Easy Baked Meatballs Recipe

This Easy Baked Meatballs Recipe is made with ground beef, two types of cheese, an egg, and seasoning. Similar to sausage balls, they can be enjoyed as an appetizer or used in other dishes like Spaghetti and Meatballs or Meatballs Subs.

You don’t have to have any special culinary skills to make these meaty balls.  You don’t even have to have any special equipment – just a large mixing bowl and a rimmed baking sheet.

This recipe can be adapted to make them keto-friendly and gluten-free – simply use almond flour in place of the breadcrumbs.

How To Make Baked Meatballs

For this recipe, you need the following ingredients:

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 2 cups mozzarella cheese
• ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 large egg
• 2 Tablespoons dried minced onions
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 2 teaspoons baking powder

For the ground beef, you can use leaner cuts, but I recommend using one that has some fat which will help the ingredients meld together.

To make them, you start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. If you have a rimmed baking stone baking sheet, you can use it.  If you don’t have a stoneware sheet pan, use a regular rimmed sheet pan and line it with parchment paper or Silpat (silicone baking mat). 

In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients.  It will be best to use your hands to get it all mixed well.  (If you do happen to have a food processor, you can use it.  Just be careful when you remove the meat mixture from the processor so that you don’t get cut.)

Form 1-inch meatballs and place them on the baking pan.  Keep the meatballs from touching so that they do not bake together into one meatball.

Place baking sheet in preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes or until done.

These meatballs can be frozen safely or a month or two.  To freeze them, bake them as directed and allow them to cool completely (approximately 30 minutes).  Once they have cooled, place them on a baking sheet allowing enough space so that they don’t touch. Place them in the freezer for a few hours until they are frozen solid.

Take the meatballs out of the freezer and place them in a freezer ziptop plastic bag (or use a food saver system).  Remove excess air from the freezer bag and seal.  Date the bag and place them back in the freezer.

When you get ready to use the meatballs, take them out of the freezer and allow them to thaw overnight in the refrigerator.

Using Meatballs

To make spaghetti and meatballs, cook spaghetti noodles as directed on the package of noodles.  In a large saucepan, place the meatballs and a jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce.  (I recommend Classico or Rao.). Heat the sauce over medium heat until the meatballs are thoroughly heated through, about 10 minutes.

You can make meatball subs the same way.  Place the meatballs in a large saucepan, add spaghetti sauce, and heat.  Open hoagie buns, lightly butter the inside, and place in the oven and broil until they are lightly brown.  Remove the hoagie buns, spoon meatballs and sauce on the buns, and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.

To make a meaty appetizer, place cooked meatballs in a Crockpot or slow cooker.  Add a 12-ounce bottle of chili sauce and a 10-ounce jar of grape jelly and cook for 2 to 3 hours on HIGH or 4 to 6 hours on LOW.

If you are looking for a recipe with fewer calories, then check out the meatball recipe at MyPlate.gov. 

If you don’t care about calories, then here are some desserts that you might like:

• Easy Peach Cobbler
• Southern Coconut Cake
• Small Batch Lemon Cupcakes