Italian Meatballs
Home / Recipes / Meat / Italian Meatballs
Italian Meatballs
These Italian meatballs are tender all the way through and simmered in a simple tomato sauce until they soak up flavor. The secret to a soft center is a panade, a quick paste of bread and milk that keeps the meat from turning dense. A mix of beef and pork gives the best flavor, but all beef works too. Brown them first for color, then finish them in the sauce. Serve over spaghetti or pile them onto a roll.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/2 pound ground pork
- 1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan
- 2 large eggs
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 jar (24 oz) marinara sauce
Directions
- In a large bowl, stir the breadcrumbs and milk together and let sit 5 minutes until it forms a paste.
- Add the beef, pork, parmesan, eggs, garlic, parsley, salt, and pepper. Mix gently with your hands just until combined. Overmixing makes tough meatballs.
- Roll into 24 balls about 1.5 inches across. Wet hands keep the mixture from sticking.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Brown the meatballs on all sides, about 6 minutes total. They do not need to cook through here.
- Pour in the marinara, reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes, until the meatballs reach 160F inside.
- Serve over spaghetti with extra parmesan.
Tips and variations
- Do not skip the bread and milk paste. It is what keeps the centers soft.
- Mix the meat with a light hand and stop as soon as it comes together.
- A beef and pork blend tastes richest, but all beef or beef and Italian sausage both work.
- Meatballs freeze beautifully. Cook fully, cool, and freeze in a silicone bag with a little sauce, then reheat straight from frozen.
Save it to your Recipe Box
Copy this one onto a 4x6 card. Title across the top, the twelve ingredients down the left, the six steps down the right, and Serves 6, Prep 20, Cook 30 along the header. File it behind the Meat divider. Built to outlast the screenshot.
Get the Recipe Box
Common questions
- How do I keep meatballs tender
- Use a bread and milk paste and mix the meat as little as possible. Both keep the meatballs soft instead of dense.
- Should I bake or fry meatballs
- Either works. Pan-browning gives the best crust, but you can bake them at 400F for 20 minutes if you want them hands-off.
- Can I make them ahead
- Yes. Cook them fully, then refrigerate up to three days or freeze up to three months. Reheat gently in sauce.
- What temperature are meatballs done
- 160F in the center. They finish cooking in the simmering sauce, so check one with a thermometer before serving.
More meat recipes
Keep the ones that work
When a recipe earns a repeat, it deserves a card. The Albino Monkey Recipe Box keeps your handwritten favorites on real wooden dividers, Breakfast through Favorites.
See the Recipe Box