Go Back
A pan of meatballs with sauce over them and parmesan cheese.
Print

Homemade Italian Meatballs

Looking for a mouth-watering Italian meatball recipe? These Homemade Italian Meatballs are made with a blend of ground beef and Italian sausage, infused with delicious Italian seasonings, and served in a semi-homemade savory tomato basil garlic sauce.
Course Dinner
Cuisine Italian
Keyword homemade italian meatballs, italian meatballs
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 24 meatballs
Calories 149kcal
Author Jessica - Together as Family

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground beef (I use 80/20)
  • 1 pound Italian ground sausage
  • 2/3 cup Italian-style breadcrumbs
  • 2/3 cup half and half
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt or sea salt
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil or vegetable oil (more as needed for frying)
  • 1 jar (24 oz) tomato basil garlic pasta sauce

Serving

  • cooked spaghetti
  • parmesan cheese
  • chopped basil

Instructions

  • Crumble the ground beef and ground Italian sausage into a mixing bowl. Gently mix it together using your clean hands or a sown spoon. Set to the side.
    1 pound ground beef, 1 pound Italian ground sausage
  • In a separate mixing bowl, mix together the Italian breadcrumbs and half & half until combined. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
    2/3 cup Italian-style breadcrumbs, 2/3 cup half and half
  • Add the eggs, Italian seasoning, and salt in with the moistened breadcrumbs and stir together until well combined.
    2 large eggs, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon kosher salt or sea salt
  • Add the breadcrumb/egg mixture into the ground meats and gently mix together with clean hands or wooden spoon.
    * Do not knead it like you would bread dough. Gently combine it together just until incorporated.
  • Form the meatball mixture into golf-ball sized balls and place them on a clean plate.
    * I use a 3 tb cookie scoop to evenly scoop the meatball mixture up and roll into a ball.
  • Heat the oil in a large skillet pan, over medium-high heat, until the oil is shimmering but not smoking. This will take a few minutes.
    2 tablespoons canola oil or vegetable oil
  • Fry the meatballs in the oil and sear on all sides, about 5-8 minutes. Be sure to not overcrowd the pan and cook the meatballs in batches if needed.
    If cooking in batches, remove the seared meatballs to a clean plate while you sear the next batches.
    * No need to cook the meatballs all the way through. Make sure all sides have a nice sear on them at this step.
    * You may need to add more oil, as needed, if frying in more than 1 batch or if the pan seems dry.
  • Remove any excess grease or oil from the pan using a paper towel to soak it up, and then add the pasta sauce into the skillet pan
    1 jar (24 oz) tomato basil garlic pasta sauce
  • Let the meatballs simmer, covering them with the sauce as needed, for about 10 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165℉
    * I like to cover the skillet pan with a lid during the simmer time. It helps infuse all the flavors, cook the meatballs faster, and make them super tender.
  • Eat the meatballs as is or serve them over cooked spaghetti noodles. Garnish with parmesan cheese and/or chopped basil.

Notes

Oil : Use a cooking oil that has a high smoke point like canola, vegetable, or avocado oil. Do not use olive oil. 
Nutrition Info & Serving Size : The amount listed is per meatball when each meatballs is about 3 tablespoons each, or you get 24 meatballs out of the recipe. You can make the meatballs as large or as small as you want. The cook time will vary if they're smaller or larger than what the recipe calls for. 
Gently Mix : It may take a few minutes longer but it's really important to very gently mix the meatballs ingredients together with the ground meats. We are not kneading bread here! Just lightly mix until everything is incorporated. I find it easiest to use clean hands but you can use a wooden spoon or silicone spatula if wanted. 
Want To Bake Them Instead? -
  • You can bake these meatballs inside of frying in a skillet pan. Note that baking the meatballs will give them a slightly different texture than frying. But it is a healthier, still tasty, alternative to the pan frying in oil. 
    • Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. 
    • Line a cookie sheet/baking sheet with parchment paper or spray lightly with cooking spray. 
    • Shape the meat into golf-ball sized meatballs and place them on the baking sheet. 
    • Bake for 18-20 minutes or until they are fully cooked and the internal temperature is 165 degrees F. 
    • In a saucepan, over medium heat, heat the pasta sauce until it simmers. Once the meatballs are done cooking, transfer them to the pasta sauce and allow it all to simmer for several minutes. 

Nutrition

Calories: 149kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 45mg | Sodium: 396mg | Potassium: 204mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 185IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 1mg