The BEST Classic Italian Meatballs

These classic Italian meatballs are perfect for spaghetti and meatballs, inside a calzone, or on a sub. Just make them. Trust me.

These have become my family’s go-to meatball recipe, and I even got the ultimate compliment from an Italian friend. “Wow, these taste as good as the ones my mom used to make.”

These are easy and quick to make, and my kids started making them as preteens. You don’t need a ton of cooking skills and knowledge to make homemade meatballs everyone will love.

The first time I made them, Little Miss proclaimed them The best meatballs ever, Mommy! right before she decided she didn’t feel like eating anymore and told me she didn’t like them.

She was lying. They were good.

Mister Man concurred saying Mommy, you make the best meatballs ever. Yeah, I’ve got them trained well. And I didn’t even do the training!

Regardless, these classic Italian meatballs totally rocked. The recipe is written to use both ground beef and ground pork, but you can make them with all ground beef if you prefer.

In fact, I have experimented over the years, and they work with ground turkey and ground chicken, as well. They do taste best and most authentic with the mix of ground beef and ground pork, however.

What ground beef should I use for meatballs?

One of the reasons meatballs taste bland or get dry is that you use meat that is too lean. While you may want to use 90% lean ground beef for meatballs for soup like my Italian Meatball Soup where the broth keeps them tender and flavorful, you need fat when you make meatballs for other purposes.

The ground pork helps increase the fat content, but when I make these meatballs, I use 85% ground beef. If I make all ground beef meatballs, I use 80% or even 75% ground beef.

I know. You want to have a lower fat diet or you want to reduce calories. But remember that much of the fat renders out as it cooks, and you do need the fat to make these taste good.

Do I need an egg to make meatballs?

Egg acts as a binder to ensure your breadcrumbs, seasonings, and meat all stick together as you form them and bake them. Without eggs, your meatballs become dry.

This is the same theory as when you make Italian meatloaf. Without the egg and breadcrumbs, you essentially just made a seasoned hamburger.

That said, don’t add extra eggs in an attempt to make them more moist. They can make your meatballs spongy and ruin the texture of them.

How to Make Classic Italian Meatballs

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Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Put all ingredients in a bowl.

Very gently mix the ingredients together until you can no longer see the egg. Don’t squish and overwork the meat, or you’ll end up with dry meatballs.

Shape into small ping-pong-sized balls. This makes about 24 meatballs, which is enough for two meals in our house. Fortunately, I like leftovers.

Place meatballs on a parchment or silpat-lined baking sheet. Alternatively, invest in a rack that fits inside your jelly roll pan and bake them on top of that.

Bake for about 15 or so minutes until nicely browned.

Let any leftover meatballs fully cool, then place in a tightly sealed container in the fridge for two to three days. Reheat covered on the stovetop or microwave, as needed.

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