Easy homemade meatballs are one of my favorite things to serve for Sunday dinner. These meatballs hit the spot any night of the week as part of a hearty, welcoming meal.
Homemade meatballs were a constant for Sunday lunch when I was growing up. Lunch came after church, around 1pm, and the meatballs were served with rigatoni, sometimes with pieces of sausage mixed in the sauce too.
On the dining room table would also be homemade bread – fluffy on the inside and chewy on the outside – along with sharp-tasting cheeses, sometimes roasted peppers, salad (served at the end of the meal), grapes, and wine for the grownups.
Easy Homemade Meatballs
This recipe makes about three dozen meatballs and you can definitely freeze some to enjoy later. After cooking and cooling them, pack them away in sauce and tuck them in the freezer for another time. When you’re hungry down the road, pull them out and warm them up.
My grandma made the best meatballs, with my mom coming in a very close second behind her. My husband has spent a lot of time making meatballs with my Italian mom, and now he makes them (almost) as good as she does!
My husband has her meatballs recipe down pat and, in fact, my mom likes that he has taken over when it comes to cooking. At 91 years old, she deserves for someone else to cook!
When it comes to technique, there really isn’t anything difficult to do to make these hearty meatballs.
Steps to Make Easy Homemade Meatballs
- After mixing the ingredients together, you shape them into balls that are about 1-1/2-inches in diameter.
- The next step is to brown the meatballs in a skillet (no oil added) over medium heat. You’ll do this in a few batches.
- This next step takes a slower pace: brown the meatballs in a large skillet over medium heat, turning them occasionally so they brown up all around.
- Once the meatballs are browned, it’s time for a slow simmer in a fabulous sauce. We used our favorite jarred marinara sauce for this recipe, and doctored it up a bit with a little red wine, more garlic and onion, a touch of beef broth and a little tomato paste.
Easy homemade meatballs are, as the name implies, a no-fuss hearty staple to have in your recipe box. I was surprised that I haven’t shared this recipe here in all these years!
I have a few other meatball recipes like Spanish-Style Meatballs (a reader’s favorite!) and these Mozzarella-Stuffed Meatball Sliders. But no basic, homemade meatballs recipe!
Take note: If you have leftovers after making my easy homemade meatballs, use them to make these fun Leftover Spaghetti & Meatball Panini.
This recipe makes about 36 meatballs so that means you’ll have plenty to feed a crowd, or to enjoy as leftovers for another meal.
You’ll love these easy homemade meatballs to brighten your meals any night of the week. Let me know if you make these and let me know how they turned out!
Patricia - Grab a Plate
Yields Makes about 36-40 meatballs
Save Recipe5 based on 11 review(s)
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound ground Italian sausage
- 1/2 yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (plus extra to sprinkle over when serving)
- 1/4 cup parsley, chopped (extra for garnish)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Combine the beef and sausage in a large bowl.
- Add the onion, garlic, eggs, breadcrumbs, parsley, Parmesan cheese, salt, and black and red pepper.
- Mix all the ingredients together until combined. Line a few baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Use your hands to shape the mixture into 1-1/2-inch balls and place on the pans.
- Move the baking sheets to near your stove. Heat a large skillet on medium heat.
- When hot, add several of the meatballs to the skillet in batches, browning them all around.
- Remove from the skillet and set aside.
- Add the marinara sauce to a large Dutch oven or pan over low heat.
- If you’d like, you can choose to enhance the jarred sauce. I added 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon tomato paste, 1 cup beef stock, 1 cup red wine, 1 garlic clove (minced), and 2 tablespoons diced onion to the sauce. Stir to mix.
- When warm, add the meatballs to the sauce and simmer over low heat, partially covered, for about an hour.
- Remove and serve with your favorite pasta, garnished with a little parsley and extra grated Parmesan cheese.
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