I'm declaring WAR on dry hard meatballs! These are the meatballs my husband declared the “Best Italian meatballs ever!” Pretty bold words from a New Jersey Italian boy, and he’s right!
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In a previous post, we made an amazing Pantry Shelf Marinara sauce! Well, there's nothing The Boy likes more with his beloved red sauce than meatballs! Unfortunately for me, I've had a hard time making meatballs that don't taste like someone peeled a golf ball and covered it with sauce. Well, I'm done! I'm declaring war on all the dry, hard meatballs of the world! I'm throwing down the gauntlet, whatever a gauntlet is.
The thing is, I've tried quite a few meatball recipes over the years, hoping to satisfy The Boy's (and my own) craving for a good meatball, but I've never been able to create the soft, pillowy meatballs I was looking for.
So after much meaty tinkering, I finally found the secret. So, what's this "secret"? Stop complicating things. That's it. Just a few fresh ingredients, treated with care, gives up a delightful, juicy, tender meatball.
Looking for more Italian recipes?
- Pizza al Taglio (Thick Crust Pizza)
- Grilled Skirt Steak with Italian Chimichurri and Tomato Salad
- Italian Frittata
- Chicken Parmesan Meatballs
- Chicken Piccata Meatballs
📖 Recipe
Best Italian Meatballs Ever!
Ingredients
- ½ cup fresh bread crumbs or same amount of panko bread crumbs
- ¼ cup milk or half and half
- 1 large egg whisked
- ½ cup Romano cheese grated
- ¼ cup parsley fresh leaves, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 lb ground beef or a mixture of beef, pork, and/or veal.
- ¼ cup onion very finely chopped or grated
- 1 clove garlic minced
Instructions
- Get ahead of the game and do your mise en place. That just means getting all your ingredients measured and cut up and "in place" so you can get right down to the business of making meatballs. Preheat your oven to 400° F. Line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper and spritz with non-stick spray.
- Place the torn bread in a large bowl and cover with the milk. Let it sit for about 5 minutes. It will get mushy. This is a good thing!
- Add all your other ingredients to the bowl with the soaked bread and gently mix together with a wooden spoon or extra gently with your hands.
- Shape the mixture into roughly golf ball sized balls using a small cookie scoop or your hands. Place on your baking sheet with a little space in between each ball so they all get even exposure to the heat and get the little crispy side bits we all know and love! You should get about 24-28 meatballs.
- Bake in 400° oven for 25-30 minutes, turning over once. Remove from the oven. Sneak one and taste it for quality control. No one will notice one missing meatball.
- Add the meatballs to your favorite sauce. Let the sauce and meatballs simmer for about 20 minutes. Toss with pasta, serve over polenta or use in a sandwich.
Save This Recipe! 💌
I'll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later, plus you'll get great new recipes from me every week!
Victor says
Reading through this recipe brings me back to when my mother used to make them. They were the best! Thank you for bringing me back!
Cynthia says
Well I hope you make them! They’re really really good!