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The Best Meatballs

1,536 Ratings 1,166 Reviews 127 Photos

I never knew how to make good meatballs until I

found this recipe. I normally make mine with just
ground beef and they still taste great. I've used the
combination of pork, beef and veal and they are
equally good. Definitely use fresh bread crumbs
and freshly grate your cheese instead of using the
canned variety...it really does make a di!erence.

By Geanine

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Prep: 30 mins

Cook: 20 mins

Total: 50 mins

Servings: 8

Yield: 8 servings

Nutrition Info

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Ingredients
4 Adjust

Original recipe yields 8 servings

The ingredient list now reflects the servings specified

1/2 pound ground beef

1/4 pound ground veal

1/4 pound ground pork

1 clove garlic, minced

1 eggs

1/2 cup freshly grated Romano cheese

2-1/4 teaspoons chopped Italian flat leaf

parsley

salt and ground black pepper to taste

1 cup stale Italian bread, crumbled

3/4 cup lukewarm water

1/2 cup olive oil

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Directions
Step 1

Combine beef, veal, and pork in a large bowl. Add

garlic, eggs, cheese, parsley, salt and pepper.

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Step 2

Blend bread crumbs into meat mixture. Slowly add

the water 1/2 cup at a time. The mixture should be
very moist but still hold its shape if rolled into
meatballs. (I usually use about 1 1/4 cups of water).
Shape into meatballs.

Step 3

Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Fry meatballs in

batches. When the meatball is very brown and
slightly crisp remove from the heat and drain on a
paper towel. (If your mixture is too wet, cover the
meatballs while they are cooking so that they hold
their shape better.)

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Nutrition Facts

Per Serving:

613 calories; protein 26.6g 53% DV; carbohydrates

6.6g 2% DV; fat 53.2g 82% DV; cholesterol 148.6mg
50% DV; sodium 333.1mg 13% DV. Full Nutrition

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Reviews (1166) Read More Reviews

Add Rating &

Review

1536 Ratings

5 1167

4 266

3 57

2 21

1 25

Most helpful positive review

PatsyK

05/28/2008

They ARE the best meatballs, even though I use

all beef most of the time. I don't fry, b/c I am
too impatient, and the meatballs break up
more that way. I scoop them out with a spoon,
roll them in my hands, and bake on a cake rac…
Read
in theMore
oven over a foil-lined cookie sheet. This
way, they brown nicely, excess fat is drained o!,
Helpful (3290)
and they can go right into sauce, or, in our
family, meatball hoagies, along with sauteed
onions and peppers. They also freeze very well
Most helpful critical review
when baked this way. When I take these to
parties, I always get requests for the recipe.
JIMBOLYA

10/13/2009

There is nothing I hate more than to get a

mediocre or worse review from people who do
not follow the recipe as written, and then judge
YOU on it. I followed this to a "T" even though
my experience as a chef was telling me not to…
Read Morecheese. Not enough garlic. And "salt
Too much
and pepper to taste" is a personal pet peeve. If
Helpful (826)
you are going to post a recipe, include all the
measurements, or be prepared to take your
lumps. This recipe is good enough to avoid
disaster, but DO NOT FRY. They stick to the pan
and melt away when you add them to the
Reviews: Most Helpful
gravy(tomato sauce). Instead, bake them for
about 35 minutes at 350. Then, put them in the
gravy for the last hour or two. Replace half the
PatsyK
cheese with more breadcrumbs. Less mess,
healthier and easier.
05/28/2008

They ARE the best meatballs, even though I use all beef
most of the time. I don't fry, b/c I am too impatient, and
the meatballs break up more that way. I scoop them out
with a spoon, roll them in my hands, and bake on a cake
rack in the oven over a foil-lined cookie sheet. This way…
Read More nicely, excess fat is drained o!, and they can
they brown
go right into sauce, or, in our family, meatball hoagies,
Helpful (3290)
along with sauteed onions and peppers. They also freeze
very well when baked this way. When I take these to
parties, I always get requests for the recipe.

