Craving classic beef meatballs but don’t want to wait? These juicy, flavorsome beauties are quick to make and never disappoint and can be served any way that you like.
How to serve meatballs
Remember that little ditty about somebody’s meatballs that some poor hungry soul lost when somebody sneezed? Well, there’s more ways to serve your meatballs than over pasta. Like in a sandwich. Or on pizza. Or, well, you tell us. Let us know in a comment below.
Classic Beef Meatballs
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat the oven to 450°F (232°C). Drizzle the olive oil in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish and use your hand to slick the entire surface.
In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, ricotta, eggs, bread crumbs, parsley, oregano, salt, fennel, and red pepper flakes. Gently mix by hand until everything is thoroughly incorporated.
Roll the mixture into round, golf ball-size meatballs (about 1 1/2 inches in diameter), making sure to pack the meat firmly. Place the balls in the prepared baking dish, being careful to line them up snugly in even rows vertically and horizontally to form a grid. The meatballs should be touching one another.
Roast until the meatballs are firm and cooked through and a meat thermometer inserted into the center of a meatball reads 165°F (74°C), 20 to 30 minutes.
While the meatballs are roasting, warm the tomato sauce in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring often.
When the meatballs are firm and fully cooked, remove them from the oven and tip the pan to remove the excess grease into the garbage. Pour the tomato sauce over the meatballs and turn to coat. Return the meatballs to the oven and continue roasting for another 15 minutes.
Serve as desired. Originally published October 28, 2013.
Turkey Meatball Variation
Substitute ground turkey for the beef. That’s it. Everything else remains the same.
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The meatballs turned out great, even though I had to make a few substitutions because I didn’t have all the ingredients on hand. I used cottage cheese in place of ricotta, Italian seasoning and garlic salt in place of the seasonings & fresh oregano, and fresh (toasted) bread crumbs. The balls were tender and juicy with nice browned tops and not greasy at all. Really good flavor!
We’re all learning to work with what we’ve got on hand, Bos. Sounds like you did a terrific job of it!
I’ve been on a meatball fervor lately and these were the perfect classic version to try. I halved the recipe with no known issues. I did increase the fennel and red pepper flakes as I really wanted to have a nice spice flavor profile: 1/2 teaspoon fennel and 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes for my halved batch. I also used the full amount of salt: 1 teaspoon for my half batch. Using my #16 scoop, I was able to make 10 beautiful meatballs. Unfortunately I couldn’t cook these the same day I made them so into the fridge they went. Pulled them out the next day, let then set out while the oven came to temp, and popped those babies in. They cooked to temp beautifully in 25 minutes–they were still on the cool side when I put them in–then I plopped them in some marinara to finish for about 10 minutes more. Served over creamy ricotta polenta. Keeper!
So glad you enjoyed them, Bianca. And good to know that the recipe can be cut in half successfully.
Love to hear that, Bianca! Many, many thanks for taking the time to let us know how well these worked for you. So glad to learn you love them as much as we do. Let us know which recipe from the site you try next…!