I love meatballs and have several recipes for fun meatball recipe variations on the website already, but I wanted to have one good basic and easy homemade meatball recipe that could be used in several different meals. That way you can keep a batch of these tasty meatballs in your freezer and use them in different quick weeknight meals later. I’m all about making things easy and uncomplicated!
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“Easy recipe and it was a hit! I made a double batch for a party and everyone loved them!”
Hunter
Easy Meatballs Recipe
This homemade meatball recipe is super simple, pared-down, and basic for when you need something fast, easy, and uncomplicated. The other advantage to keeping these meatballs simple is that it makes them more versatile! Because the flavor profile is simple, you can pair this recipe with a variety of sauces and meals.
And as always, I’ve got a couple of upgrade options for you below if you do want to take this recipe up a notch and make something a little fancier.
Homemade Meatballs Recipe
Servings 8 about 4 meatballs eachIngredients
- 1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs* ($0.17)
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan ($1.92)
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp onion powder ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp pepper ($0.03)
- 2 large eggs** ($1.58)
- 1/4 cup whole milk ($0.04)
- 1 lb. bulk Italian sausage*** ($3.57)
- 1 lb. ground beef ($4.98)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, Parmesan, garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. In a separate small bowl, lightly whisk the two eggs.
- Add the breadcrumb mixture, eggs, milk, Italian sausage, and ground beef to a large bowl. Use your hands to mix the ingredients together until evenly combined. Avoid over mixing the meat.
- Let the meatball mixture rest for five minutes to allow the breadcrumbs time to soften. Divide and shape the meat into about 32 balls, approximately 2 Tbsp in volume each.
Oven Cooking Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Place the meatballs on the baking sheet about one inch apart from each other.
- Bake for about 15 minutes, or until lightly browned.
- Once browned, transfer them to a pot of red sauce and simmer for five more minutes in the sauce. If not using a red sauce, add an additional 3-5 minutes to the bake time, or until they’re cooked through.
Stove Top Cooking Instructions
- Add a tablespoon of cooking oil to a large skillet and heat over medium. Once hot, swirl the oil to coat the surface of the skillet. Add half of the meatballs to the skillet.
- Cook them, turning every couple of minutes, until browned on all sides and cooked through. Repeat with the second batch.
- Once cooked, transfer them to a pot of red sauce and simmer for a few minutes more before serving.
Freezing Instructions
- You can freeze this recipe either cooked or uncooked. I prefer freezing them already cooked so they can go straight from the freezer into a pot of red sauce and then just simmer until heated through. Cooked meatballs should be completely cooled before placing in a gallon-sized freezer bag and transferred to the freezer.
- To freeze uncooked, place the raw meatballs on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze on the baking sheet until solid (1-2 hours) before transferring to a gallon-sized freezer bag for longer storage. Thaw completely before cooking.
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Notes
- A note on substituting the Italian Sausage: This recipe uses Italian sausage, which has a ton of herbs and spices already in the meat. Because of that, these only need a small amount of extra seasoning added. So, if you substitute the Italian sausage with a different type of ground meat, make sure to increase the seasonings accordingly.
- Mix-in ideas: If you want to take this recipe up a notch and make it a little fancier, you could try adding fresh minced onion, garlic, crumbled bacon, sun-dried tomatoes, or fresh herbs (basil, parsley, oregano). You can also try swapping out the milk for a different liquid, like broth or even some of your red sauce. And I’m always a fan of adding a pinch of crushed red pepper to just about anything!
Nutrition
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How to Make Homemade Meatballs – Step by Step
Gather all of your ingredients.
Lightly whisk two large eggs in a small bowl. In a separate small bowl, combine ½ cup breadcrumbs, ½ cup grated Parmesan, ½ tsp garlic powder, ½ tsp onion powder, ½ tsp Italian seasoning, ¼ tsp salt, and ¼ tsp pepper. Pre-mixing these ingredients helps them incorporate more evenly into the meat without having to overmix the meat.
Add the whisked egg, breadcrumb mixture, ¼ cup milk, 1 lb. Italian sausage, and 1 lb. ground beef to a bowl. Use your hands to mix the ingredients together.
Let the meatball mixture sit for five minutes to allow the breadcrumbs to absorb some of the moisture.
