The Best Italian Meatball Recipe
Recipe and top tips to make the BEST Italian meatballs. Recipe can be doubled or tripled.
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 400kcal
Ingredients
The Ground Meat
- 1 pound ground meat traditionally a combination of ground beef, veal, and pork; may use all beef or beef and pork (can substitute any ground meat you'd like) (fresh is best, try not to use frozen)
To Make the Panade
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder or 1 clove per pound of meat
- 2 tbsp dried onion flakes (rehydrated with boiling water and drained) (can use double if you love onion flavor - I do!) can use 1/2 small onion, per pound of meat; (finely chopped and sautéed) (or double if you like onion flavor)
- 1 handful fresh basil, finely chopped can use frozen instead (dried doesn't taste at all like fresh)
- 1 handful fresh parsley, finely chopped can use dried instead (1 tablespoon per pound)
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 slices white bread
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese , grated
- 2 tablespoons milk (or water in a pinch) (see NOTE) NOTE: up to 1/2 cup depending on how dry and dense your bread is; you will need enough to make a thick paste or to soften all of the bread; older bread will need more liquid.
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
To Cook the Meatballs
- oil for frying optional (to use if frying)
- marinara sauce for cooking and/or serving
Instructions
- Place ground meat in a large bowl and set aside
- Make the panade: Add the bread to a large bowl and add enough milk (or water) to make moisten all of the bread into a very thick paste mixture.
- Add remaining ingredients for the panade and combine well.
- Lightly combine the panade with the ground meat. (try not to compress mixture too much when mixing)
- If time allows, let the mixture sit in an airtight container in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or overnight if possible to enable flavors to marry
- Just before cooking, form the meat mixture into golf ball sized meatballs and set onto a lined cookie sheet.
To Fry:
- Heat about 1 inch of oil in non-stick skillet over medium high heat and then lightly brown the meatballs in batches (they can also be baked at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes depending on size)
- Place browned meatballs in a pot of spaghetti sauce and cook over very low heat for about 30 to 45 minutes.
To Oven Fry:
- Bake meatballs for about 15 minutes at 450 F.
- Warm in simmering spaghetti sauce to heat through and continue cooking for about 30 minutes.
Video
Notes
Store leftovers for 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator or 2 to 3 months in the freezer.
Nutrition
Calories: 400kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 136mg | Sodium: 535mg | Potassium: 357mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 275IU | Vitamin C: 1.3mg | Calcium: 120mg | Iron: 2.8mg