Discover how to make perfect meatballs with our tips and tricks. No more frustration over the flavor or making sure the meatball stays together, they turn out perfect every time!
Sure, making meatballs is easy. You just grab some ground meat, add some spices, and form them into balls, right? Well, not exactly.
See, there’s a difference between making okay meatballs and making perfect meatballs. Today, I’m here to show you how I make perfect meatballs. Flavorful, tender and juicy, and the best part of all – they aren’t hard to make. It’s all about the ingredients. Here are my top tips and recipe for making the best meatballs.
Scroll down to read more about how it all comes together or click here to jump straight down to the recipe.
What Kind Of Meat?
For tender, juicy meatballs, I like to use a mix of full fat ground pork and ground beef. Using a fattier meat helps you end up with super tender meatballs with less worry about them drying out or becoming tough. Of course, you can use a variety of meats to make meatballs, but I want to keep this recipe pretty classic and like you might find in an amazing spaghetti dish.
Want to switch things up? Try our Ground Turkey Meatballs or Lamb Meatballs recipe.
Seasoning And Binder
I don’t like to go overboard with seasonings in my meatballs. I think these are best with some onion, fresh parsley, and some salt and pepper. You could add some garlic powder or use Italian seasoning instead though.
To bind the meat mixture together, dry breadcrumbs are best. Using soaked bread may result in mushy, less flavorful meatballs. Add an egg for moisture and to help bind as well.
At the end of the day, meatballs are meant to be simple. Don’t complicate it!
How to Mix and Shape Meatballs
Use your hands to mix all the ingredients together. Trust me on this one, you can combine them better by hand than with a spoon.
Form balls with a cookie scoop then roll them into a perfect ball by hand. (Yep, a 1 inch cookie scoop like this one will give you the perfect size each time.)
How To Cook Meatballs
Last but certainly not least, cook those babies. I’ve always been “team bake” when it comes to making meatballs but I recently discovered how easy it is to pan fry them.
For some reason, I thought it would take longer to pan fry vs. bake but guess what! I pan fried these babies and they were ready in just 15 minutes. Crispy crust and all. If that’s not the perfect meatball, I don’t know what is.
If you still want to bake, try my Baked Meatball Recipe instead.
Try it and see what your family says. I just know they’re going to rave about them.
Bonus Tip: After you add the salt and pepper and mix, take a bit of the mixture (like the size of a quarter) and put it on a microwave-safe plate and microwave it until no longer pink, about 20-30 seconds. Taste it to assess if you have enough seasoning.
Then feel free to simmer with some tomato sauce and toss with pasta, make meatball subs, or however you love to enjoy meatballs.
More Italian Recipes
If you love Italian flavors like these homemade meatballs, make sure to take a look at the following recipes too.
Best Meatballs Recipe
This is the best meatball recipe. Follow the easy steps and you’ll be making perfect meatballs in no time.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 15 meatballs 1x
- Category: Entrée
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb. ground beef
- 1/2 lb. ground pork
- 1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
- 1/4 cup finely chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
Instructions
- In bowl, combine ground meats, breadcrumbs, egg, onion, parsley, salt and pepper. Mix well using hands but do not overmix.
- Shape the mixture into 1 inch balls and place them on a cutting board.
- In a skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Pan fry the meatballs until they are browned on all sides and cooked through, about 15 minutes. If you cut into one of them and see no pink, they are done.
- Transfer the meatballs to a paper towel to drain then serve.
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This post originally appeared in January 2018 and was revised and republished in July 2024.
Good basic recipes, but I would use garlic instead of onions and a good pinch of oregano