The Best Italian Meatball Recipe
Published March 17, 2024. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
This Homemade Italian Meatball Recipe is jam-packed with beef, pork, cheese, bread, herbs, and a secret procedure, making it the best. Many have told me that this is, hands down, their favorite recipe. Don’t believe me? Just check out the comments below.
Who doesn’t love Italian food? It’s one of my favorite cuisines, and not just because of my heritage. The food is rich in flavor and almost always easy to make. Try out some of my favorites, like Chicken Parmigiana or Pasta Carbonara.
Italian Meatballs Recipe
Meatballs consist of finely minced meat, vegetables, seasonings, and binders like eggs and breadcrumbs to help keep them together. They are then cooked and served in a myriad of ways, from pan-fried to baked to poached in sauce. They can be made from chicken, veal, beef, or pork. In addition, almost every country has its version, but my recipe is an Italian-style meatball.
While most folks think of serving these in the traditional spaghetti and meatballs sense, they can also be served as the primary protein in any meal. Feel free to try them over mashed potatoes or rice, with a side of green beans, or even in an Italian Wedding Soup.
What’s the Secret to Tender Meatballs?
I believe the secret to maintaining a juicy, flavorful, tender meatball is using “wet bread” instead of breadcrumbs. Breadcrumbs absorb too much moisture from the meat and can often dry it when heated. Wet bread puffs up and creates air pockets, making the meatballs soft, tender, and more delicious.
You can soak the bread in two main ingredients: water or milk. After testing both, I do not see a big difference in flavor, so I recommend saving money and using water.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Beef – I use a 90/10 lean-to-fat ground sirloin. However, you can also use ground chuck, which is 80/20. Feel free to use homemade ground beef as well.
- Pork – Ground pork is what you will need for this.
- Bread – Any good artisan bread, such as Italian or French bread, will work.
- Onions — You can use red, white, sweet, or yellow onions. In addition, you’ll need fresh whole garlic cloves.
- Herbs – I used fresh basil, parsley, and rosemary in these meatballs.
- Cheese – Parmigiano Reggiano cheese is best, but you can also use pecorino Romano.
How to Make Meatballs from Scratch
- Submerge some Italian or French bread in water for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Prepare the onions and garlic and add them to a bowl. I usually do this stage while the bread is soaking.
- Squeeze as much liquid from the water-soaked bread as possible and add it to the bowl with the onions and garlic.
- Add ground beef and ground pork to the bowl as well. I like to use ground sirloin at a 90/10 ratio of lean to fat.
- Add the eggs, parsley, rosemary, basil, parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper to the bowl. Use all fresh herbs, and you can also add fresh oregano to the mix.
- Mix everything in the bowl until thoroughly combined.
- Form golf ball-sized meatballs using your hands and place them on a cookie sheet tray lined with parchment paper.
- Bake at 425° for 25 to 30 minutes. This recipe makes 40 meatballs, so freeze the remaining uneaten meatballs. Watch the video below to see all the different ways you can cook the meatballs.
How to Cook Meatballs in Sauce
- Start by browning all sides of the meatballs in a large sauté pan over medium heat with 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil, which takes about 6-8 minutes.
- Next, add them to the pot of Pomodoro sauce and simmer over low heat for 15-20 minutes or until thoroughly cooked. I prefer to pan-sear the meatballs or cook them directly in the oven.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: These can be made 2 to 3 hours ahead of time. Just keep them warm and covered at very low temperatures.
How to Store: Cover in plastic and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. The meatballs freeze well covered in plastic for up to 3 months. Thaw them in the fridge for 1 day before reheating.
How to Reheat: Add the meatballs to a casserole dish and cover them with foil. Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes at 375° or until warm. If serving with spaghetti and sauce, place them in a saucepot along with the sauce and cook over low heat until warm.
CHEF NOTES + TIPS
- Once the pan-fried or baked meatballs are browned, add them to the sauce and simmer them over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes or until thoroughly cooked throughout.
- This is a personal choice, but for serving, I like to coat the meatballs in the Pomodoro sauce and set them to the side. Then, I add the cooked pasta to the sauce and toss it around until coated. I then serve the tomato sauce-coated meatballs over top of the pasta with a garnish of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and parsley.
- Feel free also to soak the bread in milk.
- The size of the loaf of bread doesn’t matter. It will not affect the recipe if it’s bigger or smaller than the one I used. Do your best to eyeball it. I used about 10-11 inches of a 16-inch loaf if you need specific details.
- When people say food is bland, in almost 99.9% of cases, it’s because of a lack of salt and pepper. Season it well, cook a small piece, and taste it. From there, determine whether it’s good enough or needs more, and then repeat the process until you get it right.
