Looking for an amazing and easy meatball recipe? You gotta try these. PERFECT. The seasoning is spot on. The texture is just how you like it. They are easily cut with a fork, but they won’t fall apart if you decide to cook them in sauce for a couple of hours. Just make sure to use an awesome homemade spaghetti sauce with this easy meatball recipe!
I’ve looked and tried several easy meatball recipes online. Some use a mix of beef, pork, and maybe veal. That doesn’t sound too easy to me. To be honest, there’s no reason to. Do yourself a favor… save time and money by just using 80/20 ground beef.
It took me a few tries to get the ratio of meat, breadcrumbs, and parmesan cheese right. I arrived at 1/3 cup of breadcrumbs, 1 tsp of salt, and 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese for each pound of ground beef. This results in the perfect texture and perfect level of saltiness.
Also add in some garlic, pepper, basil, parsley, and an egg to keep it bound together. This is a very easy meatball recipe. But it is pure perfection.
But one of the keys to getting this just right is to mix all of the non-meat ingredients first in a bowl (which I didn’t do in the picture above). I usually whisk them together. Then add the meat. Mix it all up just enough, but not so much that the meat is overworked.
Once you make the balls, you can either fry them in oil (they get a nice crust on them if you do it this way), or you can just bake them. I’d also recommend tossing them in a nice sauce and simmering for a couple hours. They get REALLY nice if you do it this way.
Easy Meatball Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb 80/20 ground beef
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
- 1/3 cup breadcrumbs
- 3 cloves of garlic pressed or minced
- 1 Tbsp dried basil
- 2 Tbsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 egg
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine everything except the beef and mix well.
- Add the beef and blend, trying not to work the meat too much (works best with your hands)
- Form small balls of the meat and place on a cookie sheet.
- Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes (this could be longer or shorter depending on the size of the meatballs).
- Place the meatballs in the sauce and simmer for at least a half hour.
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