Chef John's Italian Meatballs

111 Reviews

Prep: 20 min
Cook: 35 min
Ready In: 2 hr 15 min

“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.” - by Chef John

Directions

Cover a baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.
Soak bread crumbs in milk in a small bowl for 20 minutes.
Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir onions in hot oil until translucent, about 20 minutes.
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.
Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
Using wet hands, form meat mixture into balls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Arrange onto prepared baking sheet.
Bake in the preheated oven until browned and cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes.

Reviews (111)

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114

Sarah Jo

Apr. 6, 2012

"I made Chef John's meatloaf a week or so ago and it was quite tasty which made me excited to try his meatball recipe. The bread crumbs I used in this recipe were made from homemade garlic-butter crout..." See moreons and I cut back on the salt just a bit. To make uniform meat balls, I used my small cookie scoop. After baking my meatballs, I drained the fat off of them and added them to a homemade marinara and let them sit in the sauce for 20 minutes or so before I served them on pasta. The family really thought these were quite good. They held up well (to both cooking in the oven and sitting in the marinara) and had a nice flavor. Next time, I'd double the italian seasoning but that's really just personal to our family."

marcosheller

Apr. 21, 2012

"These meatballs were awesome! I added more breadcrumbs than the recipe called for, left out the red pepper, and used beef broth instead of milk. They were a big hit and I even posted a picture! Thanks..." See more Chef John!"

Rock_lobster

Apr. 26, 2012

"CJ's Italian Meatballs Haiku: "I can't believe it. These beat 'Meatball Nirvana' And they held up too!" So my biggest praise for these meatballs is that after I made a double-batch, w/o changing the r..." See moreecipe, I froze them into weekly portions, but after thawing a handful of them in sauce last night, I couldn't have been more delighted that they held their meatball shape and didn't fall apart! So I don't know what of CJ's method, or ingredients, resulted in a firm (oh yes, and scrumptious!) meatball, but I think this recipe has replaced AR's 'Meatball Nirvana' in our house from now on."

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