This incredibly delicious homemade meatball recipe is easy to follow and has a simple list of ingredients. You can use ground beef, turkey, chicken, pork, or lamb. They’re so delicious!
Consider this your essential meatball recipe. The meatballs are incredibly versatile, too. You can cook them in a skillet, bake them in the oven, cook them in a slow cooker, or crisp them up in an air fryer.
Serve them with your favorite sauce, make meatball subs, add them to soups, or enjoy them as a simple meatball appetizer. You might also enjoy this spaghetti and meatballs recipe or these big, tender Italian meatballs!
Key Ingredients
- Ground meat: This meatball recipe works well with most ground meat. Just keep in mind that ground meat with a bit of fat works best (look for 7% to 10% fat). I love the recipe for beef meatballs, but you can use ground pork, turkey, chicken, or lamb. I also love a combination. My favorite is a mixture of ground pork and turkey, which I use in this Italian wedding soup.
- Breadcrumbs: I add breadcrumbs for texture. I also love substituting them for crushed saltine crackers like we do for this meatloaf.
- Milk: Adds moisture and tenderizes the meat, making our meatballs juicy and tender once cooked.
- Egg: Adds more moisture and helps the mixture firm up once cooked.
- Parmesan: My secret ingredient for the best meatballs! Parmigiano-Reggiano adds flavor and salt to our mixture. I’m pretty generous with it.
- Oregano, salt, and pepper: Help season our meatballs. I keep the seasoning simple since these are more versatile meatballs.
How to Make Meatballs
I’ve made this meatball recipe so many times, and my family loves them. I start by stirring breadcrumbs and milk together in a mixing bowl. I let this mixture thicken up for a few minutes, then stir in the egg, parmesan cheese, and spices. Mixing all these ingredients before adding the ground meat helps ensure the seasonings are evenly distributed.
Next, I mix in the ground meat. This recipe works well with most types of ground meat, so use whatever you prefer! I give the mixture a good mix until everything is combined, and then it’s time to form the meatballs.
I like using a cookie scoop to make sure they’re all similar in size, then roll them into balls. If you want bigger meatballs, check out my recipe for Italian meatballs. At this point, you can cook the meatballs right away or freeze them for later. I’ve included tips below on how to freeze uncooked meatballs.
My favorite way to cook these meatballs is on the stovetop. It gives them a lovely golden brown crust. I use a hot pan with some oil and cook them over medium heat until they’re browned on all sides and cooked through in the middle.
You can also bake them in the oven, simmer them in sauce (like I do with these turkey meatballs), or use a slow cooker or air fryer. I’ve shared tips for all these cooking methods in the recipe below.
What to Serve with Meatballs
Serve these delicious meatballs with your favorite sauce. I love this homemade red pasta sauce. These also make a great appetizer. I’ve served them with barbecue sauce and our buffalo wing sauce with some blue cheese dressing on the side.
You can turn these into meatball subs or stuff them into homemade pita bread with veggies and some hummus. I also love serving these meatballs with veggies. Some favorites are sautéed cabbage, baked sweet potato fries, and roasted broccoli.
Juicy Meatballs
- PREP
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- TOTAL
This is our essential meatball recipe. It’s quick to make, calls on ingredients we always have, and makes delicious, juicy, tender, and flavorful meatballs. The recipe calls for one pound of ground meat. The meat you choose is up to you. We especially love using a combination of ground pork and ground turkey.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
1 pound (450g) ground meat, like ground beef, pork, chicken, turkey, or a combination
1/2 cup (35g) breadcrumbs or crushed saltine crackers
1/2 cup (118ml) milk
1 large egg
1/4 cup (14g) finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 to 2 tablespoons high-heat cooking oil for cooking
Directions
- How to Make Meatballs
1Stir breadcrumbs and milk in a large bowl, and then let sit for 5 minutes. Add the egg, cheese, oregano, salt, and pepper. Stir until well blended.
2Add the ground meat and mix everything until combined, using a fork or your fingers. Try not to over mix for the most tender meatballs.
3Wet your hands, then form the mixture into small balls (1 inch to 1 ¼ inch balls). You should get about 35 meatballs. A small cookie scoop is useful for portioning the meatballs.
4Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in the bottom of a wide Dutch oven or nonstick pan over medium heat.
5Place the meatballs down into the hot oil and cook until they are cooked through, the outsides are browned, and they register 165°F in the middle on an instant-read thermometer for about 15 minutes. Depending on the shape or size of your skillet, you might need to do this in two batches.
