These are the best Italian meatballs I’ve made (And I did a lot). Tender, juicy, spacious in size. This recipe offers everything you want in classic meatballs.
These homemade Italian meatballs are large, juicy and tender. One pound of meat made into four generous meatballs! You can offer them pasta such as pasta, homemade pasta, or bread like bread next to some bread on a plate. I also used the same recipes for our spaghetti and meatballs that used the same meatball mixture but made smaller meatballs.
Our recipes guarantee perfect texture. They are soft, juicy, tender, and not too dense in the middle. They almost melt in your mouth. Not to mention the homemade sauce, it’s so delicious! I can’t wait for you to try this recipe!
Key Ingredients
- Ground beef (85/15) and pork: I used this perfect combination for classic Italian meatballs! The 85/15 ratio of beef keeps them juicy, while the pork adds richness and unparalleled tenderness.
- Onion and Garlic: Without these, Italian cuisine is complete! They add a lot of flavor to your meatballs.
- Salty cookies and milk: While many authentic Italian recipes use bread as a binder, I use crushed salt cakes and milk. The salt salt adds a lighter amount to the mixture (they do the same thing in our meatloaf recipe).
- Italian Herbs: A combination of fennel, Italian seasoning and parsley infuses these meatballs with authentic Italian flavor. I especially like the fennel in this recipe.
- Parmesan cheese: I use salt in the meatball mixture but also like to season with parmiano-regiano cheese. It adds a lot of flavor.
- Homemade tomato sauce: You can use store-bought sauces, but for really delicious dishes, try my simple homemade tomato sauce. These meatballs are perfect and very easy to make. We include the following recipes. I also love this homemade red pasta sauce.
How to make Italian meatballs
This recipe offers incredibly delicious Italian meatballs with a perfect, soft texture. It starts with salt cookies soaked in milk (my favorite tips for keeping meatballs tender!). Then we add sautéed onions, garlic, ground fennel, those amazing Italian herbs and plenty of cheese to ground beef and pork. Mix it with your hands to make sure all flavors are combined.
This recipe has nothing to do with tiny meatballs! We made four huge ones! Since these meatballs are so big, they stay soft and juicy in the middle. For smaller meatballs, see our spaghetti and meatball recipes inspired by these Italian meatballs.
Quickly bake meatballs in the oven to make the meatballs delicious while staying juicy.
The meatballs make us simple but incredibly delicious tomato sauce when baking. It is made from shallots, garlic, wine, soup ingredients, crushed tomatoes and fresh basil. It works with our meatballs.
Finally, paste those partially roasted meatballs in the sauce. They will finish cooking while absorbing all of this deliciousness. I finished them in the oven but cooked gently on the stove!
How to serve Italian meatballs
- Spaghetti and meatballs – classic! After cooking the meatballs, remove them from the skillet and then place the cooked Italian bread in the sauce before serving.
- Meatballs or sliders
- Used as a separate dish for bread. I like homemade crepes or garlic bread.
- Stacked high on creamy polenta or homemade sand grains (I know, not traditional, but delicious).
Italian meatballs and the best sauce
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Large, juicy Italian meatballs cooked in homemade tomato sauce. Serve these juicy meatballs with pasta, make spaghetti and meatballs, or to be more authentic, use meatballs (called Italian Polpette) as a standalone dish with some bread dipped on them.
Make 4 servings
Watch us make recipes
You will need
meatball
8 oz (225g) ground beef, use 85/15 or 80/20
8 oz (225 g) ground pork
4 tablespoons (25g) salt biscuit crumbs from 8 cookies
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon (135g) whole milk
1½ tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup (60g) chopped onion
4 cloves and garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon ground fennel
1/4 cup (10g) chopped parsley
6 tablespoons (1.5 oz) finely ground Parmiano-Regiano cheese
3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh black pepper
Tomato sauce
1/2 cup (60g) shallot
6 cloves and garlic, chopped
1/4 teaspoon Aleppo chili or chopped red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1/4 cup (60ml) dry white wine
1/3 cup (80ml) chicken stock
1 (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes, We love tomatoes with canned basil
1/2 cup (15g) chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh black pepper
direction
- meatball:
1Mix salt biscuit crumbs and milk in a small bowl. Let sit.
2Heat 1½ tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and fennel. Cook until tender, but browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the fire.
3In a large bowl, mix together the ground beef, pork, parsley, cheese, salt, pepper and cooked onion mixture. Add the soaked salted salt mixture and mix (hand works best!).
4Preheat the oven 425°F (218°C). Gently greased baking tray lined with parchment paper. Shape the meatball mixture into four large meatballs. Place on a baking sheet and bake until browned on top for 10 to 12 minutes. At this point, the meatballs will be partially cooked.
- Tomato sauce:
1Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat to the same skillet you used earlier. Add shallot, garlic and aleppo chili. Cook until 2 to 3 minutes.
2Sprinkle the scallions with Italian seasoning and cook for 1 minute.
3Add wine and cook until almost dry. Stir in the spoon, chopped tomatoes, salt, pepper and fresh basil. Cook slowly.
- Finished Meatballs:
1Gently paste partially roasted meatballs in the sauce. Pour some sauce on each meatball.
2To be done on the stove, cover the skillet and cook over low heat until the meatballs inside (10 to 15 minutes) reach 160°F.
3Or cook meatballs in the oven (recommended). Bake them in a frying pan. Do not cover the frying pan. Set the oven temperature to 300°F (148°C). Bake the meatballs until they reach an internal temperature of 160°F. This should take about 10 to 15 minutes.
Adam and Joanne’s Tips
- The ground beef mixture (juicy 85/15) and pork mixture is perfect for the classic flavor. However, feel free to mix it with beef, lamb or Italian sausage.
- Mix the meatball mixture with clean hands for optimal texture and make sure everything is fine.
- Our homemade tomato sauce is easy to make and definitely lifts these meatballs. If you are short of time, choose high-quality store-bought marinades.
- To ensure food safety and amazing texture, cook meatballs until you reach 160°F using a meat thermometer. After this temperature, the meatballs can be made less tender.
- For soft meatballs, choose a larger size – our favorite is four per recipe.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
Nutrition per serving
Service size
1 large meatball (4 recipes)
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Calories
494
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Total fat
31.4g
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Saturated fat
9.6g
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cholesterol
86mg
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sodium
922mg
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carbohydrate
21.4g
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Dietary fiber
4.1g
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Total sugar
7.2g
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protein
30.7g
We are Adam and Joanne, a couple who are passionate about cooking and sharing delicious, reliable recipes since 2009. Our goal? Inspire you to enter the kitchen and cook fresh and delicious meals confidently.
