Quick & Easy Homemade Meatballs are so tender and flavorful, you'd never know they take 30 minutes! Three kinds of meat make all the difference.
Keith’s Homemade Meatballs are the real deal. They're moist, juicy, and full of flavor. We love them on a plate of polenta topped with Easy Homemade Tomato Sauce. His years of making them in restaurants have helped him craft the perfect recipe. The secret is three kinds of meat: ground beef, ground pork and ground turkey.
The best part? You'll have them on the table in 30 minutes.
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Ingredients
- GROUND TURKEY: we like a mix of white and dark meat turkey
- GROUND BEEF: we like 85% lean ground beef
- GROUND PORK: 80% lean ground pork
- GRATED PARMESAN CHEESE: use freshly grated parmesan or processed cheese ("shaky cheese") works.
- BREAD SLICES: any bread works here, but a hearty Italian or French bread is best
- MILK: and milk works (2%, skim, even nut milks)
- GARLIC CLOVES: crushed
- EGGS: extra large eggs or jumbo eggs
- BASIL: fresh basil, chopped
- PARSLEY FLAKES: dried parsley flackes
- CRUSHED RED PEPPER: dried crushed red pepper
- TOMATO PASTE: we like Cento Tomato Paste
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine all the meat and mix until combined.
- In a smaller bowl, rip bread slices into ½ in pieces and top with milk and combine to wet bread. Allow bread to set for 5 minutes.
- Add mixture to meat along with remaining ingredients and combine until well mixed.
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Using a cookie scoop or ¼ measuring cup, scoop mixture and form into balls and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Place in oven and bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove from oven and place on a clean baking sheet to cool. They can then be served with your favorite accompaniment (like 15 minute tomato sauce) or frozen for future use.
Variations
- Try different meats: traditional Italian meatballs are made with beef, pork, and veal. But veal is sometimes expensive and hard to find. You can mix meats of any kind to experiment with flavor.
- Make it spicy: add hot sauce or red pepper flakes for more spice.
- Add herbs: add fresh or dried herbs for more flavor: basil and oregano are great additions.
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Top tip
For the best tasting meatballs, you need 3 kinds of meat. 2 will do the trick in a pinch (we prefer ground beef and ground pork).
Storage
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Freeze meatballs in an airtight container for up to 60 days.
- Thaw frozen meatballs in refrigerator before reheating.
- Reheat in a skillet with a little olive oil or butter, or in the microwave.
Serving Suggestions
- Serve them over polenta, topped with homemade tomato sauce and grated Parmesan cheese.
- Slice them into quarters and make Meatball Ciabatta Bread Pizza
- Add them to a simple pasta (like Pasta Pomodoro or Homemade Gnocchi) for extra protein.
- Make an appetizer out of them with some Pepper Focaccia Bread and a side of dipping sauce.
FAQ
Yes, but we find that bread soaked in milk makes for a juicier, moist meatball. Substitute ½ cup breadcrumbs (we like Panko breadcrumbs) for bread and milk.
Yes! Shape the meatballs, place them on a baking sheet, and cover them with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for up to 24 hours.
Use a cookie dough scoop to easily form meatballs. Scoop, then gently roll in your hands for the perfect round shape.
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Homemade Meatballs recipe
Easy Homemade Meatballs are so tender and flavorful, you'd never know they take 30 minutes! Three kinds of meat make all the difference.
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 36 meatballs 1x
Ingredients
- 16 oz ground turkey
- 16 oz ground beef
- 8 oz ground pork
- ½ c grated parmesan cheese
- 4 bread slices (any bread works, however a hearty Italian or French bread is best.)
- ½ C milk
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 2 eggs
- ¼ c fresh chopped basil
- 1 tbsp parsley flakes
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine all the meat and mix until combined.
- In a smaller bowl, rip bread slices into ½ in pieces and top with milk and combine to wet bread. Allow bread to set for 5 minutes.
- Add mixture to meat along with remaining ingredients and combine until well mixed.
- Preheat oven to 375°.
- Using a dough scoop or ¼ measuring cup, scoop mixture and form into balls and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Place in oven and bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove from oven and place on a clean baking sheet to cool. They can then be served with your favorite accompaniment (like 15 minute tomato sauce) or frozen for future use.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Entrées
- Cuisine: Italian American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3 meatballs
- Calories: 215
- Sugar: 1.6 g
- Sodium: 198.8 mg
- Fat: 10.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 7 g
- Protein: 22.6 g
- Cholesterol: 97.1 mg
Susie says
Best meatballs ever! The meatballs are SO GOOD. Just came across your recipe on Instagram and made them twice in 2 weeks. Actually made the 2nd batch with my (adult) kids and left your recipe! They loved them.
Jackie says
Susie,
this makes our day!! We are so happy to hear that you & your family like this recipe. It means so much to us!! Thank you !!
Casey says
This meatball recipe was amazing! I did substitute ground chicken for the ground turkey since that is what I had available. The addition of red pepper flakes was excellent as well. Definitely will be making these again soon.
Jackie says
thanks so much Casey! We are so happy you enjoyed our meatballs!