It has been just over a year since I first published my meatball recipe on the blog. Since that day, it has become my 2nd most popular recipe, next to my Beer Bacon Chocolate Chili. There is only one problem, I never put pictures up with the recipe…which is really a shame because they are quite lovely, as you may note in the picture above…and the picture below….
In the last year, I have refined the recipe to make enough for 2 people (with leftovers), or 4 people for dinner. These have become an old stand by for crockpot days, when I simply skip the baking and just throw the raw meatballs in the slow cooker with sauce and let it go all day. Honestly, I sometimes find myself making these once per week.
I have also refined the sauce that I cook these meatballs in. Seriously, I couldn’t have made it any easier for you guys. Pour a 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes in your pan, add 1 tsp sugar, a handful of torn up fresh basil leaves, and let it simmer. Once you add the meatballs to the sauce, they really bring out the light, wholesome flavors of the simple ingredients.
One note, one of the trickier things about this recipe is the layering of ingredients. If you are making them for the first time, you may wonder how that works, so I figured a picture might help:
And like I said last year, the less you handle the meat when it is raw, the better the texture of the finished meatball. So, when mixing the ingredients, work from the edges and kind of fold the mixture into the middle as you go around the bowl.
Homemade Meatballs (Based on Rao’s recipe)
This recipe makes approximately 18 – 1 inch meatballs
Ingredients:
- 1 lb Ground beef, ground sirloin or ground pork (or a combination of the 2)
- 1 Large Garlic Clove (crushed)
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- 1 Egg (room temperature)
- 3/4 cup Water (room temperature)
- 3/4 cup Fresh Reggiano or Pecorino Cheese (grated)
- 1/2 cup Seasoned Breadcrumbs
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375
- Place meat in a tall mixing bowl and press into the bowl
- Put garlic on top of meat and lightly rub the garlic around the top of the meat
- Sprinkle with salt & pepper
- Crack your eggs on top of the mixture
- Remember- You have NOT stirred or mixed anything yet, you are layering
- Pour the water over the mixture
- Sprinkle the cheese over the water to make a top layer like a tablecloth
- Cover the cheese with the breadcrumbs
- Now you are ready to mix. Mix from the outside of the bowl to the middle and fold it in.
- After you go around the bowl twice, the mixture should be mixed. Do NOT over handle the meat.
- Roll into your preferred size meatball and place on a greased cookie sheet
- Bake for 20 minutes, or until the top of the meatballs begin to brown
- When baking is complete, place meatballs in a pot full of your favorite sauce and allow to simmer for at least 30 minutes.
- Serve over your favorite pasta (mine is papparadelle) or on hoagie rolls
- 1 lb Ground beef, ground sirloin or ground pork (or a combination of the 2)
- 1 Large Garlic Clove (crushed)
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- 1 Egg (room temperature)
- ¾ cup Water (room temperature)
- ¾ cup Fresh Reggiano or Pecorino Cheese (grated)
- ½ cup Seasoned Breadcrumbs
- Preheat oven to 375
- Place meat in a tall mixing bowl and press into the bowl
- Put garlic on top of meat and lightly rub the garlic around the top of the meat
- Sprinkle with salt & pepper
- Crack your eggs on top of the mixture
- Remember- You have NOT stirred or mixed anything yet, you are layering
- Pour the water over the mixture
- Sprinkle the cheese over the water to make a top layer like a tablecloth
- Cover the cheese with the breadcrumbs
- Now you are ready to mix. Mix from the outside of the bowl to the middle and fold it in.
- After you go around the bowl twice, the mixture should be mixed. Do NOT over handle the meat.
- Roll into your preferred size meatball and place on a greased cookie sheet
- Bake for 20 minutes, or until the top of the meatballs begin to brown
- When baking is complete, place meatballs in a pot full of your favorite sauce and allow to simmer for at least 30 minutes.
- Serve over your favorite pasta (mine is papparadelle) or on hoagie rolls
They sound awesome. I am always trying new meatball recipes.
They are pretty much fail proof. Let me know how they turn out if you try them!
Can these bee frozen? Would like to make a Double Batch and put some in the Freezer.
Can’t wait to make these can they be frozen, would like to triple recipe!
made these for dinner the family loved them. they are absolutely the best meatballs ever!
These are the best meatballs I have ever tasted! I had to substitute garlic for a small onion and the cheese with cheddar cheese. Do you think I can use this receipe for meatloaf?
Hi Pat – I don’t see why not! Maybe try it but cut the water in half. Let me know how it comes out!
The meatloaf turned out great! Our family loves it. Thanks!
