Italian Meatballs are easy to make and is a great addition to your salads, pastas, or as it is mixed in your favourite marinara sauce.

You may as well put these meatballs in your curries and have it with rice (Yes, I am not kidding!). To me, having it with rice feels like a fusion of Italian and Asian flavours. If you are someone who enjoys a little food twist, try it!

Similar recipes you will love, Beef Burger infused with garlic and herbs, Thai Pasta Salad with Peanut butter dressing.

These meatballs come out so juicy and perfect. It makes every meal so much better.

You can shallow-fry them, bake or air-fry, as per your convenience. I like to bake in order to keep it healthier and I find it easier too. But I also do shallow fry it sometimes to get that beautiful, caramelized flavour.

Meatballs in general, is a great make-ahead item. You can follow this recipe and freeze it. Thaw whenever you need to, and you will be saving yourself a lot of time by keeping these stored for later.

The right way to freeze meatballs for later

Step 1: Prepare the meat mixture and using a scooper, scoop it out into even meatballs.

Step 2: Layer the meatballs, either cooked or uncooked, as preferred, on a large tray lined with parchment paper. I generally freeze it uncooked.

Step 3: Keep tray into the freezer for a few hours until they are just frozen.

Step 4: Once the meatballs are frozen, transfer them to a ziplock bag or an air-tight container. You can label it with a date, and then put it back into the freezer. Consume within 2-4 months.

Step 5: To thaw, just shift the meatballs into the refrigerator overnight. Cook or heat it up the next day and consume. You can also defrost it in a microwave or by keeping it covered under warm, running water.

These Italian meatballs are stuffed with spices, herbs like Basil and/or Parsley, garlic and parmesan cheese. All of these combined, give this recipe an oomph factor.

What meat to use for making meatballs?

You can make it using any meat of choice really, but I do like the combination of beef and mutton, keeping the recipe halal. You may also choose to use either one of them, or if you want to use just one, then I recommended lean beef.

Being a little technical, this article recommends an 80/20 blend beef. It is considered to have enough fat to keep the meatballs from drying out or 90/10 blend beef if you are combining it with mutton and other types of meats.

As a home cook, I am not always so specific with the kind of blend I am using, but it’s worth referring to if you want your meatballs to come out flawless.

While this may make it seem little daunting, Italian meatballs are actually very easy to make. Try it for yourself, and I am sure you will be making it over and over again!

RECIPE for Italian Meatballs:

Juicy Italian Meatballs

Recipe by Aysha SaihaCourse: Appetizers, DinnerCuisine: ItalianDifficulty: Easy

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

Total time

minutes

Ingredients

500g ground beef
500g ground mutton
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 large egg
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 Tsp Italian seasoning
2 Tbsp chopped parsley/Basil (or a mix of both)
1 Tsp salt + 1/2 Tsp pepper, or to taste

Directions

In a large bowl, add all the ingredients; your ground meat/s, breadcrumbs, grated parmesan, egg, onion, italian seasoning, chopped herbs, garlic cloves, salt and pepper. Using your hands combine it all evenly together.
Divide the meat mix into approximately 20 equal balls, about 1 inch in diameter.
Oven Baked Meatballs method
Place the meatballs into a large baking tray lined with parchment paper, drizzled with olive oil. Brush a little oil on top of the meatballs as well.
Transfer the baking tray into a pre-heated oven at 200°C, If the meatballs start darkening on the top, you can flip and continue baking until the other side is lightly browned too. It may take about 20-25mins until it is cooked properly.
Stove-top frying method
Pour a generous amount of olive oil or any other vegetable oil into a non-stick skillet pan on medium-low heat.
Cook meatballs in batches, for about 5 minutes on each side until they are golden brown. Remove and place on a paper towel to drain once cooked.
Transfer your cooked meatballs into a marinara sauce, have it with spaghetti or any other pasta of your choice. Toss them into your favourite salad, curries or have the meatballs with a cheesy-yoghurt dip. Basically, enjoy it as you like!