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Home / Recipes / Classic Italian Meatballs

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Classic Italian Meatballs

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Authentic, deeply flavorful Italian meatballs.

bowl of italian meatballs in tomato sauce with rigatoni pasta

Everyone deserves a perfect, classic Italian meatball recipe. This one was handed down to me by my mom, who has been making these to perfection for years.

Meatballs inspire a lot of debate. Is it ok to put meatballs on a sheet pan to bake? Or, do authentic meatballs require standing over a hot skillet and frying them until your clothes, hair, and home are saturated with the smell of garlic, onions, and meat? What is the deal with those recipes calling for raisins? (Hint: That is Sicilian style.) Do you need to use beef-pork-veal blend, or can you just use beef? Where is a great flavorful Italian meatball recipe that I can use forever?

You may also enjoy: Italian Sausage and Peppers and Roast Chicken With Lots of Herbs

ingredients for classic Italian meatballs in bowl breadcrumbs cheese onion egg parsley garlic

I think that the answer to all those debates is the same: Yes. In other words, a good meatball is not one that follows a rigid set of rules.

Rather, the best meatballs adhere to the general rules of Italian cooking: some of this, some of that, and a lot of love. That said, some guideposts will lead you to your best classic Italian meatballs.

tray of baked italian meatballs plain

Recipe Notes: Classic Italian Meatballs

  • Do not overmix the meat or squeeze the meat into tight balls. This will result in tough, hard meatballs. The best ones are tender.
  • Secondly, take the time to prep the ingredients correctly. Grate the onion; don’t do big chunks. Same for the garlic. Whisk the eggs. Mince the parsley. That way, all of the flavors will melt together into the meat and make a deeply flavorful result.

cut italian meatball on wood plate with bowl of meatballs and tomato sauce in background

This recipe for classic Italian meatballs uses a beef-pork-veal blend. The recipe also calls for baking the meatballs instead of frying — it is much neater and more convenient (the trade-off being that they will not have the same meaty crust as fried meatballs).

However! If you line the sheet pan with foil instead of parchment, and place them on top of a hot pizza stone in your oven, I find that you will get a tasty crust on the bottom.

The result will be a flavorful Italian meatball (actually, about two dozen of them) that taste meaty and tender, with just the right hints of onion and garlic. But  meatballs and their method ultimately lies with the cook. Have fun, and happy rolling.

garlic on dark wood board classic italian meatballs

Did you make this classic Italian meatballs recipe? Share below.

bowl of italian meatballs in tomato sauce with rigatoni pasta
Print Recipe

Classic Italian Meatballs

A big, best meatball recipe for a Sunday sauce crowd. This recipe can be easily halved, and extra can be frozen in a gallon freezer bag and saved for other dinners.
Prep Time20 mins
Cook Time20 mins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Keywords:: italian, meatballs
Servings: 30 or so medium-sized meatballs

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 pounds beef, pork, veal mix (equal portions)
  • 2 cups plain breadcrumbs
  • 4 eggs, beaten
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 bunch fresh, flat-leaf Italian parsley, chopped fine
  • 1 medium onion, grated on the large-grate side of a box grater
  • 1/2 cup freshly-grated Pecorino-Romano cheese
  • 3 large cloves fresh garlic, finely grated or minced
  • 15 turns fresh-cracked black pepper, or 1 teaspoon
  • 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 425°F and lightly grease or line with parchment two half-sheet pans.
  • Put the meat in a large mixing bowl. Add the breadcrumbs, and pour the milk over the breadcrumbs and allow it to soak in for a minute.
  • Add the eggs, Pecorino-Romano cheese, chopped parsley, minced garlic, grated onion.
    PRO TIP: Include the upper half of the parsley stems when chopping. The stems of most soft herbs, like parsley and cilantro, are completely edible and have great flavor.
  • Remove your rings and bracelets and put them safely on the windowsill or a ring holder. Your hands are about to get a little messy. Mix the meatballs until combined -- mixing with your hands is the best, and arguably only, way.
    PRO TIP: Mixing the meatballs is an important step. It is important not to over-mix the meat. If the meat becomes too over-mixed, it will lose its ideal, fall-apart consistency. Using your hands helps control the mixing.
  • Using a 1/2 cup scoop, lightly shape the meatballs with your hands into loose but solid rounds, and place them on the prepared sheet pans, with at least 1" space between each.
  • Bake for 20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway. "Sample" one or two hot out of the oven, then smother them with Sunday sauce or marinara, and serve with pasta.

Filed Under: Dinner, Easy, Recipes Tagged With: beef, italian, meatballs, pasta, recipe, sunday sauce

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Mary P. says

    March 17, 2020 at 10:33 am

    5 stars
    Yes to baking instead of frying! These are delicious.

    Reply
  2. L.T. says

    July 14, 2020 at 10:16 pm

    4 stars
    These are very, very good. Mine broke apart in my tomato sauce a bit, but that’s all. The flavor was good.. Do you think it would be as good without the veal? Thanks.

    Reply
  3. Jackie says

    October 8, 2021 at 8:56 pm

    Hi
    How much will a bunch of parsley be. 1 cup, 1/2 cup, 1/4 cup etc.

    Reply
    • Unpeeled says

      October 9, 2021 at 8:48 am

      Hi, Jackie! It’s about 3/4 to 1 cup loosely packed chopped celery.

      Reply
  4. Lisa says

    December 8, 2021 at 4:17 pm

    Hi Lisa …

    Can you please clarify the difference between “Sunday Sauce” and Marinara?

    Thanks!
    Lisa

    Reply
    • Unpeeled says

      December 9, 2021 at 5:14 pm

      Sure! Marinara is a quick, simple tomato sauce made without meat and only a few ingredients. Sunday sauce is the whole shebang: tomato sauce cooked for hours with sausage, meatballs, the whole thing 🙂

      Reply

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