Homemade Italian Meatballs

An unexpected change of work plans this morning left me with a whole day at home alone. This doesn’t happen too often anymore, so I thought I would put these hours to good use and whip up some homemade meatballs.

Who could resist a big, bowl of spaghetti and meatballs on a cold, snowy January evening? So, let’s get right to it. 

The way I make my meatballs is basically how my grandmother makes hers. No fancy cookware or utensils are required – these meatballs are just easy-to-make, good Italian food. I hope you enjoy them as much as my family does. 

Mangia!

Homemade Italian Meatballs

The ingredients listed are per pound of ground beef. Recipe yields about 10 meatballs (I like them big).

1 pound ground beef

2 eggs
½ cup Italian-style breadcrumbs
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 clove garlic, minced
¼ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
Small bowl of water
Extra virgin olive oil for frying
Pasta sauce

In a large bowl, add the ground beef through the parsley. Using your hands, mix together ingredients until well combined. Do not overwork the mixture, or the meatballs will be tough.

Roll mixture into 1 ½ inch balls. If the mixture seems a bit dry, add a few splashes of water to it. The meatballs should glisten, but not be dripping wet. Adding water to the mixture is the “secret” to soft meatballs.

In a frying pan, heat olive oil over medium. Fry meatballs in small batches, tuning them every couple of minutes and just long enough to get a nice even “crust” around them. 

Meatballs should not be cooked all the way through at this point.

Drain meatballs on paper towels.

In a large sauce pot, heat pasta sauce. Add meatballs to sauce and simmer 1 ½ to 2 hours or until cooked through.