Classic Italian Meatballs (Tender and Juicy!)
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A 30-minute family-style meatball recipe with hundreds of 5-star reviews! This recipe makes a batch of tender, juicy Italian-American-style meatballs to serve up to 6 people. Bake the meatballs in the oven or cook on the stovetop.
If you’re looking for an authentic Italian-American meatball recipe to serve with spaghetti or pasta, these juicy beef and pork meatballs are the real deal. Based on my mother’s recipe, I can honestly say this recipe makes the best homemade Italian meatballs ever.
These easy-to-make meatballs are made with ground beef and pork, strewn with fresh parsley, garlic and grated cheese. But the “secret” to good meatballs comes down to their juicy, delectable texture. And that is the result of including soft, milk-soaked breadcrumbs.
My mom’s stellar meatballs really set the standard. For Sunday dinner, she would serve a large platter of meat that had spent the better part of the day braising in the “gravy” — a/k/a rich, long-cooked tomato sauce. I always made a beeline for those meatballs.
Like any childhood comfort food, a good Italian meatball represents a time, place and taste that never fails to be delicious. Sure, give me a big bowl of pasta carbonara and I’ll be happy. But I’ll still want a meatball!
Best meat for Italian meatballs
To make the juiciest, tastiest meatballs, our family stands by using cuts of meat that have generous fat marbling. This old-school meatball recipe uses an equal mixture of beef and pork.
- Ground beef chuck: We’re not talking generic ground beef here. Look for ground chuck, which has 15-20 percent more fat than lean beef and makes the best meatball.
- Ground pork: Ground pork usually comes from the meaty pork shoulder, also called Boston butt or pork butt, and has more fat than meat from the loin.
- Ground veal (optional): There are many old-school traditional meatball makers who swear by an equal mix of beef, pork and veal. By all means add it to your mix, if that’s you!
- Italian sausage: I sometimes make meatballs with bulk Italian sausage meat instead of pork. Since it’s already seasoned, use about 1/2 teaspoon less salt.
About the ingredients
- Meat: Some say that it’s more old-school for traditional Italian cooks to use a combination of beef, veal and pork to make meatballs (and you can too). Because ground veal isn’t as readily available, I prefer to use a half-and-half mixture of ground beef and ground pork for the best texture and flavor. If possible, buy meat that’s freshly ground in the store. I find it releases less water, and it’s definitely fresher-tasting than vacuum-packed ground meat.
- Fresh bread crumbs: I’m going to be honest with you — good breadcrumbs are key to a great, tender meatball. Fresh crumbs made from are my top choice because they’re light, moist and fluffy, which is the texture you’re going for in a meatball. Fresh breadcrumbs have more moisture than the fine dry breadcrumbs that come in a can.
- Milk: Use dairy milk or a full-fat plant based milk to blend with the breadcrumbs — this is called a “panade”, which is basically a mixture of starch and liquid that makes the meatballs light and moist inside.
- Grated cheese: My first choice is sharp, salty pecorino Romano cheese (our family is southern Italian) but you can also use freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
- Garlic: Please use fresh garlic, and grate it with a rasp grater, finely chop or use a garlic press.
- Fresh herbs: 1/3 cup fresh Italian flat leaf chopped parsley or basil (or a mixture of both), roughly chopped. Dried herbs will work in a pinch — use 2 teaspoons.
How to make meatballs, step by step:
1. Put the ground pork and beef in a large bowl. 2. Combine with a fork or your hands until blended.
3. Put the bread pieces in a bowl, cover with milk and soak 5 minutes. 4. Add the egg yolks, cheese, garlic and salt and pepper. 5. Mash with a fork to make a coase paste (panade).
6. Add the bread mixture and parsley to the ground meat. 7. Blend together with your hands or a large fork until evenly mixed. Hint: You can also use a standing mixer on low speed to mix.
8. Form into 1/4-cup portions with an oiled cookie scoop or measuring cup. 9. Expert tip: Lightly form into balls without overworking the meat, which will toughen the texture of the meatballs.
10. Cook meatballs: Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook meatballs until browned all over, then cover the pan, lower the heat and cook 8-10 minutes. 11. To bake meatballs: Arrange on an oiled baking sheet and bake 20 minutes at 425 degrees, turning halfway.
Classic Italian Meatballs (Tender and Juicy!)
