These are the best Italian meatballs I’ve made (and I’ve made many). Tender, incredibly juicy, and generously sized – this recipe delivers everything you want in a classic meatball.
These homemade meatballs are big, juicy, and tender. One pound of ground meat makes four generous meatballs. You can serve them with pasta like spaghetti or on a plate with extra sauce next to some bread like focaccia.
Our recipe guarantees the perfect texture — soft, juicy, tender, and not too dense in the middle. They almost melt in your mouth. I cannot wait for you to try them! If you do, come back and leave a review. We love hearing from you.
Meatball Ingredients
Our Italian meatball recipe calls on authentic ingredients and lots of Italian herbs. One exception, however, is that while many authentic Italian recipes use bread as a binder, we use crushed saltine crackers and milk. Saltines add a lightness to the mixture (they do the same in our meatloaf recipe). Here’s a closer look at some of our key ingredients:
- Ground Beef (85/15) and Ground Pork: The perfect combo for classic Italian meatballs! The beef’s 85/15 ratio keeps them juicy, while the pork adds richness and unbeatable tenderness.
- Onion and Garlic: No Italian dish is complete without these! They add so much flavor to your meatballs.
- Fennel, Italian Seasoning, Parsley, and Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese deliver amazing Italian flavors – sweet, herby, and salty. I especially love the fennel in this recipe.
Homemade Tomato Sauce
Whip up our simple, homemade tomato sauce – it’s perfect with these meatballs and incredibly easy to make. We’ve included the recipe below. I also love this simple red pasta sauce.
How to Make Italian Meatballs
This recipe delivers incredibly flavorful Italian meatballs with a perfect, tender texture. Here’s what to expect when making them:
It begins with saltine crackers soaked in milk – my favorite trick for keeping meatballs tender! Then, we add sautéed onion, garlic, ground fennel, those amazing Italian herbs, and plenty of cheese to ground beef and pork. A good mix with your hands makes sure all the flavors combine.
This recipe isn’t about tiny meatballs! We make four giant ones – a true stunner for your table! Since these meatballs are so large, they stay tender and juicy in the middle.
A quick bake in the oven gives the meatballs a delicious crust while keeping them juicy.
While the meatballs bake, make our simple but incredibly flavorful tomato sauce. Shallots, garlic, a splash of wine, stock, crushed tomatoes, and fresh basil work beautifully with our meatballs.
To finish, nestle those partially baked meatballs right into the sauce. They’ll finish cooking while soaking up all that deliciousness. I finish them in the oven, but gently simmering on the stove works, too!
Serving Suggestions
- Spaghetti and Meatballs – the classic! After cooking your meatballs, remove them from the skillet, and then toss your cooked spaghetti in the sauce before serving.
- Meatball Subs or Sliders
- Serve as a stand-alone dish with bread. I love Homemade Focaccia or Garlic Bread.
Italian Meatballs with the Best Sauce
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Big, juicy Italian meatballs simmered in a homemade tomato sauce. Serve these juicy meatballs with spaghetti and make spaghetti and meatballs, or, to be a bit more authentic, serve the meatballs (called polpette in Italy) as a stand-alone dish with some bread for dipping.
Makes 4 servings
You Will Need
Meatballs
8 ounces (225g) ground beef, use 85/15 or 80/20
8 ounces (225g) ground pork
4 tablespoons (25g) saltine cracker crumbs from 8 crackers
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon (135g) whole milk
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup (60g) minced onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon ground fennel
1/4 cup (10g) chopped parsley
6 tablespoons (1.5oz) finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Tomato Sauce
1/2 cup (60g) minced shallot
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon Aleppo pepper or crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup (60ml) dry white wine
1/3 cup (80ml) chicken stock
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 (28oz) can of crushed tomatoes, we like canned crushed tomatoes with basil
1/2 cup (15g) chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Directions
- Meatballs:
1Combine saltine cracker crumbs and milk in a small bowl. Let sit.
2Heat 1 ½ tablespoons of olive oil in a large, oven-safe skillet over medium heat. Add onions, garlic, and fennel. Cook until softened, but before they brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
3In a large bowl, combine ground beef, pork, parsley, cheese, salt, pepper, and the cooked onion mixture. Add the soaked saltine mixture and mix well (hands work best!).
4Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C). Lightly oil a parchment-lined baking sheet. Shape the meatball mixture into four large meatballs. Place on the baking sheet and bake until browned on top, 10 to 12 minutes. At this point, the meatballs will be partially cooked.
- Tomato Sauce:
1Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in the same skillet used earlier. Add shallots, garlic, and Aleppo pepper. Cook until softened, 2 to 3 minutes.
2Sprinkle Italian seasoning over the shallots and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
3Add wine and simmer until almost dry. Stir in stock, crushed tomatoes, salt, pepper, and fresh basil. Bring to a low simmer.
- Finish Meatballs:
1Gently nestle the partially baked meatballs into the sauce. Spoon some sauce over each meatball.
2To finish on the stove, cover the skillet and simmer over low heat until meatballs reach 160°F internally (10 to 15 minutes).
3Or cook the meatballs in the oven (reccomended). Bake them in the skillet. Do not cover the skillet. 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
- A mixture of ground beef (85/15 for juiciness) and ground pork is perfect for a classic flavor. But feel free to mix it with ground veal, lamb, or Italian sausage.
- Use clean hands to mix the meatball mixture for the best texture and to ensure everything is well combined.
- Our homemade tomato sauce is simple to make and absolutely elevates these meatballs. If you’re short on time, opt for a high-quality store-bought marinara.
- To ensure food safety and amazing texture, cook meatballs until they reach 160°F using a meat thermometer. Cooking past this temperature can make the meatballs less tender.
- For extra-juicy meatballs, go for larger sizes – four per recipe is our favorite.
- Nutrition facts: The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We have used the USDA database to calculate approximate values. Sodium will vary depending on how much salt added to your sauce.
Nutrition Per Serving
Serving Size
1 large meatball (recipe makes 4)
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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 Sugars
7.2g
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Protein
30.7g
