How To Make Perfect Easy Meatballs

What makes a perfect meatball? It has to be tender, moist, full of flavor all on its own, and it needs to hold together when it cooks. Nicole McLaughlin, aka NicoleMcmom, shares her own family recipe for easy, authentic Italian meatballs, along with her top tips to make the best meatballs at home.

Get Nicole's recipe for Best Easy Meatballs

"Full of flavor from Italian herbs, Parmesan cheese, and a blend of ground round and Italian sausage, these meatballs have a nice crust thanks to a bit of time in the oven before they're slow-simmered in marinara sauce. They're the perfect complement to Sunday spaghetti!" —NicoleMcmom

Ingredients

• ⅓ cup minced onion
• ⅓ cup Italian bread crumbs
• ⅓ cup half-and-half
• ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 large eggs
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
• 1 table spoon chopped fresh parsley
• ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
• 1¼ pounds ground round beef
• ½ pound ground Italian sausage
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 (24-ounce) jars marinara sauce (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Spray foil lightly with cooking spray.
2. Combine onion, bread crumbs, half-and-half, Parmesan cheese, eggs, egg yolk, garlic, basil, parsley, and oregano in a large bowl; stir until well combined. Add ground round and sausage and sprinkle evenly with salt and pepper. Mix well until just combined.
3. Dampen hands with water and form mixture into 18 golf ball-sized meatballs. Arrange meatballs on the prepared baking sheet.
4. Bake in the preheated oven until browned, 12 to 15 minutes.
5. Transfer meatballs to a large pot and add marinara sauce. Simmer over low heat for at least 2 hours before serving.

Note: The meatballs are best when simmered in marinara sauce, but you can cook them in the oven for a full 17 minutes, and then cool completely and freeze for a later use.

Nicole's top tips for making easy meatballs

• Small pieces. Make sure to mince or grate the onion and garlic so the pieces are very small and uniform. You don't want big chunks in your meatball.
• Mix in two steps. Mix all of the ingredients together except for the meats — they'll go in after everything else is mixed together. This prevents overworking the meatball mixture, which makes for tough instead of tender meatballs.
• Bread crumbs. Nicole prefers to use bread crumbs to help hold the mixture instead of bread soaked in milk.
• Beef + pork = yum. Adding pork sausage to the meat makes a more moist and flavorful mix.
• Water works. Keep your hands dampened when you're mixing and forming the meatballs to prevent the mixture from sticking to your hands.
• Mix lightly. Remember — you want to mix in the meat just until it's combined without overworking it.
• Taste test. If this is your first time making meatballs, you can test the mixture by frying up a small patty to see how it tastes to you.
• Easy bake. Baking the meatballs in the oven is the easiest way to cook them. If you're going to add them to a sauce, you'll want to cook the meatballs only part way through so they'll finish cooking in the sauce.
• Easy freeze. If you wanted to stash away meatballs for a later use, partially bake the meatballs, then freeze them on a tray and store them in freezer safe bags or containers so they'll be ready when you are.
• Sunday sauce. If you're going to simmer them in sauce, Nicole recommends low and slow for at least two hours.

You might also like:

• 5 Easy Add-Ins To Make Tastier Meatballs
• Get More Tips To Make Meatballs
• Browse All Meatball Recipes

You can connect with Nicole as NicoleMcmom on Allrecipes and on Instagram @nicolemcmom.

More tips, tricks, and ideas from Nicole:

• 8 Easy Ways To Make Budget-Friendly Chicken Thighs
• How To Turn Plain Chicken Breast Into 5 Completely Different Dishes
• 10 Easy Dinners You Can Make With 5 Ingredients or Less
• Create Easy One-Pot Meals With This Simple Formula