Finding high-protein meals my whole family will eat can sometimes be a challenge, but these baked Italian meatballs are one dish that’s always a favorite in my house. In fact, my kids often ask me if we can have these Italian meatballs for dinner. Of course I say yes! They love the savory, cheesy flavor, and I love that they come together quickly with just a handful of ingredients. Every bite makes me feel like I’m dining at an Italian restaurant.
Recipe Highlights
These baked meatballs are a classic Italian-seasoned recipe, and even though I love so many of our meatball recipes, this one is my all-time favorite variation. Here are a few reasons why:
- Requiring just 10 minutes of prep time, the steps to make these homemade meatballs are simple and basically fail-proof
- Thanks to a quick cooking time, you can have this dish on the table in a total time of less than 30 minutes, making it the perfect recipe for busy weeknights
- Made with lean ground beef, a 3-meatball serving provides 32 grams of high-quality protein
- You can easily enjoy these meatballs on their own. Or, serve them with pasta sauce over pasta noodles or zucchini noodles to keep the carbohydrates on the lower side
- Leftovers store and reheat well, making this recipe a fantastic meal prep option
Ingredient Spotlight: Ground Beef
We often discuss how to choose high-quality red meat and include a variety of ground beef recipes in our meals from week to week. Not only is ground beef tasty, versatile, and budget-friendly, but it’s a healthful protein choice, too, since beef contains many essential nutrients. Ground beef is also:
- A complete source of high-quality protein
- An excellent source of zinc and iron
- A good source of energy-producing B vitamins
Equipment You’ll Need
This baked Italian meatballs recipe calls for a rimmed sheet pan or baking sheet, parchment paper, and a medium bowl to assemble the meatballs. If you don’t have a sheet pan, a large baking dish will work. You can also skip the parchment paper, and simply use cooking spray to grease the pan well.
In addition, I recommend using a cookie scoop to make it easy to portion the meatballs and keep your hands clean. If you’re serving the meatballs with pasta sauce, you’ll likely also want a skillet to heat the sauce and toss the meatballs. However, in a pinch, a large saucepan would also work.
Make It Gluten Free
I use crushed crackers (like Ritz) or breadcrumbs as a binder in this recipe. However, if you need to keep your meatballs gluten-free, you can use crushed gluten-free crackers or gluten-free Italian breadcrumbs.
Gluten-free breadcrumbs may create a slightly more coarse texture, but the difference is not noticeable, especially once you add tomato sauce or marinara sauce. Also, if you use flavored breadcrumbs, you may want to reduce the herbs and spices included in the meatballs or maybe even omit the Italian seasoning.
Rest Before Serving
For the best meatball recipe, I highly recommend letting your meatballs rest for at least five minutes before serving. This allows the natural juices to redistribute, preventing the meatballs from falling apart and keeping them juicy in the center.
How To Serve
I sometimes like to enjoy these baked meatballs as an appetizer with toothpicks and pasta sauce. But I typically serve them as a main dish with spaghetti or zucchini noodles and spaghetti sauce.
For a well-rounded meal, I love to add a veggie side dish, like as a caprese zucchini salad, our copycat Olive Garden salad, a simple Caesar salad, or steamed or roasted veggies. Don’t forget to include garlic bread, olive bread, or focaccia, too! It’s perfect for scooping up every last drop.
Wine is also a classic drink pairing with this recipe. I love dry farm wines, and it makes for a great date night option at home.
Leftovers are fun to turn into meatball subs. Or, you can use the raw unbaked meat mixture to make Italian meatloaf instead.
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Baked Italian Meatballs
This classic recipe makes darn good meatballs that my whole family loves, including my kids. I love to meal prep them so they’re ready to heat with pasta sauce for a quick dinner that’s nourishing and high in protein.
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup milk (I use 2%)
- ½ cup crushed crackers of choice (or breadcrumbs)
- ⅓ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup fined minced yellow onion
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- Optional for garnish: fresh parsley and additional Parmesan cheese
- For serving: any favorite pasta sauce and cooked pasta or zucchini noodles
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400℉. Line a rimmed sheet pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine the beef, egg, milk, crushed crackers, Parmesan cheese, onion, Italian seasoning, garlic power, salt, and pepper. Mix until well combined.
- Form the mixture into 12 meatballs, using your hands or with a cookie scoop into about golf-ball size balls.
- Place the meatballs on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 16-20 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165℉.
- Remove meatballs from the oven.
- Optional step: Heat pasta sauce in a skillet over medium heat. When the meatballs are done baking, transfer them to the skillet with the sauce and gently toss. Heat through then garnish with chopped parsley and grated Parmesan cheese. Serve over noodles or zucchini noodles.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
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Nutrition Information
- Serving Size: 3 meatballs
- Calories: 239
- Fat: 8 g
- (Sat Fat: 4 g)
- Sodium: 594 mg
- Carbohydrate: 8 g
- (Fiber: 1 g
- Sugar: 3 g)
- Protein: 32 g
- Cholesterol: 110 mg
Dietary
How To Store
For the best results, I recommend storing the meatballs and sauce separately. They will stay fresh in the fridge for up to 3 days. (Take a look at my favorite meal prep containers if you’re in the market for new airtight containers!) When you’re ready to reheat them, warm the meatballs and sauce in a large skillet with a touch of olive oil over medium heat.
Or, for a longer-lasting option, feel free to freeze the fully cooked and thawed meatballs instead. To do so, allow the meatballs to cool completely. Then, arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet, and freeze until solid. Transfer them to a freezer-safe bag, and freeze for up to 3 months.
When you’re ready to eat, let the meatballs thaw overnight in the fridge. Then reheat them in the oven or in a skillet on the stovetop.
Frequently Asked Questions
“Regular” or American meatballs are larger than Italian meatballs. In addition, Italian meatballs call for specific ingredients such as parmesan cheese, dried oregano, and fresh herbs like fresh parsley. American meatballs can contain a variety of ingredients, such as cooked veggies or lentils, and may come with different sauces.
Traditional Italian meatballs are made with a meat mixture featuring ground beef or ground pork. However, you can use any kind of ground meat you like best including ground turkey or ground chicken.
When using ground beef in the meatball mixture, you’ll want to make sure your meatballs reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees F to be considered safe to eat.
The photos in this blog post were taken by Rachel Cook of Half Acre House.
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Very easy to make and delicious! Really tender and flavorful.
Awesome Sarah!
Love your recipes! Wondering if I could use panko (which I have on hand) instead of breadcrumbs…
Hi Natalie, we have not specifically experimented with that method so we can’t say for certain how it would work. If you try it, let us know how it goes!