I love these moist and delicious meatballs. They really are easy to make. I do however add some herbs for more flavor. Oregano, parsley, basil, additional salt and pepper, etc. The basic recipe though is outstanding. Love the texture. It’s been my new base recipe every time I make meatballs! Thanks for sharing your simple and genius recipe! : )
Thank you so much Jennifer! I really appreciate your kind comments!
I have made my meatballs almost exactly like this for over 30 years and thought it was my own recipe because I didn’t get it from anyone. I do use more herbs though and of course, I don’t measure much. They are wonderful and I have gotten so many compliments.
I love making meatballs with a combo of beef, pork and veal…so I’m loving the beef/pork combo!
I actually prefer them with the pork over just beef. I have made them with all pork a couple times, and they were outstanding….maybe better than with beef….
I’ve always pan fry my meatballs to brown. is oven baked better?
I’d say the results are pretty similar. However with baking, you can eliminate some of the fat, it is easier, and the clean-up is easier as well.
Great post. I too have a great meatball recipe on my blog …
http://oddlyhealthy.com/healthy-eating/sweet-onion-and-soy-sauce-turkey-meatballs-recipe/
It’s slightly different from yours but, I think you and your readers will love it too.
Right now, I just started and I know it’s 1 in a sea of a zillion blogs. I aspire to have a blog like yours. Like you, I will do my best to offer the best possible content to my readers. Thanks for the great post and inspiration.
I have been pondering meatball recipes and this looks like a winner… I will definitely be trying them in January (how could I not with such convincing pictures?!) My crockpot will thank you!
I haven’t made meatballs in the longest time. My personal favorite is to do a meatball stuffed with goat cheese (I made a version like that with a blueberry balsamic BBQ sauce.
We’re making these to bring for Christmas dinner. I’ll let you know how they turn out!
I love it! I cant wait to hear about them!
I mentioned on Twitter already that these meatballs were a big hit at Christmas dinner. Here’s the longer story. We doubled the recipe to make about 40 meatballs and prepared them up through Step13. We let them cool and then put them in the fridge overnight in a big lasagna pan. The next day, we drove them, plus our sauce ingredients, to my wife’s family’s house and finished cooking them in the sauce on site.
They were delicious and everyone loved them. We had fewer leftovers than we had hoped we would. My only change, were I to double the recipe again, would be to reduce the breadcrumbs and cheese by 1/4 or 1/8 cup. By doubling the recipe, I think they became a little more dominating in the final version and I lost some of the meatiness in the meatballs.
I’m definitely making these again!
Thanks for the update Kelsey! Im a thrilled they were a hit!
Well, I have had much trouble since moving, when it comes to finding the Frozen Meatballs I once was able to buy, so, I have turned to the Web. for “How to Make Homemade Meatballs” as a divorced male, and now the “Little Miss Homemaker” I am darn well going to give this ” Absolutely the Best Homemade Meatballs Ev-er” a Try! and I will let anyone else in my boat, know how if they Sink or Float.
One question: what brand of crushed tomatoes do you recommend? I think they have a huge variation in taste from brand to brand. At the moment, I’m using Tuttoroso, but I’ve used Scalfani in the past. Muir Glen used to be good, but I recently bought a bad batch. What do your recommend?
I use Tuttoroso or Pastene. If I cant get those, then Red Pack. But those two are my preferred…right now at least!
I have to say for some reason and I think its from over mixing my meatballs in the past have been almost mushy. I use to use oatmeal because that is how I was taught. Needless to say every time I make them they look great but not so tasty. We joke that they are bombs!!! If I want to do the half and half mixture would you recommend mixing the meat first then layering? Thanks for blogging it is so helpful especially because I was never taught how to cook and I love family dinners!
Hi Nikki- Thanks for reading my recipes! I would say do NOT mix the meat first. Just layer them together. One of the problems you may be having is over mixing. If you “play” with the meat too much, the texture when they are done will be off. Good luck, and let me know how they turn out!
Thanks so much!!! I am not very technical savvy but I am going to do my best to follow you also I looked at your recipes and they all look AMAZING!!! You are a God send, have a wonderful day and I will let you know how they come out.
Best meatballs ever!!!!!!!!
These meatballs are the BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So glad you liked them!
I kind of changed the recipe a little bit. didn’t have the cheese it called for, so I used a four cheese mixture and I put onions in it. there in the oven right now and I’ll probably finish everything tomorrow. I’m going to put them in a cream of mushroom soup with a little milk and simmer for about 45 minutes.I’ll keep in touch and let you know how they turn out.I made a double batch because its real simular to my Salisbury steak recipe I use.and it’s a hit with everybody that’s ever tried it.thank you and will stay in touch I hope.
