Classic Meatballs
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Growing up, we had pasta a lot. It was cheap, stretched a long way for a family of five, and we all loved it. My Dad loved it the most, and he especially loved it when my mom made meatballs. I’ve taken her recipe and tweaked it over the years; it’s foundationally the same with a few additions. Served with your favorite pasta and marinara sauce and paired with a light side like my arugula salad with shaved parmesan, this makes a great weeknight meal.
Cooking Level
Foundational | BEGINNER | Intermediate | Advanced
Classic Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 - 1 3/4lb ground beef (ground round, sirloin, or chuck is fine)
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 sweet or yellow onion, diced
- 1 t dried parsley (or 1 T fresh parsley, chopped)
- 1 t salt
- 1 t fresh ground pepper
- 1 c Italian breadcrumbs
- 1 T grated parmesan cheese (optional)
- 2 T olive oil
Instructions
- Wash your hands thoroughly (and remove your ring(s) if you don't want them to get dirty). I prefer to use my hands to mix this up, but you can use a sturdy spatula or wooden spoon.
- Using your hands, mix the 1 1/2 lbs. ground beef, 1/2 diced onion, 1 t parsley (or 1 T fresh chopped parsley), 4 eggs, salt, pepper, 1 c Italian breadcrumbs, and 1 T parmesan cheese (if using) together in a large bowl. If it the mixture seems too dry, add a little drizzle of olive oil or a splash of red wine. You want the meatballs just shy of goopy, but they should hold their shape when formed into a ball.
- Form the meat mixture into 12-16 golf ball-sized meatballs.
- Heat 2 T olive oil in a heavy pan (preferably a cast iron skillet) over medium heat.
- Place the meatballs into the hot pan and cook, turning every 5 minutes so each side is brown and crispy; about 15 minutes (or until each meatball is an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit).
- Serve with your favorite pasta and marinara sauce. For extra flavor, place the cooked meatballs in spaghetti sauce about 30 minutes to 1 hour before serving so they have time to soak up some of the sauce.
- Enjoy!
If you’re cooking for just two, like I am, this recipe goes a long way. Store the meatballs in any extra spaghetti sauce you have. To reheat, place the sauce and meatballs into a sauce pan and add a little water or more spaghetti sauce, because the meatballs probably soaked up a lot of the sauce overnight. Heat on the stove over medium / medium-low heat for 20-25 minutes until the meatballs are heated through. To reheat cooked pasta, boil a little water and re-boil the noodles for 1-2 minutes.
Alternatively, cut the meatballs in half and put them, along with the leftover pasta and sauce, on a microwave-safe plate and heat for 1-2 minutes until heated through.