Divide and shape the meatball mixture into about 32 balls, 2 Tbsp each. I have small hands, so this may actually look bigger than they were. I used a 2 Tbsp measuring cup to portion the meat.
To bake, preheat the oven to 400ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the meatballs on the baking sheet with about one inch between each.
Bake them for about 15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Then, transfer to a pot of red sauce and simmer for an additional 5 minutes. If not using a red sauce, bake for 3-5 minutes longer, or until cooked through.
To cook them in a skillet, heat one tablespoon cooking oil in a large skillet over medium. Once hot, swirl to coat the skillet in oil, then add the meatballs. Cook for 1-2 minutes on each side or until browned on all sides and cooked through.
Whether you cook them in the oven or on the stove top, finishing them off with a brief simmer in red sauce adds an extra dose of flavor and helps keep them nice and tender.
To freeze them once cooked, cool them completely in the refrigerator first, then place them in a freezer bag and transfer to the freezer for longer storage (about 3 months). Once frozen they can be dropped straight from the freezer into a pot of red sauce and simmered until heated through.
Variations to Try!
Like I said, I love a good meatball recipe. Here are some super easy variations you can try when making this dish:
- Or, if you want to supersize this recipe AND make it in a crockpot… my giant slow cooker meatballs are a fun twist on this classic dish.
- Switch out the seasonings in this recipe for nutmeg and allspice, and serve them with a creamy, savory sauce to make Swedish meatballs!
- Swap the breadcrumbs for rice and make porcupine meatballs (a super easy way to make this recipe gluten-free friendly)
- Following on from what I said earlier about using different meat, turkey meatballs are a tasty alternative to the beef and Italian sausage used in this recipe.
Serving Suggestions
There’s nothing easier or more satisfying than a plate of spaghetti with marinara sauce and meatballs, but that’s not the only way I enjoy this recipe! I love making meatball subs from them, but they’d also be delicious added to a simple soup, like minestrone. I’d even serve them as an easy appetizer or add them to pizzas and bowl meals with rice and veggies. And, of course, they’re absolutely delicious served with mashed potatoes, sautéed green beans, and brown gravy. Yum!!
Storing & Reheating
Any leftovers can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days. You can reheat them in a skillet over medium-low heat, in the microwave, or simmered in a sauce until heated through. I’ve also included instructions for freezing in the recipe card above!
More Meatball Recipes
Our Easy Homemade Meatballs recipe was originally published 1/10/22. It was retested, reworked, and republished to be better than ever 2/16/25.
What is the beef percentage? Is it 93 or 85? I couldn’t find the beef type. Thank you.
We like 85/15 but you should be fine with whatever’s cheaper that day! :)
I can’t wait to try this recipe
Great, easy to make meatball recipe! I baked in the oven and they turned out perfect. Excellent flavor. My family enjoyed them with spaghetti and also in a meatball sub. Adding to my keepers file!
I’ve been craving spaghetti and meatballs. This is a tasty and simple recipe.
Love meatballs and have been looking for a good Swedish recipe as well. Also I always buy bulk meat and hate throwing it away.
This recipe is so good!
Great for an easy weeknight dinner. I fry them up and then throw them in a pot with pasta sauce and let them finish cooking. My kids love them to make meatball sliders.
I make these meatballs all the time. They are really easy to make and I love the ease of baking them in the oven. This recipe makes a great amount of meatballs that I can freeze some for another meal later.
This is my go to recipe for meatballs. I use all beef. Delicious!
wow, nothing but complaints. pretty sad.
meatballs look great. will be making them tonight with lasagna for new years eve. thanks for sharing.
Helped me out on the crucial moment in the middle of the making Happy Holidays hope to see more recipes
After reading the existing comments, I will try this recipe….but the Italian Sausage……well…iiii…..don’t know about that. I bought and tried that 3 weeks ago, and my first reaction….OMG…what is in this extruded stuff……..I made two breakfast patties, ate them, and threw the rest of that…5.00 purchase into the trash. Somebody needs to do something about that product. I could visualize all sorts of DNA in that stuff.
They are Great..
Easy to make using an equal measure; you need another person to spice up the sauce at the same time or make the sauce ahead. I made a double batch.
My family andcI loved these meatballs. They were delicious.