Making Baked Italian Meatballs at home is easy with this Italian meatball recipe. You’ll come back to it again and again when you’re craving comfort food because it’s beyond delicious. Baking Italian meatballs mean that both prep and clean-up time are simple and quick. Serve these on their own, smothered in melted cheese or over pasta for a heartier meal.
We didn’t order the meatballs and then I couldn’t stop thinking about them. In late June, Keith and I celebrated our twenty-first wedding anniversary with dinner at one of our favorite local restaurants, Trattoria Sbandati (you might remember this Slow Cooker Farro and Cannellini Bean Soup with Vegetables and Parmesan that they inspired). It’s a wonderful little hole-in-the-wall restaurant here in Bend; the chef is a first generation Italian from Florence.
I read the description for Baked Italian Meatballs on the menu, “Polpette: Traditional ground beef meatballs based on the chef’s family recipe. Baked and served in tomato sauce, with melted mozzarella on top and a side of sautéed spinach.” We didn’t order it, but when it showed up at the table next to us, I wished that we had.
Luckily, a lazy Sunday afternoon showed up as they reliably do, and I thought, “meatballs!” I mention lazy because this is a perfect recipe for laziness. It comes together quickly and makes a large enough batch to last a couple of meals or even four meals if there are just two of you, like us.
I called for hot Italian sausage as an ingredient, but you can easily make your own with ground pork if you have a few extra minutes and some spices. If you want to make your own hot Italian sausage, you’ll find good recipes here and here.
So often I think of meatballs with pasta, but why not make them the main attraction? Especially when they’re tossed with a spicy, tangy sauce and smothered with melty mozzarella? These Baked Italian Meatballs fit the bill! Add a salad (or sautéed spinach 😉 ) and you have meal, simple and superb!
Baked Italian Meatballs
I bought hot Italian sausage for these Baked Italian Meatballs, but you could definitely mix spices into ground pork if you'd like to make your own - directions in blog post.
Ingredients
For the Meatballs
- 1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup milk
- 2 shallots finely chopped
- 2 eggs beaten
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley finely chopped
- 1 pound ground hot Italian sausage
- 1 pound lean ground beef
Garlicky Tomato Sauce
- 1 clove garlic smashed and peeled
- 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes with liquid
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Toppings
- 8 ounces shredded mozzarella
- fresh basil leaves optional
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350ºF.
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Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
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Add first seven ingredients (bread crumbs through parsley) to a large bowl and stir to combine. Add sausage and ground beef, mixing well with your hands - but don't overmix, you don't want your meatballs to be tough.
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Scoop mixture out onto prepared baking sheet in similarly sized ragged mounds with a 3-tablespoon scoop or heaped onto a standard tablespoon (these meatballs are extra large - about 3 bites each). Gently roll one mound into a ball between your palms. Repeat with remaining mounds, arranging the meatballs very close together, but not touching.
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Bake 15-20 minutes until cooked through.
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Meanwhile, make the Garlicky Tomato Sauce: Add garlic and tomatoes with juice to a blender pitcher; blend until smooth. Add olive oil and blend again. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. When meatballs are nearly done, heat sauce in a saucepan to simmer.
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Remove meatballs from oven once they're cooked through, leave oven on.
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Spread about 1/3 of tomato sauce into a large, oven-safe baking dish. Carefully transfer cooked meatballs to dish and pour remaining sauce over.
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Sprinkle cheese evenly over meatballs and bake until cheese is melted, 5 to 8 minutes more.
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Serve garnished with fresh basil leaves if desired.
Made these this week for my family and they were a HUGE hit! Thank you!
I’m so happy to hear that, Melissa! Really sweet of you to come back and let me know! 🙂
Just connected with your web site. I love the simplicity of your recipes. Something I share. My Italian aunt use to make this and it brought back lots of great memories. Thank you.
Hi there, Derek! Thank you for your kind words. So glad that this recipe brought back great memories for you – it really is amazing how nostalgic food can be.
Made this tonight and it was wonderful!! I made a spinach salad to go with it. Great carb free dinner (with the exception of the bread crumbs)! I’ve tried several meatball recipes and none of them were as moist and full of flavor as these! The only thing different I did was use ground turkey instead of beef. Thank you!!
That’s fantastic, Karen! Thank you for coming back to let me know! 🙂
Congrats on the anniversary both of you! I too would be happy eating these alone with all that cheesy goodness. 🙂
Thanks, Kevin!