Sounds great Terry! Let me know how they come out.
Have to admit, this process seemed strange to me and i was a little scared. I used 1.5lbs of ground pork so i just increased the water/egg/cheese/breadcrumb a little. Otherwise, i followed the recipe exactly and they came out great. lots of flavor…moist..and really easy clean up. i made it with a summer red sauce (just garlic, can 28 oz san Marzano whole tomatoes, squished) tons fresh basil, s&p and a tiny dash of sugar). Very good. I recommend.
i love your recipe
I have a great recipe from my Italian mother-in-law, but will give yours a shot. Instead of mixing with my hands, I use a fork. It takes more time, but I am not overworking the meat and warming it with my hands.
That is a great tip Carol Ann! I am going to have to try it!
My favorite meatball recipe I make them at least 1 per month thanks for sharing!
These are in the oven as we speak! The only thing I’m worried about is that I doubled the recipe because I used a lb of beef and a lb of pork but when I rolled the meat balls it looked like mostly cheese and breadcrumbs like 50/50 to the meat proportion…either way they smell delish and I’m sure they will taste great! I’m making homemade alfredo sauce to go with them 🙂
I’m thinking of making these, and then throwing them in the crockpot with the sauce for meatballs for my daughter’s birthday party. About how many meatballs does this make? I love meatballs and the pictures are making me DROOL!!!!
I meant to say, for meatball subs.
It depends on how big you make them. About 18 one inch meatballs. Have a great party!
Thanks for the quick reply! 🙂
I just made these for dinner and they were fantastic! Highly recommended. This is my go-to recipe for meatballs now. I happened to have some red wine so I used that instead of water. That was the only change I made. Thank you for posting!
They are great!
A little red wine never hurt anything 🙂
I used this recipe for dinner this evening. The meatballs were awesome, my family is still raving about them 🙂 thank you for sharing!
So glad they were a hit! Thanks for sharing Cindy!
This meatball recipe is great ~ I finally found the perfect meatball! The sauce is so good, too. Thanks for sharing 😀
Thanks Jeanine! I am so glad you liked it!!
Just made these with venison and bacon bits. They are in oven cooking now and smell excellent. Only thing was had to add few more bread crumbs. Hope they taste as good as they look. Did tony’s seasoning for taste over salt and pepper
Venison and bacon bits?! They must smell like heaven! Different types of meat have a different consistency that sometimes requires a little nudging of the recipe. I hope they are amazing!
This is a definitely a must try the taste of these done with venison is indescribable. So tender and flavorful
I’m planning to make them for family including a dairy allergic child, so no cheese. Would you just omit or substitute something else?
You can just omit the cheese. Good luck!
sound great how are these on the end of a toothpick right out of pot as apps?
Fantastic as an app! Maybe just make them a little smaller.
I don’t have fresh garlic in the house but going to try with garlic powder and different cheese, will post how they tried out tomorrow
These look delicious, and I am excited to make them tonight. The only issue is that I don’t have fresh garlic. I have garlic, in a jar, but not sure how much to use.
Thanks Erin – Jarred garlic is just fine! Use as much as you would like, I would estimate a 1/4 tsp would be about right.
My first time making meatballs off of a recipe , I omitted the tomatoes and simmered the meatballs in a brown, onion and garlic based gravy.The Taste was beyond what I expected, an Awsome Recipe me and my girlfriend loved it and she’s the chef!
can you substitute parmesan for the pecorino?
Absolutely!
What temperature?
375
These are delicious and they didn’t fall apart in my meatball soup thanks so much a great recipe!
I have cooked this recipe about 3 times since finding it. I’m a huge meatball fan. This is absolutely the greatest meatball recipe I have ever found. These freakin’ things are so good. My wife is not a meatball fan and she ended up loving these things. Whoever invented this recipe should receive some type of award. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!
This recipe is all me, thanks for the kind words Justin!
Thanks for this great recipe. I have made meatballs several times and my husband says this was, by far, the best ever!!!1
So glad you like them Nicky! I hope they continue to be a favorite 🙂
Just used this recipe for my girlfriends family’s meatball making contest! I hope we win, if we do I will be sending you a picture of the trophy!
Awesome! Did you win?
Just curious as to what type of cheese you put on your hoagie, from the picture it looks like you used a Muenster type of cheese because of the orange/red rind? Btw the pictures and recipe look awesome, can’t wait to try it out!
Good eye Gabby – It is indeed Munster! Let me know how they come out when you try them.
Great recipe…. i made it with half ground pork and half ground beef …added a bit more seasoning….but wow….its a keeper …i will look no further….
Thank you!