A 30-minute family-style meatball recipe with thousands of 5-star reviews! This recipe makes a batch of tender, juicy Italian-American-style meatballs. Bake the meatballs in the oven or cook on the stovetop. Serve them with quick homemade marinara or your favorite sauce.
Recipe Video
Ingredients
- ½ cup (54 g) fresh breadcrumbs, from 1-2 slices white bread (crust removed)
- ¼ cup (60 ml) milk
- 2 egg yolks
- ½ cup (50 g) grated pecorino Romano cheese, or Parmesan cheese
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped or grated
- 1 teaspoon (8 g) salt, or 2 teaspoons Diamond brand kosher salt (see note below)
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 pound (450 g) ground beef chuck
- 1 pound (450 g) ground pork, or veal
- ¼ cup grated onion, optional
- ⅓ cup (30 g) chopped parsley, or basil
- Olive oil
Instructions
- Put the breadcrumbs in a small bowl and pour the milk over. Let them soak for 5 minutes. Add the egg yolks, cheese, garlic, salt, and pepper to the bowl and mash together to form a coarse paste.
- Put the beef, pork and onion (if using) in a large bowl and mix with a fork to blend. Add the bread mixture and parsley. Blend everything together well, using your hands, large wooden spoon or large fork. You can also mix in a standing mixer on low speed, just until blended. The meatball mixture can be mixed and refrigerated 2 days ahead of shaping and cooking.
- Form the meatballs: Use a ¼-cup measuring cup or cookie scoop to portion the mixture and roll lightly into balls. They don’t have to be perfect — craggy meatballs have character and hold the sauce better!
To cook on the stovetop:
- Pour enough oil into a large skillet to coat the bottom and place over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add as many meatballs as will fit in the pan without crowding. Note: They should sizzle as soon as they hit they pan or the pan isn’t hot enough.
- Brown the meatballs on all sides. Cover the pan, lower the heat and continue cooking and until the meatballs are firm and cooked through (165 degrees on a instant thermometer), which should take about 15 minutes total. Repeat the frying with remaining meatballs, pouring out the oil and adding a fresh layer each time.To finish cooking in tomato sauce:If you'd rather finish cooking the meatballs in tomato sauce (my preference), transfer them to a pot of simmering sauce just after browning on all sides. They won't be cooked all the way through. Simmer until they're cooked through, 10-12 minutes.
To bake the meatballs:
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Arrange the meatballs on an olive-oiled coated rimmed baking sheet. Bake 10 minutes, then turn the meatballs over with a spatula or pair of tongs. Continue baking until nicely browned and cooked through, another 10-12 minutes.
- Serve the warm meatballs with marinara sauce or your favorite prepared tomato sauce.
Karen’s Notes and Tips
- To make fresh breadcrumbs: Trim the crust from a few slices of hearty country or Italian-style bread. Tear the bread into large pieces and pulse in a food processor until you see coarse pea-size crumbs or just tear them into pieces with your hands.
- To use dried breadcrumbs: Adjust the amount to 1/3 cup instead of the 1/2 cup of fresh crumbs. I recommend unseasoned dried breadcrumbs. If yours are seasoned, reduce the amount of salt in the recipe by 1/2 teaspoon.
- Panko: Use the full amount (1/2 cup), adding more by the tablespoon if the mixture doesn’t hold together
- Gluten-free breadcrumbs: Fresh or dried will work fine, following the tips above.
- Note on salt: Kosher salt has a larger grain than regular table salt. Because the granules are fluffier than fine salt, there’s less salt per volume in a teaspoon of kosher salt than there is fine salt. The brand of kosher salt that I use for all recipes on this site is Diamond Kosher. If you use Morton kosher salt or another brand of kosher salt other than Diamond, reduce the amount of salt specified by one-half.
- Meatballs can be made ahead and frozen up to 2 months. Cool the cooked meatballs completely. Arrange them in a freezer-proof container or heavy-duty freezer bag. Label the container with the contents and date. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator, then gently heat in your favorite tomato sauce on the stovetop..
- An electric standing mixer is handy to blend the meat and seasonings if you’d rather not do it by hand.
Nutrition per serving
Serving: 1meatball Calories: 184kcal Carbohydrates: 3g Protein: 12g Fat: 13g Sodium: 246mg Fiber: 0.3g Sugar: 1g
Nutrition facts are calculated by third-party software. If you have specific dietary needs, please refer to your favorite calculator.