Stop it, your making me hungry. I think if they had showed up at the table next to mine I wouldn’t have been able to stop my self. Your version, looks out of this world amazing.
I suppose I could have asked them for a bite, just a small one. 🙂 Thanks, Sophia…
Hi Marissa! Made these meatballs tonight – OMG!! I did mess with your recipe just a little, I added a handful of Parmesan/Romano cheese and baked them on a rimmed sheet pan with about a cup of beef broth. Making the sauce tomorrow and I’m going to serve buttered spaghetti squash on the side. Gary said that they were very good (he who always has to taste test)!
That’s fantastic, Dorothy! Believe me, I’m JUST like Gary, always have to taste test… I’ve never added broth when baking meatballs except when I toss them raw into Albondigas soup. Does it change the texture or is there another reason?
Hi Marissa! I add broth because it keeps them very moist but still allows them to brown. I find them very tender. Gary ate seven meatballs with sauce and the side of spaghetti squash last night! He and all his siblings are known for very hearty appetites! They call me a “bird” because I eat small portions of everything. 🙂
Seven meatballs? That’s impressive… 😉 I’ll definitely try your broth trick next time. Thanks, Dorothy!
Congrats on your wedding anniversary!! These look amazing. Cheese and meatballs go so well together!
Yes they do! Thanks, Natasha. 🙂
Even though we’re in opposite seasons we would love this just as much as you do! Nothing says a big hug like meatballs and gooey melted cheese 😀
It’s true, Lorraine. That’s what comfort food is all about right? Big hugs… 🙂
Happy 21st anniversary. Your meatballs look so good. Thanks for sharing!
Phillip
Cooks and Kid
Thanks so much, Phillip!
Happy 21st anniversary! Aren’t hole-in-wall places just the best?! Omg, I do that all the time – think about ordering something, don’t, and then see it show up at someone else table. I end up having food envy the rest of the night. These meatballs look phenomenal! And I love that ooey-gooey cheese shot! Total food porn 😉
Thanks, Kathleen! My other habit is to wish I’d ordered what Keith did and then beg for bites…haha! So much fun for him… 😉
First of all, HUGE congrats on your 21st anniversary! <3
I love local hole-in-the-wall places; they always seem to manage to have the best food. I'm glad the table next to you decided to order the meatballs because it sounds like they served as some mighty fine inspiration! These look fabulous. The milk/breadcrumb addition is so vital to perfect meatballs!
Thank you so much, Faith! I agree about milk/breadcrumbs – otherwise they’re too dense. It’s a great little trick. 🙂
Gorgeous photos! That melty cheese is to die for 🙂
Thank you, Medha! I know that you’re a vegetarian and thought of these amazing looking eggplant ‘meatballs’ from Joanne – have you seen them? I bet they’d be a great stand in here and you’d still get the great, garlicky sauce and melty cheese. 🙂
Hi Marissa! This dish is drool worthy! I like that the meatballs are baked, I really hate frying (so messy)! Leftovers would make great sandwiches!
Agreed! I fry once in a while, but it really does make a huge mess (especially with me at the helm 😉 ) Oh yeah, love how you think. Meatball (and meatloaf) sandwiches are SO good.
Happy belated 21st anniversary! I tend to have the same problem at restaurants- I want to order something, but I don’t, and then it shows up at the table next to me and I have immediate regret. But it looks like you more than made up for that oversight with these meaty balls of yum!! These look FABULOUS!! I love that you used hot Italian sausage in here! I definitely don’t need the pasta! I’d gladly just take a platter of these cheese topped beauties! Pinned! Cheers, friend!
Thanks, Cheyanne! Yes, #orderenvy 🙂
I LOVE the sound of that hole-in-the-wall restaurant you’re describing, Marissa! One of our favourite restaurants is an amazing work-a-day type Italian restaurant in Melbourne Australia. I swear the food there tastes twice as good just because you feel like you’re really in Italy!
The meatballs look amazing, too. Particularly love the sound of two things: the fact you’ve used sausage in the meatballs, and that really easy blender tomato sauce. Got to try these!
It’s true – a restaurant where the atmosphere feels authentic adds so much to the experience.
I know that blender sauce sounds almost too simple, but it’s so good! We use it for pizza sauce too.
These. Look. Incredible. There’s truly nothing better than a good meatball! I cannot wait to give these a try!
Thanks so much, Karly!