The Best Italian Meatballs
The Best Italian Meatballs are seriously The Best Meatballs ever. They’re made with two types of meat, ground beef and Italian sausage, plus tons of fresh Italian parsley, garlic, and parmesan cheese. Once you try them, you’ll never make another meatball again!
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I can’t think of anything more comforting than a big bowl of pasta. It’s my favorite food.
Throw in some meatballs, not just any meatballs, but The Best Italian Meatballs, and I’m one happy camper!
What makes these the best in my opinion, is the fresh, herbaceous flavor from the Italian parsley, the pop of flavor from the garlic, and the slight saltiness from the parmesan cheese.
I also think the combination of ground beef and Italian sausage helps elevate these. When I used to make them with just ground beef, they were good, but the addition of Italian sausage makes them perfect!
There’s minimal mess with this recipe as we’re not frying the meatballs in a pan. They get baked in the oven!
They come out perfectly browned and have an excellent texture, all while not creating a big mess on the stove.
Baked Sun-Dried Tomato Turkey Meatballs are a great meatball using poultry!
Ingredients needed to make this recipe (scroll down to recipe card for complete recipe):
- Ground beef
- Italian sausage
- Garlic
- Parmesan cheese
- Fresh Italian parsley
- Breadcrumbs
- Eggs
- Milk
- Salt & pepper
📍This is just a summary. The full recipe with exact ingredient amounts and instructions is on the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
How to Serve Italian Meatballs:
- Top your pasta with Amatriciana Pasta Sauce and these amazing meatballs, and all you’ll need is a little bit of parmesan cheese and a loaf of French bread!
- Try them in hoagie rolls with a little marinara sauce and top with mozzarella or provolone cheese. Pop them under the broiler until the cheese melts…delish!
- Another one of my favorite uses is in Italian Meatball and Gnocchi Soup. (shown below)
How long are homemade meatballs good for?
Leftover cooked meatballs can be stored in an air-tight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
They can also be frozen in freezer-safe containers. Use within 2 months for the best quality.
Looking for more Italian recipes? Here are some favorites:
- Baked Italian Chicken Meatballs
- Calabrian Chili Garlic Bread
- Mushroom Kale Lasagna
- Italian Pickled Vegetables (Giardiniera)
NOTES:
- I typically use lean ground beef (90-93% lean) when I make these meatballs because the Italian sausage is pretty greasy.
- Both flat leaf and curly parsley are great in this recipe.
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The Best Italian Meatballs
Equipment
- baking sheet
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound Italian sausage
- 3/4 cup Italian breadcrumbs
- 3/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 3/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley curly or flat parsley
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 eggs
- splash of milk
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425° and line baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, Italian sausage, breadcrumbs, parmesan, parsley, garlic, eggs, milk, and plenty of salt & pepper. Roll into 1 1/2-2 inch balls and place on baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 160° in the middle.
- Makes approximately 20-30 meatballs, depending on size. Enjoy!
Notes
- Recipe adapted from Beau MacMillan
The recipe I always use, my familys favorite.
Thank you so much for the feedback!
It came out great! Definitely making these again!!
They turned out great!
Thank you for this great simple recipe. This is like my 8th time making these delicious meatballs. Only thing I change is we love garlic so put extra garlic . These meatballs are a hot everytime:)
Thank you so much for the feedback! I hear ya with the garlic! So good!
They were great!!
The meatballs were great. To save on carbs, I used fewer breadcrumbs.
I tried it. It came out great!
Really tasty! Made it this week. Had to substitute Italian sausage with ground beef and spices since we don’t have it here. Husband loved it. Thank you!
I’m so glad to hear that! Thank you for the feedback!
Truly good and easy to throw together for a quick weeknight mea!l
Thank you for the feedback, LaVerne! So glad you enjoyed them!
Delicious, my go to recipe! Makes a fantastic sub sandwich as well.
So glad you are enjoying the meatballs! We also use leftovers for meatball parmesan subs! One of our favorites!
Truly the best ever! Can’t beat the meatball sandwich afterward. I put them on garlic bread and almost died! It was amazeballs!!
I purchased the ingredients & my husband followed the recipe to make these meatballs. They were absolutely delicious! We chose a mixture of spicy & sweet Italian Sausage & the heat was just right! I also love to use fresh herbs in my cooking. It was just the right amount of Garlic & Parmesan as well. None of the ingredients competed or overwhelmed the other. We both agreed that these were Definitely the BEST MEATBALLS!
Thank you, Becky! So glad you enjoyed these meatballs! Thanks for the feedback!