Baked Italian Meatballs
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These moist, flavor-packed Baked Italian Meatballs are a weeknight meal staple in our house. They are done in 40 minutes or less and will make everyone happy. If you prep ahead using our freezing instructions, this meal is even faster!
4 Reasons to Make This Recipe
- Fast: Perfect for busy weeknights. If you prep them ahead of time, dinner is even quicker!
- Moist and Delicious: My kids go gah-gah over these and many of them get eaten straight from the sheet pan before they ever make it atop whole wheat spaghetti with homemade marinara sauce or on a Meatball Sub.
- Freezer-Friendly: This is one of the best meals to double and freeze a batch for later. Use our freezing instructions in the recipe.
- Less Mess: We skip the messy, greasy method of searing on the stovetop. Just pop these directly in the oven for crispy, perfectly cooked meatballs every time.
Ingredients Needed
Another benefit of this recipe: You likely already have most of the ingredients for these easy, baked meatballs. I’d suggest doubling this recipe, so you can make an extra batch for the freezer.
- Lean ground beef – I use grass-feed, grass-finish ground beef from ButcherBox for these but you could also use ground turkey.
- Panko bread crumbs – These Japanese-style bread crumbs are crispy and work well as a binder. You can use store-bought whole wheat or regular Panko breadcrumbs. If you are gluten-free, look for gluten-free Panko.
- Grated Parmesan cheese – This adds saltiness, and savoriness, and acts as a binder in addition to the bread crumbs.
- Egg – Be sure to beat this large egg before adding to the meat mixture.
- Milk – Helps to add moisture. Plain, dairy-free milk works fine.
- Tomato Paste – Adds some extra umami flavor to the meat mixture.
- Garlic powder – I use the powder form so you don’t bite into a chunk of garlic in the meatballs.
- Italian Seasoning – This dried herb blend often includes oregano, rosemary, basil, savory, thyme, marjoram, and sage…and it just smells like Italian food. 🙂
- Salt and pepper – Key to adding the right balance of flavors.
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- Step-by-Step instructions & video tutorial
- Serving suggestions & dietary substitutions & more
How to Make Italian Baked Meatballs
I promise, this really couldn’t be easier. I also promise that doubling this recipe and freezing one batch for later will be a really good decision. 🙂
Prep Oven & Pan
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or foil.
Combine Meat Mixture
Using clean hands, gently combine all ingredients in a medium bowl.
Roll Meatballs
Use a medium dough scooper or a spoon to scoop and then roll about 1 1/2 inch meatballs. Line up meatballs on the sheet pan, leaving room between each.
Bake in the Oven
Bake for about 20 minutes or until no longer pink inside (160°F internal temperature).
Serving Ideas
Optional: Serve with warm Marinara Sauce or Pesto on the side for dipping, over spaghetti with marinara, or on a Meatball Sub. You could also serve them alongside our Easy Cheesy Baked Pasta.
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.
Below is one way to freeze these meatballs, but sure to read our whole article about Freezing Meatballs: Raw or Cooked for more expert tips.
Freeze For Later:
Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or foil and line up the rolled, uncooked meatballs on the pan. Flash freeze uncooked meatballs by placing on the sheet pan (or in a baking dish) in the freezer for about an hour or so.
Once they are frozen, dump the meatballs in a gallon-sized freezer bag, seal, and place in freezer.
Prepare From Frozen:
Thaw meatballs using one of these safe thawing methods. Cook according to instructions.
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.
What to Serve with Italian Baked Meatballs
Here are some ideas that baked meatballs would go well with…
How Long to Bake Meatballs?
The length of time it takes to bake meatballs can vary depending on the size, the ingredients, and the oven temperature. As a general guideline, 1 1/2-inch round meatballs should be baked at 350°F (175°C) for 20-25 minutes. Note: Larger meatballs will likely require additional cooking time, while smaller meatballs may be done a bit quicker.