Do you use fresh or store bought breadcrumbs? Large or small pieces? Seasoned? Making these for my dad’s birthday can’t wait to try them 🙂
Hi Holly – I use store bougt, small, seasoned breadcrumbs. But you can use any small breadcrumbs that you prefer. Happy birthday to your dad!
Hi,
Can I make these in the crock pot? If so how long? And would you still bake in oven 20 min first?
Hi Heidi – You certainly can! I have put the raw meatballs in the crockpot before, when they are going to cook all day. However, I think the consistency is best if you still bake them first.
I’ve made these meatballs a few times and my husband absolutely loves them. No need to look for other recipes. Why mess with perfection? Thank you!
I am so happy they work well for you! It is definitely a tried and true recipe!
I googled “best beef meatballs” and this was one of the top returns. I made them for dinner last night, and I have to agree. These came out fabulous! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you Kim! This is one recipe that I have never had to toy with, perfect every time! Happy New Year!
Tried these meatballs today! Because I had 3lbs worth of ground beef, I tripled the ingredients. They came out delicious! I just added in a bit more garlic and integrated diced onions! MMmm! Thank you thank you!
Can’t wait to make these-if I did cook them in a crockpot would you recommend on low for 8-10 hours? Even with baking for 20min first?
What time of sauce does everyone cook these in? I would love to make a large batch and try different sauces out and then freeze. Suggestions? Thanks!
I use regular flavor Prego and they are excellent…freeze well too!
Delicious!! Easy to make, I used ingredients on-hand, 1 lb. of X-lean ground beef and 1/2 lb of freshly ground breakfast sausage and dried Parmesan….a new family favorite…thanks!!
Truly amazing…they disappear quickly every time I make them! I use 50/50 mixture of ground chuck and mild italian sausage. Also use home-made seasoned Parmesan garlic bread crumbs for the seasoning. These are a FAV and fool-proof…thanks for sharing!
Have you ever frozen them before you cooked them. I need to take them to my family in Woodstock IL and didn’t want to have to make them there.
Hi Lisette – I haven’t myself, but people have written in to say that they have frozen them and it worked well! I would suggest to bake them and then freeze. When you are ready to eat them, you can add them to your sauce (frozen or thawed) and cook in your sauce until they are warmed through.
Yes, these freeze very well. I bake them, remove some of the grease (paper towels) and freeze them in spaghetti sauce. If I don’t have time to make the home-made sauce, they are delicious with a large jar of Prego Spaghetti Sauce. Thanks again for the recipe!
can i use mozzarella and provolone cheese
Hi Jackie – I wouldn’t because they both get a gooey melted texture. Parmesan or Asiago are dryer and work more like a binder. I hope that helps!
If I double the recipe, can I lightly mix the two eggs prior to adding to the bowl mixture?
Mona – Yes, but just barely to break the yolks.
These were amazing! I had to share with my friends, so tastey and all the right flavors, even better the next day!
Hi I am making them tonight. Question, your recipe calls for one egg but your instructions says eggs. Did I miss something. Thanks. Priscilla lowenthl
Thanks Priscilla – That is a typo, thanks for catching! The formula is one egg per pound of meat.
I made a big batch of these jewels with 2lbs grass feed organic beef and 2lbs of pork the butcher ground for me. They freeze beautifully. The meatballs were great to pull out of the freezer and thoss into a pan with a jar of Rao’s sauce. My husband liked it so much he ordered a case of their sauce. The secret is truly in the assembly. Thanks for making me look awesome!
I have been using this recipe every time I make my meatball & mozerella stuffed pasta shells and I believe it’s been over a year at least. This recipe is perfect!! Thank you so much for sharing this and helping me make the juiciest most flavor meatballs EVER every time!!!! (:
My fiancé loves Italian sausage so I do half beef half Italian sausage and sometimes group pork! Oh my gosh – SO SO GOOD!
Can you make these meatballs the day before and refrigerate them and cook the next day? I love these meatballs they are the best. I use less water because we are at high altutude. Thank you
Can you cook them in Tomato sauce instead of baking?
Hi Nona – You can, but the consistancy will be much softer. Which is fine if you like them that way!
Definitely ,I always make extra
I just have to say, I have had this recipe bookmarked to my Home Screen for at least 8 years now. I have used this recipe about 50 times, it’s my go-to when I need to whip up meatballs for my stuffed jumbo shells. They come out AMAZING and perfect every time! I always buy a block of mozzarella cheese and cut in cubes and form the meatball mix around the cheese for stuffed meatballs, and OH EM GEE it’s amazing! Thank you for sharing this so long ago it has been a staple recipe for me all this time!!!