- For Baked Meatballs
1Preheat the oven to 425°F (218°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper, foil, or a silicone baking mat.
2Place formed meatballs onto the baking sheet, leaving a little space in between each meatball. Lightly spray the top of the meatballs with cooking spray or brush with oil.
3Bake until they are cooked through, the outsides are browned, and they register 165°F in the middle on an instant-read thermometer, about 20 minutes.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Storing: Cooked meatballs will last up to 3 days in the refrigerator when stored in an airtight container or frozen in an airtight, freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
- Make ahead tips: You can refrigerate the raw meatball mixture overnight and bake it the next day. Or freeze raw meatballs for up to 3 months. Place the meatballs on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Freeze until firm. Then, transfer the frozen meatballs to an airtight, freezer-safe container and freeze. When ready to cook them, bake until lightly browned and cooked through.
- Simmer meatballs in sauce: Follow the instructions shared in this turkey meatball recipe.
- Slow cooker meatballs: Simmer meatballs in your favorite sauce for 4 hours on LOW or 2 hours on HIGH. See these slow cooker chicken meatballs for more tips.
- Air fryer meatballs: Preheat to 375°F and air fry the meatballs for 12 to 15 minutes or until cooked.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We included 8 ounces of ground turkey and 8 ounces of ground pork for the calculations.
Great flavor by itself. I made a double batch on stovetop and served half with marinara sauce and gnocchi and half plain with rice. My kids and I loved it. It’ll become a staple now.
Interesting mixing breadcrumbs & milk together first. Very nice flavor. I used Italian seasoning instead of oregano and fried on stove top. They take a little longer to cook because they are so juicy. I’ll bake in oven next time.
I have been trying to make a soft and delicious meatball for 50 years, no kidding! I used a quality meatball/meatloaf mix from my local meat store, and followed the recipe and suggestions from Inspired Taste. I did use crushed saltine crackers and Pecorino Romano cheese. The meatballs were fabulous, tender and delicious, with and without tomato sauce. Also, the recipe is very easy to make up.
This was delicious!!! Best meatballs I’ve ever made. And I think these are as outstanding as ones my Italian family makes. I used a combination of of beef, pork and veal. Going to double the batch next time. You will not be disappointed.
First of all I want to say thank you for your simple and delicious Meatball recipe (beef, turkey and vegan) meatballs. I have recooked it and I love it.
Your recipe is easy to follow and that is the main reason why I like it. I am watching your video from Hawai’i.
Aloha Lani! Thank you so much for commenting! We are thrilled you are enjoying our recipes!
When a meatball tastes delicious all on its own with no sauce– you’ve got an excellent recipe. These are delicious. I cooked mine for in the oven. Great technique to mix it all in one bowl and then add to the meat. Every single bite was full of flavor!! Highly recommend.
Wow
I don’t usually post online but these guys deserve credit for this recipie. Best meatballs I’ve ever had. I added some garlic powder for extra flavour.
I can’t believe how easy & absolutely delicious these are! I had given up on homemade recipes bc they always came out hard as a rock & not flavorful enough. These little balls of meat are rockstars & I’m never buying premade ones again. I cooked them in olive oil in my cast iron pan with the cover on for 9 minutes & rotated then every 3, plopped then into my pan of sauce and DANG! Amazing! Thanks for sharing this easy peasy recipe!
I made this today. I doubled the remand used ground pork and turkey. I made it at my daughter house and she didn’t have oregano so I used Italian seasoning. They were really good and my grandkids also liked it. Will make again. Thanks for this recipe!
I am planning to make spaghetti meatballs and I am glad I found this meatballs recipe because it’s so simple and yummy! With mahalo from Hawai’i
So glad you found us! Thank you for sharing!
Made these last night and they came out incredibly moist. Soaking the breadcrumbs is key.
I made these last night with my son. And they came out perfect. I will highly recommend this recipe.
What could I use in place of the mill? Since COVID, my husband is not a fan of dairy.
You can try a non-dairy milk (like soy, almond, or oat). Just make sure it is unsweetened.
Made these with the ingredients listed, except I substituted breadcrumbs for the crackers since I didn’t have any. I sautéed the chopped onions in olive oil before I added them to the mix. I made them into 4oz balls. Put enough for our dinner in the airfryer oven at 360° for 18 minutes…came out perfect. I froze the rest of the RAW meatballs on a tray, then put them in a ziplock. Now just have to defrost how many I need in the fridge overnight & cook in the airfryer for dinner. I like my meatballs cooked fresh, not reheated. Great recipe!
So happy you found us, Donna! Thanks for sharing all of your tips!