Hey, I’m Karen
Creator of Familystyle Food
I’m a food obsessed super-taster and professionally trained cook ALL about creating elevated dinners with everyday ingredients. Find simplified recipes made from scratch and enjoy incredibly tasty food! Read more about me here.
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This recipe is amazing!! I used basil and paprika. Not as much as it called for. I made them for the Superbowl and they couldn’t get enough. Thank you for sharing. I’ll never make them another way again!!
Absolutely delicious! I will be making them again . My grown son raved about them .
Before I discovered this recipe last summer, I more or less “winged” making my meatballs. Sometimes I liked the way they turned out, sometimes not so much. This recipe allows me to make meatballs like a pro, every single time! Delish!
Amazing! So happy to know that!
Delicious meatballs, and so easy! I’m glad you included the weights as well as the cup measures. Grams measured out to seem way more than the cups, but I used the weight as my choice. Delicious. A little trick I tried that worked great was to scoop, form and bake in mini muffin tins. Kept their round shape better than flat on a baking sheet. Tried to include a pic, but not sure how to do that. 🥴
Using a muffin tin to bake meatballs sounds genius! Thanks for sharing that tip and glad you enjoyed them.
What do I use grated garlic or garlic salt? Recipe says grated garlic and instructions say garlic salt. Is it both? For now I’m going with grated garlic. I will get back to rating it after supper tonight.
Hi Trudy – There should be a comma between garlic and salt in the recipe steps (fixed that). The recipe calls for 2 fresh garlic cloves, finely chopped or grated. That’s what I recommend for the best flavor!
I followed mostly…I did everything as directed but added some ricotta (1/4 cup) and some Italian bread crumbs..maybe a 1/4 cup.. I fried in a pan after dusting with a little flour….they were perfect and liked by all
Thanks for the base recipe
My granddaughter and I made these for Christmas Eve and I can honestly say these were amazing !!
Wife said they were awesome! Best recipe I have found!
This is my go to recipe!
These meatballs are fabulous!! I followed the recipe with 1 exception ( I added ricotta since I had it on hand) They turned out so good, perfectly seasoned-Great recipe!
What a great addition! How much did you add?
Excellent meatballs. One question. How can I make them a little more moist?
Hi Linda – If your meatballs didn’t seem moist enough, here are some suggestions: Make sure not to overcook them. If adding to sauce, you may undercook them a bit, as they will finish cooking in the simmering sauce. Also, using beef chuck (not lean beef) will ensure there’s a higher percentage of fat which makes juicy meatballs.
This was a fun recipe! I am so curious about not putting any onion in them? I did add chopped sundried tomatoes instead of a raisin, for a bit if sweetness in a spicy sauce.
Hi Peg – Onion is great in these meatballs! I was staying true to my mom’s recipe, but about 1/4 cup finely chopped onion is great to add to the meat mixture.
Absolutely love these!
We loved these meatballs. It’s a keeper and froze the leftovers for future meals.
My family loved these meatballs! DIL said best she’d ever had and 5yo grandson even ate them! Baked per your instructions (easier for me) and simmered in spaghetti sauce. So amazing! New way to make my spaghetti! Thank you for sharing!
My Italian mother in law makes the best meatballs! One thing she uses that I don’t see in your recipe is mint. You should try it!
Hi Karen,
Made these tonight and they were amazing. I was able to make this vegetarian for my wife by using Impossible Burger and Impossible Sausge, wow, I’m am definitely a carnivore and was very happy with this mashup!!! My wife can now taste what she has been missing, she loves them. The only change I made was to omit the salt, plant sausage is pretty salty on its own and add 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese to help hold them together.
Meatball sandwiches tomorrow for lunch, wifey has never had one of those either.
How many meatballs is the 163 calorie count for?
Hi Danielle – The calorie count is for one serving (1 meatball), which is about 2 ounces. If you need a more precise breakdown, you can paste the ingredients into your favorite nutrition calculator. I use Spoonacular.
OH Yes Karen, I do have your recipe, and they TASTE DELICIOUS!!
I USE IT ALL THE TIME WHEN, I WANT TOO HAVE ITALIAN MEAT BALLS!! ******
Thank YOU, for sharing!!
Gotta tell you, my grandparents came from Sicily (Calabria) and never have I had raisins in any of our meatballs. I did get a chuckle out of the comment because it reminded me of my dad always making remarks of the northern Italian cooking. Makes no sense to me as I love it all. I’m always looking for new recipes and can’t wait to try yours ☺️