brand, 365 Organic Marinara.
Ground Italian sausage is actually quite a common substitution that people make instead of ground pork. You can also use ground veal if you wish, instead of either pork or beef.
Serving Suggestions
The most classic way to serve Italian meatballs is of course, over spaghetti. You can’t get more traditional or comforting meal than that.
Second place goes to the Meatball Sub. These meatballs make the absolute best Meatball Subs!
You can always cut the leftover meatballs and make a Cheesy Meatball Dip.
If pasta is not your friend, you can serve meatballs with a side of mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes, or rice pilaf.
For a healthier options, serve them over zoodles, quinoa, mashed cauliflower, roasted cauliflower, or in a lettuce wrap.
Freezing Meatballs
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, starting on stove-top and then finish them off in the oven. Take them meatballs out and let them cool completely. To help them cool, you can transfer the meatballs onto the wire rack. Just make sure to place the wire rack inside a baking sheet to catch any juices running off.
Once the meatballs are cooled, move the wire rack into the freezer for about 2 hours. (Set a timer so you don’t forget.) After the meatballs are just frozen, divide them among the freezer bags (or into one large one), close them tight, label and place back in the freezer for up to 3 months.
If you want to freeze them 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.
PRO TIP: You can find detailed, step-by-step instructions on how to freeze meatballs in a designated posts.
More Comforting Meatballs Recipes
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The BEST Italian Meatballs Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef*
- 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 Marinara sauce*** warmed
- 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°.
- 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 very well.
- 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
- *For the juiciest meatballs, get 85%-15% meat to fat ratio of ground beef.
- **Milk-soaked bread can be substituted with 1/2-3/4 cup of plain bread crumbs or Panko bread crumbs, if needed.
- **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. (If you don’t plan to use bread, there are lots of gluten free bread crumbs options that you can use.)
- ***You can click on the link to use our homemade Marinara sauce recipe or use your favorite brand of store-bought. You will need a 24 oz. jar. (My personal favorite brands are La San Marzano Marinara Sauce or Rao’s Homemade Marinara Sauce.
Nutrition
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles in July 2018.
Misty says
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.
LyubaB says
Yes, you can just put them in the crockpot once you cook them. Hope you like them, Misty!
Elyza says
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!
LyubaB says
Hi, Elyza! I am so glad you liked them!
Marilyn S says
Great meatball recipe! Flavorful, moist meatballs!
LyubaB says
Thank you, Marilyn!
Donna says
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!!!
lyuba says
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!
Catherine says
Do you recommend using any specific milk? Whole milk, 1% etc
LyubaB says
Hi Catherine, you can use whatever milk you have in the fridge
Sue says
Half and half?
Sheila says
I made these tonight and they were delicious,!! I wouldn’t change anything about this recipe. Thank you for sharing.
lyuba says
I’m so happy to hear that, Sheila! Thank you 🙂
Pam says
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”?
Paul says
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
lyuba says
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).
Bev says
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.
Nicole Jacobs says
Hi!
Do I leave the lid on when I put them in the oven?
Rachel says
I have the same question but figured it was just me who was uncertain.
Erin says
I am such a sucker for meatballs and these are perfect!
lyuba says
I’m so glad you liked them, Erin! These are my family favorite as well 🙂
Christy Denney says
These meatballs look so good!
lyuba says
Thank you so much, Christy! I hope you will like the taste as much 😀
Milisa says
Seriously delicious comfort food. My guys would eat this every night of the week!
lyuba says
I hope you will like it as much as your boys 🙂
Emerson says
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.
lyuba says
Thank you, Emerson!
You reminded me of stuffed cabbage and now I really want some 🙂