This is one of my favorite cold-weather Sunday night dinner recipes my dad makes. This homemade meatball recipe is seriously the BEST.
You'll love this homemade meatball recipe
They're easy. Once you make these homemade meatballs, you will never want to buy premade meatballs again.
They're so flavorful. If there's one thing about these meatballs, it's the fact that they are so FLAVORFUL. Simple ingredients come together to make one of the most delicious meatball you'll ever have.
They're a family favorite. Everyone always loves spaghetti and meatball Sundays at my parent's house. You can catch the meatballs being served in our family's go-to San Marzano Tomato Sauce.
Ingredients
Ground Beef. You'll need 1 lb of ground beef, or ground chuck. I get ground beef from ALDI, but my dad gets it from a grocery store meat counter. Whichever you prefer, or whatever is easiest for you!
Ground Pork. The ground pork adds so much flavor alongside the beef, it's absolutely necessary to include the ground pork!
Garlic. If you love garlic... you'll love this recipe. My dad uses a whole head of garlic. I wasn't lying when I said they were flavorful.
Onion. According to my dad's measurement "one medium onion" is what the recipe calls for. I highly recommend investing in a vegetable chopper. By investing... I mean it's $22 (currently) on Amazon. So I mean, I feel like you'll get a return on your investment shortly after purchasing.
Fresh Basil. Our family uses fresh basil in all our Italian recipes, as opposed to parsley, because my mom and I cannot STAND parsley. It tastes like soap the way cilantro does to some people.
Bread Crumbs. Bread crumbs are an essential part of this recipe for binding the meatballs. I don't bother with homemade, I just always have store-bought in my cabinet.
Egg. Similar to the breadcrumbs, eggs are really what holds everything together in this recipe. You'll need 4 of them, so be sure you open that carton and take inventory before you start with this recipe!
Parmesan Cheese. I will be honest with you, we use the Kraft green cap parmesan cheese for this recipe. It's what we've always used, and it's what we'll continue to use.
Milk. Milk, similar to breadcrumbs and eggs, are essential for making sure all the ingredients stay together.
How to make these homemade meatballs
- Preheat your oven to 350F.
- Dice your medium onion, add it to a large bowl.
- Peel, and finely chop, or mince, an entire head of garlic. Add your garlic to a large bowl.
- Chop an entire container (0.5 oz container) of basil. Add the basil to your large bowl.
- Add 1 lb ground beef, 1 lb ground pork, ½ cup breadcrumbs, 4 eggs, 3 oz milk and ⅔ cup parmesan cheese to the bowl.
- Using a spoon, carefully combine all the ingredients.
- Once it's loosely combined, use your hands to further incorporate all the ingredients.
- Once your mix is ready to be made into meatballs, spray 2 baking sheets with olive oil.
- Using 2 spoons or a scooper, create meatballs about 1 ½ inches wide. This recipe should give you 18 - 20 meatballs of that size.
- Place each meatball on the baking sheet, and once you have no more meatball mixture left, and your baking sheets are filled, place the meatballs in the oven.
- Bake at 350F for 40 minutes.
- After 40 minutes, pour 2 jars of pasta sauce into a large pot. Place your meatballs in the sauce and let them simmer with the sauce over medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes.
- Serve in a bowl and top them with additional fresh basil and parmesan cheese.
- Serve the meatballs with spaghetti, sliced and toasted french bread, or garlic bread.
Substitutions and variations
Ground Beef + Pork. If you are in a crunch, you can use 2 lbs of ground beef instead of using a combination. If you are trying to make these a bit healthier, you could also use 2 lbs of ground chicken or turkey.
Garlic. If you don't have fresh garlic, you can use 1 ½ tablespoons of granulated garlic.
Onion. If you don't have an onion, you can use 1 tablespoon of onion powder in it's place.
Milk. You can use whatever milk you prefer, or you can use water if you're in a pinch.
How to store leftover meatballs
Store any leftover meatballs in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
FAQs
What does adding milk to meatballs do?
Adding milk to meatballs adds a bit of moisture so your meatballs don't turn out dry.
Should I add breadcrumbs to meatballs?
Yes, you should! Similar to milk, breadcrumbs stop the meatballs from becoming dry.
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What to make with these homemade meatballs?
Homemade Meatballs
This is one of my favorite cold-weather Sunday night dinner recipes my dad makes. His homemade meatballs are seriously the BEST. I know
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 lb ground pork
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 head of garlic, minced
- 1 .5 oz basil, chopped
- ½ cup breadcrumbs
- 4 eggs
- 3 oz milk
- ⅔ cup parmesan cheese
- 2 jars marinara sauce
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F.
- Dice your medium onion, add it to a large bowl.
- Peel, and finely chop, or mince, an entire head of garlic. Add your garlic to a large bowl.
- Chop an entire container (0.5 oz container) of basil. Add the basil to your large bowl.
- Add 1 lb ground beef, 1 lb ground pork, ½ cup breadcrumbs, 4 eggs, 3 oz milk and ⅔ cup parmesan cheese to the bowl.
- Using a spoon, carefully combine all the ingredients.
- Once it's loosely combined, use your hands to further incorporate all the ingredients.
- Once your mix is ready to be made into meatballs, spray 2 baking sheets with olive oil.
- Using 2 spoons or a scooper, create meatballs about 1 ½ inches wide. This recipe should give you 18 - 20 meatballs of that size.
- Place each meatball on the baking sheet, and once you have no more meatball mixture left, and your baking sheets are filled, place the meatballs in the oven.
- Bake at 350F for 40 minutes.
- After 40 minutes, pour 2 jars of pasta sauce into a large pot. Place your meatballs in the sauce and let them simmer with the sauce over medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes.
- Serve in a bowl and top them with additional fresh basil and parmesan cheese.
- Serve the meatballs with spaghetti, sliced and toasted french bread, or garlic bread.
Notes
Substitutions and variations
Ground Beef + Pork. If you are in a crunch, you can use 2 lbs of ground beef instead of using a combination. If you are trying to make these a bit healthier, you could also use 2 lbs of ground chicken or turkey.
Garlic. If you don't have fresh garlic, you can use 1 ½ tablespoons of granulated garlic.
Onion. If you don't have an onion, you can use 1 tablespoon of onion powder in it's place.
Milk. You can use whatever milk you prefer, or you can use water if you're in a pinch.
How to store leftover meatballs
Store any leftover meatballs in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
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