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There’s nothing like a good meatball dish and this is my all-purpose meatball recipe. You can use these for spaghetti, meatball subs, meatball stew, or any meatball dish that makes your heart sing!
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To begin, preheat your oven to 450 degrees.
In a mixing bowl, you’ll start with 2 pounds of ground beef. I generally use a lean cut, but not too lean. You do want some fat in there, because meatballs are not going to be fried, they will be baked. You can also use half beef and half ground pork if you like. I’ve also used beef & turkey on occasion. Most often though, I just go with all beef.
Place the meat in the bowl and break it up with your fingers. Set it aside for now.
In a small dish, combine 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce with 1/2 teaspoon of garlic paste. Whisk them together and then pour the mixture all over the meat. Set this aside for a moment.
Tear 2 or 3 slices offreshbread into pieces. Toss them in your food processor and pulse until they are fine crumbs. You’ll need 1 1/4 cup of crumbs.
To the crumbs, add 1 tablespoon of parsley and 1/2 teaspoon each of black pepper and salt. Give them a few pulses to combine them.
Pour the crumbs into your ground beef and gently work the ingredients together with your hands until they are just combined.
Form the mixture into balls that are about the size of a ping pong ball, or just over and inch and a half. Place them on a baking sheet that is lined with a silpat or parchment paper. You may need more than one, depending upon the size of your baking sheets. Pop these into your oven and bake for 20 minutes.
And just like that, you have perfect little meatballs!
All together now… “On top of spaghetti – all covered with cheese – I lost my poor meatball – when somebody sneezed!”
Am I the only one that remembers that song from childhood? Thankfully there are plenty of meatballs to go around here, even after one runs away!
To freeze the meatballs for future meals, allow them to cool to room temperature. Line a clean baking sheet with parchment, freezer, or waxed paper. Place the meatballs on the sheet and stick the whole thing in your freezer. As soon as they are frozen, place them in a vacuum seal bag or bags for portions. By freezing the meatballs first, you can pull out all of the air without crushing the meatballs. If you don’t have a vacuum sealer, just use freezer bags.
You can use these meatballs in spaghetti. Simmer them in some marinara for a meatball sub. You could even make them into appetizers by simmering them in barbecue sauce and serving with toothpicks. Use your imagination!
Did you Make this Recipe? I’d love for you to give me a 5 star rating in the recipe card below. If you share it on Instagram, please tag me!
Constance Smith – Cosmopolitan Cornbread
Basic baked meatballs that you can use for spaghetti, hoagies, or anything else you may need!
4.78 from 9 votes
Print Recipe Save this on Pinterest
Prep Time 20 minutes mins
Cook Time 20 minutes mins
Total Time 40 minutes mins
Course Appetizer, Entrées
Cuisine American
Servings 50 meatballs
Ingredients
- 2 lb ground beef, or 1 lb each of beef + pork or beef + turkey
- 1/4 c Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic paste
- 1 1/4 c fresh bread crumbs
- 1 Tb parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
To begin, preheat your oven to 450 degrees.
In a mixing bowl, you’ll start with 2 pounds of ground beef. I generally use a lean cut, but not too lean. You do want some fat in there, because meatballs are not going to be fried, they will be baked. You can also use half beef and half ground pork if you like. I’ve also used beef & turkey on occasion. Most often though, I just go with all beef. Place the meat in the bowl and break it up with your fingers. Set it aside for now.
In a small dish, combine the Worcestershire sauce with the garlic paste. Whisk them together and then pour the mixture all over the meat. Set this aside for a moment.
Tear 2 or 3 slices of fresh bread into pieces. Toss them in your food processor and pulse until they are fine crumbs. You’ll need 1 1/4 cup of crumbs.
To the crumbs, add the parsley, black pepper, and salt. Give them a few pulses to combine them.
Form the mixture into balls that are about the size of a ping pong ball, or just over and inch and a half. Place them on a baking sheet that is lined with a silpat or parchment paper. You may need more than one, depending upon the size of your baking sheets. Pop these into your oven and bake for 20 minutes.
And just like that, you have perfect little meatballs!
Notes
To freeze the meatballs for future meals, allow them to cool to room temperature. Line a clean baking sheet with parchment, freezer or waxed paper. Place the meatballs on the sheet and stick the whole thing in your freezer. As soon as they are frozen, place them in a vacuum seal bag or bags for portions. By freezing the meatballs first, you can pull out all of the air without crushing the meatballs. If you don’t have a vacuum sealer, just use freezer bags.
You can use these meatballs in spaghetti. Simmer them in some marinara for a meatball sub. You could even make them into appetizers by simmering them in barbecue sauce and serving with toothpicks. Use your imagination!
Nutritional information is auto-generated and the accuracy is not guaranteed.
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