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March 18, 2017 6 Comments

The Best Italian Meatballs



 

Best-Italian-Meatballs-Recipe-3My friend Randi makes the best Italian meatballs. I would get so excited every time she made her famous spaghetti and meatballs when we would come over for dinner. We ended up moving away from Randi five years ago. Sad day.

Luckily we only live about 2 1/2 hours away so we try to get back see her once or twice a year. After I had Charlotte she did the sweetest thing.

She came to visit me and see the new baby and guess what???? She brought me a huge pot of her Spaghetti and Meatballs. It was so awesome and it’s right up there near the top of the “nicest thing anyone has ever done for me,” list.

A couple years ago when we went up for a visit, she showed me how she makes them. Now I can make them whenever I want. I’m so happy.

Best-Italian-Meatballs-Recipe-3Some people like getting flowers, some people like getting jewelry….me, I like getting recipes.

Everyone in our family LOVE, LOVE, LOVES these meatballs. The best thing about this recipe is it doesn’t have to be exact, it’s not going to ruin it if you add a little too much Parmesan cheese or not quit enough bread crumbs. You really can’t mess this up.

So go on, throw caution to the wind and make some meatballs.

Best-Italian-Meatballs-Recipe-3

It’s nice to make the meatballs in a fairly deep frying pan if you have one, because the grease does start to spatter. I have one similar to this frying pan, and it works well.

Best-Italian-Meatballs-Recipe-3

I like to add the meatballs in to my favorite Amazing Homemade Spaghetti Sauce, but it also taste great in store bought sauces like Prego and Ragu, if you don’t have time to make homemade.

Best-Italian-Meatballs-Recipe-3

Serve with

Easy-Parmesan-Breadsticks-recipeEasy Parmesan BreadsticksA serving of Sarah's Salad in a bowl with a fork sitting on the rim on the left. The bowl is sitting on a cloth yellow and white dotted napkin. The text of the title is at the top and underneath the title are the words "One bite and you'll be hooked."Sarah’s SaladAmazing Spaghetti SauceAmazing Spaghetti Sauce

5.0 from 2 reviews
The Best Italian Meatballs
 
Print
Prep time
30 mins
Total time
30 mins
 
The best Italian meatballs I have ever had. The Italian breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese give these meatballs an incredible flavor.
Author: Randi
Recipe type: Meat
Cuisine: Italian
Serves: 16-24
Ingredients
  • 2-3 lbs of ground beef
  • 1 egg per pound of meat
  • 2-3 tbsp Parmesan cheese per pound of meat
  • ¼-1/3 cup Italian flavored bread crumbs per pound of meat
  • pinch of salt
  • pepper if desired
  • Parsley flakes if desired
Instructions
  1. Mix all ingredients together by hand
  2. Form beef mixture into two inch balls. Place on plastic wrap or wax paper.
  3. Brown meatballs in a frying pan, no need to cook all the way through.
  4. Place browned meat balls into spaghetti sauce and simmer for at least 45 minutes. (make sure to scrape all the little brown bits from the frying pan into the sauce.)
  5. If you do not want to cook them in spaghetti sauce and/or want to freeze them to use later...place the browned meatballs on a cookie sheet and bake them for 25-30 minutes in the oven at 350 degrees. Let them cool and place them in freezer safe bags. They can stay in the freezer for up to 3 months.
3.4.3177

Don't forget dessert

A slice of lemon blueberry bundt cake frosted with lemon cream cheese frosting sitting on a small white plate. Above the plate is a whole lemon and a blueberry lemon bundt cake frosted with lemon cream cheese frosting with a slice taken out of it.Best Lemon Blueberry Bundt CakeA slice of banana bundt cake with cream cheese icing on top of three small plates with a fork lying next to it. Faded in the background is a banana bundt cake with cream cheese icing with a slice cut out of it.Best Ever Banana Bundt Cake RecipeSnicker-Rice-Crispy-Treats-RecipeSnicker Bar Rice Krispies Treats

Beef, Dinners, Ground Beef, Ingredients, Italian, Recipes
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6 Comments

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6 Comments

  1. Stana Couch

    September 19, 2019 at 4:43 pm

    This was sound easy to make and then add to my spaghetti sauce. Thank you!

    reply to this comment
    • Maria

      October 22, 2019 at 8:02 am

      You are welcome Stana.

      reply to this comment
  2. AnnS

    March 10, 2021 at 1:04 pm

    My family loves these meatballs! I served half of them with spaghetti sauce and pasta. Then I froze the rest to make meatball sandwiches later.

    reply to this comment
    • Maria

      March 13, 2021 at 9:17 am

      Such a good idea! I should do meatball sandwiches sometime. My kids would love that!

      reply to this comment
  3. Barbara Eisenhower

    December 29, 2021 at 9:27 pm

    These are the best meatballs ever and paired with your Amazing Sauce made for the perfect Italian meal! I’ll be using these two recipes for the rest of my life! Soooooo yummy!!!

    reply to this comment
    • Maria

      January 4, 2022 at 4:56 am

      Thank you so much! I love hearing that you loved the reicpes!

      reply to this comment

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Welcome friends!

Hi, I'm Maria. A mom of five and a total foodie. My superpower is taking ordinary recipes and making them DELICIOUS. Your family will LOVE these meals! Come cook with me, I promise it will be amazing! Get started here or search my archives below.


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