One way to make sure you bake your meatballs perfectly is to use a meat thermometer. They are done when the internal temperature is at least 165°F (74°C), which is the minimum safe temperature for ground meat according to the USDA.
Baking Italian Meatballs is a simple, healthy, and fast way to make delicious weeknight meals. Your family will love this one!
Did you make this? Snap a photo and tag us on Instagram at @thrivinghome so we can see your creations and cheer you on!
Baked Italian Meatballs
Everybody loves a good meatball! These delicious, moist ones may get eaten before they ever make it atop spaghetti or a sub sandwich. You’ll want to make this baked version of meatballs again and again.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 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
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Instructions
Make It Now:
- Prep: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or foil.
- Combine: Using clean hands, gently combine all ingredients in a medium bowl.
- Roll: Use a medium dough scooper or a spoon to scoop and then roll about 1 1/2 inch meatballs. Line up meatballs on the sheet pan, leaving room between each.
- Bake: Bake for about 20 minutes or until no longer pink inside (160°F internal temperature).
- Serve: Optional: Serve with warm Marinara Sauce on the side for dipping, over spaghetti with marinara, or on a Meatball Sub.
Freeze For Later:
Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or foil. Then, complete Steps 2 and 3. At this point, flash-freeze uncooked meatballs by placing on the sheet pan (or in a baking dish) in the freezer for about an hour or so. Once frozen, dump meatballs in a gallon-sized freezer bag, seal, and place in freezer.
Prepare From Frozen:
Thaw meatballs using one of these safe thawing methods. Cook according to instructions, beginning with Step 4.
Notes/Tips
Gluten-Free Version: Use almond meal or gluten-free bread crumbs in place of the whole wheat bread crumbs. (Tip: I make my own bread crumbs by toasted gluten-free bread and then tosses pieces into my high-powered blender or food processor. Blend until they are fairly fine bread crumbs.)
Dairy-Free Version: Use more bread crumbs in place of the Parmesan cheese, plus add 1/4 teaspoon more of salt.
Where We Get Our Beef: We get our beef from ButcherBox. The beef is grass-fed and curated from trusted farms. We highly recommend this service to source healthy meat–like uncured bacon, chicken, and wild salmon–and have used it for years ourselves.
Photos and video by Whitney Reist of Sweet Cayenne.
More Meatball Recipes
We love meatballs because people of all ages love them, they are easy to make, and super easy to freeze for later. Try some of our other favorites.
These were easy and so delicious! I’m saving the recipe, ill be making these often!
These are by far my favorite meatballs ever! I’m so glad you enjoy them Marie. Thank you for taking the time to leave a review.
These were great with our spaghetti! Lots of flavor.
So glad you like them Renee. Thank you for taking time to leave a review!
Excellent! My husband is extremely picky about his sauce and meatballs, and he said these meatballs were “epic.” Whew, thanks for sharing such a winner!
Love winning over those picky eaters! Thank you for taking the team to leave a review Daniella.
So freakin good!!! I made a double batch because I no longer wonder if your recipes will turn out—perfection every time. I think I made 10 of your recipes last month and loved every single one. Will definitely be making another batch for the freezer!
Goodness, thank you for your kind words Charity. We love hearing that our recipes are helping families get dinner on the table AND in the freezer!
I truthfully never made homemade meatballs before, but my family loved these. We’ve used them for appetizers, hoagies and with pasta. I make a big batch every other month and freeze them after I bake them so cook once and I have multiple meals. Thanks!
Wow Mary, glad to hear this! I had made meatballs a few times over the years, but hadn’t found one recipe to stick with until this one came along. Thank you for leaving a review.
I have never received so many compliments on meatballs until I made these. Ground sirloin happened to be on sale so I used that for them. I don’t know how much that contributed to the great taste, but I’ll be using it again when I make them for Christmas Eve.
Thanks for the feedback, Lisa. We’re happy to hear you were the dinner hero! I bet ground sirloin only kicked up that flavor.
