Homemade meatballs are a very easy to make, and since we skip the very messy step of pan-frying these before they hit the sauce, it becomes downright simple. Here I use a standard half-beef/half-pork mixture. You can substitute water or beef broth for the milk, if preferred.
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup plain bread crumbs
- ½ cup milk
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound ground pork
- 2 eggs
- ¼ bunch fresh parsley, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian herb seasoning
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Directions
- Step 1
Cover a baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.
Step 2
Soak bread crumbs in milk in a small bowl for 20 minutes.
Step 3
Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir onions in hot oil until translucent, about 20 minutes.
Step 4
Mix beef and pork together in a large bowl. Stir onions, bread crumb mixture, eggs, parsley, garlic, salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, Italian herb seasoning, and Parmesan cheese into meat mixture with a rubber spatula until combined. Cover and refrigerate for about one hour.
Step 5
Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
Step 6
Using wet hands, form meat mixture into balls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Arrange onto prepared baking sheet.
Step 7
Bake in the preheated oven until browned and cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes.
Cook's Notes:
Some recipes use equal portions of beef, veal, and pork, which is also nice, yet more expensive. These days you can find all sorts of lean-to-fat ratios for ground beef. Most stores sell 90% lean, 10% fat, but I prefer the 80% lean, 20% fat ratio for this recipe.
Tips
Once cooked, you can add the meatballs to your favorite prepared tomato sauce for 1 to 2 hours.
Nutrition Facts
Per Serving: 82 calories; protein 6.2g; carbohydrates 1.7g; fat 5.5g; cholesterol 32.3mg; sodium 192.1mg.
