Baked Italian Meatballs

Name: Baked Italian Meatballs
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 1 ½ lbs lean ground beef (This is where we get our favorite grass-fed ground beef.*); 1/2 cup whole wheat Panko breadcrumbs (or sub gluten-free breadcrumbs); 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (or sub more breadcrumbs); 1 large egg, beaten; 2 tablespoons milk (your choice); 2 tablespoons tomato paste; 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley; 1 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper; 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder; 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

★★★★★ 4.9 /5 Updated: 6/16/22

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Look no further for a delicious baked meatball recipe. Our Baked Italian Meatballs are a 30 minute meal staple in our house! The ingredients are simple but they are still packed with flavor. They make a great freezer meal because you can easily double the batch to freeze meatballs for later!

Baked Italian meatballs on a white plate with marinara sauce

Easiest Baked Italian Meatballs… EVER

Everybody loves a good meatball, right? Well, at least everyone in my crew does. And, as my mom friends out there know, it’s no small feat to prepare a meal that everyone eats and enjoys. These delicious, moist, Baked Italian Meatballs may get eaten before they ever make it atop whole wheat spaghetti with homemade marinara sauce or a Meatball Sandwich.

The ingredients in our baked meatballs are simple:

Ground beef (Here is where we get quality ground beef)
Breadcrumbs
Parmesan cheese
Egg
Milk
Tomato Paste
Parsley
Seasonings

You likely have all of the ingredients for these easy baked meatballs in your pantry!

Perhaps the best part: Skip the stove top mess and bake these away in the oven for only 20 minutes. They come out perfect every time. And, like so many of our recipes, you can make these meatballs ahead of time and freeze them for a quick, healthy meal later. Check out the freezer meal instructions in the recipe.

Here is a short video of how Baked Italian Meatballs come together

How to Freeze Meatballs

One of the best parts about this meatball recipe is that it is freezer friendly. Meatballs work beautifully to assemble and then freeze before baking for a meal down the road. I’d suggest rolling them up and placing them on a parchment lined baking sheet to freeze.

After they are frozen enough to hold together, place them in an airtight container or freezer storage bag.

The beauty of freezing meatballs is that you can now pop out as many as you need for future meals. No need to bake them all at once. These can be a great freezer meal for 1-2 people.

Use Baked Italian Meatballs to Double Your Dinner

We actually have an AMAZING resource you’re going to want to get your hands on. We have put together a free resource to help you easily double your dinner. So make a batch of these meatballs tonight and freeze a batch for later.

Download the FREE Double Your Dinner Challenge

Ways to Use Baked Meatballs

Baked meatballs are incredibly versatile. (For a twist on this classic, try our Asian Turkey Meatballs!) Here are some ideas on ways to use them!

Serve them over whole wheat spaghetti with marinara sauce
Bake them and then assemble them as Meatball Sandwiches
Eat them plain! They can be a great appetizer.
Lighten up but don’t miss out on flavor by serving them over zoodles.

What to serve with Baked Italian Meatballs

Here are some ideas that baked meatballs would go well with:

Rachel Tiemeyer

As co-founder of Thriving Home, Rachel dreams about creating recipes (literally) and uses her husband, her 3 kids, and even the neighbors as guinea pigs several nights a week. She believes that good food has the power to bring families and friends closer together and continues to wake up excited about her job each day, even after 10+ years!