I did the Double Your Dinner Challenge tonight and am glad I did! We put these on a hoagie bun and they were delicious! Great taste. Nice and juicy. I’m glad I have another set of them in the freezer!
Morgan, that’s awesome!! Great job, mama! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review. 🙂
This is my go to recipe now for meatballs. I always make a double batch and bake everything. I actually freeze the cooked meatballs by themselves in dinner size portions. Then when I’m ready for dinner, I pull them out and very gently reheat them in a jarred sauce on the stove. It comes together so quickly if you already have the meatballs cooked! My whole family loves them and the quality stays the same even after being frozen and reheated.
Thanks for sharing your review, Alicia. So happy you all enjoy them!
Hi, I have Celiac so I had to tweak the recipe, used GF bread crumbs. Also, I had a bit more meat then recipe called for. I used another egg and they were delicious but they fell apart. Do you have any recommendations die next time? Also, how do you know if you’ve “over worked” the meat? Thx
This recipe works “as is”, so something was likely off in your meat/liquid/binder/breadcrumb ratio. I’m sorry that happened! Sometimes I actually use almond meal in place of the breadcrumbs. It’s a bit denser of a meatball but still delicious. Overworked meatballs will come out tough, so the idea is to just work the meat until the ingredients are combined and balls are rolled, trying not to over do it.
I love meatballs and this recipe looks delicious. I am looking forward to making it and then trying it out as a freezer meal for our family vacation in September. I am gluten-free and noticed that you have also tried almond meal instead of breadcrumbs. How much did you use per batch? And would Almond Flour work just as well? Thanks!
Hi Heather. I’ve used both gluten-free breadcrumbs from the store (sub 1 to 1 ratio) and almond meal (I used about half the amount, since it’s more dense). Almond flour is even more dense than almond meal, so you could use it but maybe use a little less than half of the breadcrumb amount. It’s hard to screw up this recipe, so don’t stress too much. I hope that helps!
These meat balls really seems fantastic for upcoming picnic and even we can give them as lunch to children. Thanks a lot for sharing this awesome recipe.
Wahoo! Thanks for letting us know.
Awesome!
These meatballs are worth taking for camping and vacations. I hope they can fit in a plastic container before being taken to the freezer.
LOVE!!! These are the best meatballs I’ve ever had at home. They did take longer than 20 to cook for us. I think they may have been in there for an hour.
I make and freeze these a lot! I’m gluten intolerant so I can’t eat these out in any form. BUT we love meatball subs. I make a sheet pan full of these, let them cool and freeze them in food sealer bags. They don’t normally last more than a few weeks before they’re gone.
Making these in a large batch really takes no longer than making them a meal at a time! Great recipe!
LOVED these meatballs. The only change I made was I used almond milk instead of regular because I can’t have dairy and they were delish and easy to makeahead and freeze. I actually want to make these as one of the trays for my sons 1st birthday. I was wondering how long can they be frozen without compromising quality of meat and flavor?
Hey, that’s great to hear. I would say they will be fine in the freezer for at least 3 months. The key is to package them in an air-tight freezer bag and get as much air out as possible so do well in the freezer.
I’m excited to learn more about your recipes. I’m planning a garden wedding for June and as I’m making all the hordevoirs and buffet dinner myself, and have guests coming from out of town, I need to make as much as possible ahead of time. I’ll be interested to find out when I can start and best freezer time durations.
Wow, that’s impressive, Deborah. Make ahead freezer recipes will be a great help to you, and I think this meatballs would work nicely as an appetizer. Our cookbooks have some great recipes that might help, too. Best of luck!
Simple recipe, very tasty. I was missing the parsley but they were still nice without it. I also liked baking them over frying, much easier.
Can I bake first them and then freeze them? I’m thinking then I can throw some frozen cooked meatballs into a crock pot with some sauce and let them cook throughout the day.
I have definitely cooked these ahead and frozen them in sauce before. I bet if you threw the frozen sauce and meatballs in a crock on low all day it would work out. Please let us know if you try it and how it goes, since I haven’t tested it that way.