- These meatballs don’t need to be served in a tomato sauce specifically; they will also work on soups, sandwiches, mashed potatoes with gravy, or pizza.
More Italian Recipes
Video
The Best Meatball Recipe Ever
Ingredients
For the Meatballs:
- 2/3 loaf of French or Italian bread submerged in cold water
- 2 small peeled and small diced yellow onion
- 4 finely minced cloves of garlic
- 1 ½ pounds 90/10 ground sirloin
- 1 ½ pounds ground pork
- 4 large eggs
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1 ½ tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
- 1 heaping cup of grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
- 1 ½ tablespoons coarse salt and ½ teaspoon pepper
Optional Spaghetti and Sauce
- 1 pound uncooked spaghetti noodles
- ½ batch of Pomodoro sauce
Instructions
- Preheat the oven 425°.
- Add the bread to a large bowl or pan and completely submerge it in water. See the video above.
- Squeeze as much liquid out of the water-soaked bread as possible, and add to a large bowl along with all of the meatball ingredients and mix until completely combined.
- Next, form golf-ball-sized meatballs and place them 1” apart on cookie sheet trays lined with parchment paper.
- Bake them at 425° for 25 to 30 minutes or until they begin to get a little brown on top and are cooked throughout. Serve.
- Optional: With 10 minutes left in the cooking process add the spaghetti to a large pot of boiling salted water and cook until al dente, about 7-8 minutes. Be sure to stir occasionally so that the pasta does not stick.
- Remove the meatballs from the oven, place the desired serving amount for 4 people into the sauce, and coat in the sauce. Remove and briefly set them aside.
- Add the cooked spaghetti to the sauce and toss to coat.
- Serve with meatballs over top and garnish with Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and parsley.
I come from a large Italian family and at a young age learned a lot from my grandfarher who was an amazing chef. I pride myself on being a good cook and I love cooking for our family, especially around the holidays. The one thing I have never been able to master was a really good meatball, that was until I searched for “the best meatball recipe” and this one appeared with its glowing 5 star reviews – worth every star! I made a huge batch for a family party and everyone loved them. The best moment was when (I almost cried) my husband told me they were as good as his late mother’s. THANK YOU!!!!!
My pleasure!
OMG, these are good! I’ve made it twice so far and fantastic both times. The first time I didn’t care for the large pieces of bread crust, so the second time I tore the bread into large chunks and copped them up medium fine in the food processor, then soaked in just enough water that I didn’t even have to squeeze the water out. Also, I like them best with the outside seared and then baked for 20 minutes. I finish one meatball and taste in case more seasoning is needed, but both times following this recipe gave the meatballs the perfect flavor. I’ve never had meatballs this flavorful. Thanks for such a fantastic recipe!
Thanks for giving it a shot!!
I have been making meatballs for 20 years and am ditching my tried and true recipe for yours. My husband has always eaten them and likes them but has always said, “They are really good, I’m just not a big meatball fan”. Well, I decide to give this recipe a try because every recipe of yours has been a home run in my house. My husband almost licked his bowl clean, lol. He begged me to make this once a week. It really is delicious and put my Italian mother-in-law’s handed down recipe to shame. Thanks for helping me win the meatball battle 😂
These are the most tender and flavorful meatballs I’ve ever made or even had at my favorite restaurant!
Awesome! Thank you!!
I might suggest a weight or volume of bread to use as loaves vary in size and weight for those who are not as good at eyeing it.
My family has demanded me to make this recipe a few times this year! It is amazing!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
The hubs and I decided to feast on this for Thanksgiving dinner. Incredible! This makes a TON of meatballs, and I’m pretty stoked about all the easy freezer meal options that come with making this recipe! A surplus of magic authentic Italian food? Yes, please! I’m already sharing this recipe, and yummy Pomodoro recipe, far and wide.
Excellent!
Can I use a ciabatta baguette? It’s what I have on hand
sure
Very yummy!
Oh my goodness! I stopped trying to make meatballs because I could never get them right. Made these for dinner. Luscious and melt in the mouth delicious!
Excellent! Thanks for giving the recipe a try!
I made these for a family get together and they were so good. They were tender and flavorful. This is my go to meatball recipe now.
Excellent!
Substitute basil for the rosemary and you’ve mostly duplicated my Abruzzo grandmother’s recipe. I watched her make them so often on Sunday mornings before Mass that I can eyeball the ingredients and quantities. Never baked them before, just cooked them in a cast iron skillet, will have to try that.
Love all your recipes, keep them coming…
Thank you!