These Italian Meatballs come complete with marinara sauce and are a classic comfort food! Juicy meatballs made from scratch, smothered in a delicious homemade marinara sauce. Serve over pasta for the perfect Italian dinner.
During the winter, one of my favorite things to make for dinner are meatballs! Not sure why but I associate meatballs with winter food, it’s probably because of how comforting they are!
Easy Baked Italian Meatballs
- Easy To Make
- Simple Ingredient List
- Juicy & Flavorful
- Versatile & Comforting
- Baked Not Fried
- Come Complete With Marinara Sauce
These meatballs are so simple to make, but they are full of flavor! This recipe requires a simple list of ingredients and very little effort, making it perfect for weeknight meals! Who can turn down a bowl of meatballs in marinara sauce?
Ingredient Notes
Meatballs
- Meat – I used ground beef but many times I like to use a combination of ground pork and ground beef. Feel free to use one or other, or chicken or turkey!
- Breadcrumbs – For these Italian meatballs I chose classic Italian seasoned breadcrumbs, but plain or even Panko breadcrumbs will work. These are going to help bind the meatballs together.
- Egg – The egg is also going to act as a binding agent for our meatballs.
- Parmesan Cheese – I recommend using freshly grated parmesan.
- Seasoning – Smoked paprika, chili powder (optional), salt and pepper.
- Milk – Any type will do! Dairy or non dairy.
- Basil – Dried basil is what we need for this recipe! You can also add other herbs such as dried parsley or oregano.
Sauce
- Butter – I always use unsalted to control the sodium level!
- Onion And Garlic – Essential flavor enhancers to any homemade sauce.
- Tomato Sauce – This is the base for our marinara sauce.
- Sugar – To balance the flavors in the sauce, it helps cut through the acidity from the tomatoes.
- Beef Broth – You can substitute this with some good red wine.
How To Make Italian Meatballs
- Preheat Oven: Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Make Meatballs: In a large bowl mix all the meatball ingredients together so that everything is well incorporated. Form the meatballs into small 1 inch balls. Use a small cookie scoop to make this easier. Place the meatballs on the baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes.
- Make Sauce: In the meantime melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium, add chopped onion and saute until the onion is translucent. Add the garlic and saute for another 30 seconds, making sure the garlic doesn’t burn. Stir in the tomato sauce including the rest of the sauce ingredients and stir. Add the meatballs to the saucepan and make sure to toss them around a bit they are fully covered in sauce. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes stirring occasionally.
- Serve: Serve with mashed potatoes, spaghetti or your favorite side dish.
FAQs & Expert Tips
FAQs
I’ve made meatballs out of chicken, turkey, beef, and pork! Any of these proteins can be used, just keep in mind the more fat in the meat, the juicer the meatball! Pork and beef are most commonly used because of how fatty they are, which is why some people may find chicken or turkey meatballs dry. It all depends on the type of meat and cook time!
Absolutely! Meatballs are great to make ahead and freeze for easy future meals. Scroll down to “storing” section for full instructions on how to store your meatballs and sauce in the freezer!
Serve over pasta for a classic spaghetti and meatball dinner, over mashed potatoes, or eat the whole bowl as is! However you choose to serve these Italian meatballs, it’ll be a winning dinner for sure.
Tips
- Make sure when you’re cooking your garlic, not to burn it! This will throw the entire flavor of the dish off.
- You can use different proteins such as ground pork, ground chicken or turkey, or you can even combine them.
- Feel free to incorporate any of your favorite spices/seasoning to make these to your liking!
Storing
These Italian meatballs can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 – 4 days.
Freezing
You can also freeze these meatballs with the marinara sauce in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
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Italian Meatballs
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1½ lb ground beef
- ½ cup breadcrumbs
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese grated
- ¼ cup milk
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp chili powder optional
- ½ tsp salt or to taste
- ½ tsp pepper or to taste
- 1 tsp dried basil
Sauce
- 3 tbsp butter unsalted
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2½ cups tomato sauce
- 1 tbsp sugar
- ½ cup beef broth or red wine
- ¼ tsp salt or to taste
- ½ tsp pepper or to taste
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Make Meatballs: In a large bowl mix all the meatball ingredients together so that everything is well incorporated. Form the meatballs into small 1 inch balls. Use a small cookie scoop to make this easier. Place the meatballs on the baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes.
- Make Sauce: In the meantime melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium, add chopped onion and saute until the onion is translucent. Add the garlic and saute for another 30 seconds, making sure the garlic doesn't burn. Add the tomato sauce including the rest of the sauce ingredients and stir. Add the meatballs to the saucepan and make sure to toss them around a bit they are fully covered in sauce. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes stirring occasionally.
- Serve: Serve with mashed potatoes, spaghetti or your favorite side dish.
Recipe Notes
- Recipe yields around 28 meatballs. Nutritional information assumes 4 meatballs and sauce per serving.
- Make sure when you’re cooking your garlic, not to burn it! This will throw the entire flavor of the dish off.
- You can use different proteins such as ground pork, ground chicken or turkey, or you can even combine them.
- Feel free to incorporate any of your favorite spices/seasoning to make these to your liking!
- These Italian meatballs can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 – 4 days.
- You can also freeze these meatballs with the marinara sauce in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
We just made these for dinner and they were SO GOOD! I always thought meatballs would be super difficult but this was pretty easy! Thanks!
So glad you liked it!
Excellent recipe! Everybody here loved it – we’ll definitely be making it regularly. Love your recipes, Jo! So many have been incorporated into our menu. 🙂
Thanks Debbie, I love to hear back from followers who try the recipes and enjoy them. Have you tried the swedish meatballs yet? Yum!
This looks delicious, just like the dinner had during my culinary tour of the Amalfi Coast with Delectable Destinations.
I have tried many times to make meatballs….without success. I made these and omg they were amazing….thank you so much Jo, your the best.
Thank you Jenny! I’m so glad you liked them 🙂