If you need a delicious, but easy and basic meatball recipe, you’ve found it! Our recipe can be made with your choice of ground meat (beef, pork, or turkey), with the meatballs being baked in the oven for hands-off cooking.
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There is a lot of great meatball recipes there out. One of the most popular recipes here on our blog is our Baked Turkey Meatballs with Spinach. They are insanely delicious and they get rave reviews! But, what if you need a quick meatball recipe with fewer ingredients and steps?
This Easy Basic Meatball recipe saves the day! It’s an effortless meatball recipe and you probably have most of the ingredients in your kitchen. They are frugal and even someone new to cooking is able to make these meatballs quite easily.
Ways to Use Meatballs
These meatballs are very versatile too. Once you’ve cooked a batch, you can use them in a variety of meals. They can be served for lunch or dinner or even used for party appetizers. Some of our favorite ways to enjoy these meatballs:
- Served as-is with ketchup, barbecue sauce, or another dipping sauce.
- Make easy hot & cheesy Meatball Sandwiches OR use them as part of a DIY Meatball Sub Bar.
- Add the meatballs to your classic spaghetti dinner.
- Heat them in a slow cooker with barbecue sauce (or another sauce) for serving at a party.
- Combine meatballs with an Asian inspired sauce and serve over rice.
Of course, this is just a few ideas. There are many more ways to enjoy meatballs!
Basic Meatball Recipe Ingredients
NOTE: Get the full ingredient list and amounts at the end of this post.
To make our Basic Meatballs recipe, you will need 2 pounds of ground meat. You can use ground beef, ground turkey, or ground pork — or you can use a combination of these. For example, you can use 1 pound of ground beef and 1 pound of ground pork (which is our favorite combo). Use whatever you have on hand or whichever you prefer.
You will also need breadcrumbs for this recipe. You can buy breadcrumbs or make your own. I have started saving up stale bread to make my own and it’s very easy to do with an oven and food processor.
You’ll need a few items from the refrigerator:
- eggs
- milk
- Parmesan cheese
And several items from the pantry:
- Worcestershire sauce
- garlic powder
- onion powder
- dried Italian herbs (Italian seasoning, oregano – whatever you have)
- salt and pepper
How to Make Homemade Meatballs
Unlike our Oven Baked Turkey Meatballs with Spinach, our Basic Meatball recipe has only about three main steps (get the full instructions at the end of this post):
- Combine meats and the other ingredients until well combined.
- Create meatballs with the mixture either by hand or with a meatball scoop (aka a cookie dough scoop) and place on a greased baking sheet.
- Bake and serve!
After baking, they are ready to serve or use in a favorite recipe.
How to Freeze Meatballs
If you aren’t ready to use your meatballs yet, or you made extras, you can freeze them. I always freeze our meatballs without any sauce so that I can use them in a variety of meals.
When I freeze our meatballs, I do them by flash freezing, as this allows the meatballs to be frozen individually.
To freeze meatballs, first, make sure that cooked meatballs are completely cooled. Then place them on a greased baking tray that will fit in your freezer. Place the tray in the freezer and freeze until firm and frozen.
Once they are frozen, you can place them into a zipper-style freezer bag or another freezer-safe food storage container. We own a FoodSaver system, so we use that to seal our meatballs before freezing.
When you are ready to use your frozen meatballs, you can defrost them in your refrigerator OR you can add frozen meatballs directly to a sauce and allow them to heat through right in the sauce.
Frozen meatballs will keep well in your freezer. We recommend using them within 3 – 4 months for the best taste.
Side Dishes to Pair with Meatballs
- Bacon-Cheddar Potato Salad
- Potato Chips & Sour Cream Chip Dip
- Summer Fruit Salad
- Oven Roasted Red Skin Potatoes
- Slow Cooker Baby Carrots with Honey and Brown Sugar
Here’s the full recipe, ready for you to print! If you like this recipe, be sure to share on Facebook or pin it to Pinterest.
Print
Basic Meatball Recipe
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 40–50 meatballs 1x
Ingredients
2 pounds ground beef, turkey, or pork (or a combination)
1 cup breadcrumbs
2 large eggs
¾ – 1 cup milk
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 1/2 tablespoons dried Italian seasoning
½ cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
1. Spray a large baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Combine ground meat in a large bowl with the breadcrumbs and eggs. Add ¾ cup of milk to mixture, then add a little more if the mixture is too dry. Add remaining ingredients and mix until combined, without overmixing.
3. Using your hands or a meatball scoop, form meatballs, and place the prepared baking sheet.
4. Bake meatballs for 12-15 minutes, depending on the size of the meatballs until browned and no pink remains in the center. Remove from oven and serve.
Notes
To Freeze: Allow meatballs to cool completely. Place cooled meatballs on a greased baking sheet that will fit in your freezer. Place the baking sheet in the freezer until meatballs are frozen. Transfer meatballs to a freezer-safe container or resealable bag and return to the freezer.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nancy K says
These look great! I’m going to make some this week to have in my freezer. Wonderful to have on hand when guests ring the bell! Or to make ahead for less stressful dinner prep. Thanks for posting. 🙂
Linda says
These are the best basic meatballs I’ve ever made! Made them for a swedish meatball dinner. So, so good! Will be making these often!
★★★★★
Carol Moyer says
I would like to make this recipe, but I need the nutritional information, I am on WW and have to figure out my points, basically I just need how many this recipe serves and what the serving size is, can you help with this?
Sarah says
This recipe is perfect for us. I tripled recipe, baked, cooled, put on clean baking sheet, froze. Bagged them babies up, great for grabbing a few at a time as needed. Flavor isn’t too Italian so use in Sweet and Sour meatballs, subs, with an Alfredo sauce, with brown gravy over mashed potatoes. The list goes on and on. Just love them.
★★★★★
Barbara Guth says
Have you ever cooked these in a crockpot?