CarasMom

05/28/2008

This is soooo close to my Nonna's authentic Italian

recipe! I am telling you, these meatballs ROCK! Uh oh, the
word is out!!! How funny! 3 meats, the breadcrumbs, plus
1 egg. You can also use fresh chopped spinach instead of
parsley (or 1 pkg frozen, thawed and all water squeeze…
Read More
out) and pecorino romano cheese instead of parmesan. I
make sure I have these on hand almost all the time, I use
Helpful (1897)
one lb of EACH meat, and it makes 30-40. Instead of
frying, I par bake mine on a cookie sheet at 325 for about
10 minutes, then set the tray (if room allows) into the
freezer for an hour or so. Pop them o! the tray, into a
delcar
couple of large freezer bags. Meatballs on demand!! Drop
them into a sauce or steam in a glass casserole dish for
05/28/2008
about 5 minutes, they will be medium-well on the inside.
Absolute
I use beef,crowd
pork, pleaser if you
and veal, as itare making
is readily a big Italian
available in my
dinner!!
supermarket. Also, I bake mine instead of frying them,
use parchment paper, 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Then,
if I have sauce simmering, I drop them in for the finale, or
I freeze them for later use, or to give away to the children.
Read More

Helpful (1421)

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JIMBOLYA

10/13/2009

There is nothing I hate more than to get a mediocre or

worse review from people who do not follow the recipe
as written, and then judge YOU on it. I followed this to a
"T" even though my experience as a chef was telling me
not to. Too much cheese. Not enough garlic. And "salt…
Read More to taste" is a personal pet peeve. If you are
and pepper
going to post a recipe, include all the measurements, or
Helpful (826)
be prepared to take your lumps. This recipe is good
enough to avoid disaster, but DO NOT FRY. They stick to
the pan and melt away when you add them to the
gravy(tomato sauce). Instead, bake them for about 35
Michelle
minutes at 350. Then, put them in the gravy for the last
hour or two. Replace half the cheese with more
12/08/2003
breadcrumbs. Less mess, healthier and easier.
Honestly, I was skeptical using water in a meatball recipe,
but it was really great! I scaled to 4 servings, used only
beef, 85%, 1/2 cup italian style breadcrumbs and Kra"
parmesan cheese, as my young children do not yet
appreciate the stronger flavor of "real" cheese, and the…
Read Morethey were the best meatballs ever. Also, I did
both said
not fry them, to cut down on fat and clean-up, and they
Helpful (534)
kept their shape just fine. I just put them in the gravy and
cooked them on simmer for 30 minutes. The sauce was a
simple marinara, just sautee 2 cloves of garlic, add 3 cans
of crushed tomatoes, 1 can paste, 3/4 c. water and
NANCYALBERICI
simmer. Add 1T oregano, 1t. basil, 1t. onion powder, salt
and pepper and voila! Geanine and I teamed up to make
12/23/2003
an awesome dinner! Thanks Geanine!
This IS the best Italian Meatball recipe ever. My ex-
mother-in-law gave me this recipe more than 25 years
ago. We use italian style breadcrumbs and much less
liquid (about 1/4 cup milk). What makes it so good is the
ratio of meats. You can adjust the flavorings to suit you…
Read More
family's taste. Once browned, the meatballs can finish
cooking in the frypan or by baking, or even add them to
Helpful (410)
the sauce. I would recommend this basic recipe to
anyone. Excellent addition to Allrecipes.com.
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SurfSkiba

12/05/2003

Thank you Geanine! My husband told me that these were

absolutely the best meatballs he had ever tried! I didn't
pan fry them in olive oil - I simply dropped them into a
crockpot full of homemade spaghetti sauce and let them
cook with the sauce all a"ernoon. Also, I used italian st…
Read
breadMore
crumbs instead of making my own - just used a
third cup less. My husband absconded with the le"overs
Helpful (280)
to take to work this morning, and three people from his
o!ice called me today to get the recipe! Will ALWAYS use
this recipe for spaghetti and meatballs!

I'm nuts too

12/05/2003

Wow, This is the way that I make my meatballs (recipe

from my Mom, not some cookbook), but instead of using
water, we use milk, and soak the bread in it, and also skip
the olive oil browning, as the meat produces enough fat
for the browning proceedure. Thanks Geanine!
Read More

Helpful (199)

Dee

05/28/2008

Exactly the way I make them, except I don't use quite as

much water and I don't fry them. I drop them in the sauce
to cook. Makes the sauce taste awesome.
Read More

Helpful (192)

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