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Here’s a great, classic recipe for Italian-Style Meatballs that my husband Jack has really perfected over the years. In fact, we originally shared this recipe here on A Family Feast back in January 2013 – and in addition to updating the photos, Jack made some additional tweaks to the recipe before sharing it again today!
These moist, tender Italian-Style Meatballs are a savory combination of ground beef, ground pork and ground veal, and they are perfectly seasoned with onions, garlic, Parmesan cheese and other herbs and seasonings. (If you can’t find the veal ground, buy veal stew meat and process in a food processor or meat grinder. Veal is an important part of this recipe).
We’re also sharing our trick to making these Italian-Style Meatballs so tender and moist! Slices of white bread soaked in milk are used to help bind the meat together, rather than dry bread crumbs which we’ve seen used in so many other Italian-style meatball recipes.
This recipe makes a generous amount of meatballs so you’ll have lots of options for how to use them – and they freeze quite well! Whether you are making spaghetti and meatballs with your favorite tomato sauce, or a classic Italian Meatball Soup, or eating them as is, this is a great go-to meatball recipe for you to have in your recipe collection.
We love seeing what you made! Tag us on Instagram at @afamilyfeast or hashtag #afamilyfeast so we can see your creations!
Italian-Style Meatballs
Ingredients
- 3 ounces (in weight) Italian or French bread, crusts removed
- 1/3 cup whole milk
- 3 eggs
- 3/4 cup finely minced onions
- 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh garlic finely minced
- 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh Italian flat leaf parsley
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
- 1 pound ground pork (not sausage meat)
- 1/2 pound ground veal
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Soak bread in milk in a large bowl.
- After the bread soaks for 4-5 minutes, add eggs and beat with the wet bread.
- Add onions, garlic, Parmesan, parsley, salt and pepper and stir to combine.
- Add the beef, pork and veal and gently work the mixture to combine the ingredients but do not over mix.
- Using an ice cream scoop, scoop out meatballs to about 2 ½ ounces each (would roughly fit into a ¼ cup measuring cup). However you can make them any size you want, just adjust cooking times.
- Wet your hands and roll out the meatballs into a round shape. Place in the refrigerator to firm up if the mixture gets too warm. They will keep their shape better when cooking if not too soft.
- In a large 12”–14” skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
- Working in two batches, gently place the meatballs in the pan and cook a few minutes on each side (top, bottom, and all sides), using a few soup spoons to roll the meatballs over as they cook. The meatballs will flatten just a bit and not stay exactly round but as you keep turning and browning, they will form back into a round shape. (strain out oil between batches with a slotted spoon to get rid of any burned bits). Total cooking time for each batch should be about 10-12 minutes. Use a probe thermometer and remove from pan at 150 degrees F.
- The meatballs are fully cooked and can be used in a variety of recipes. For spaghetti and meatballs, put the meatballs directly into a pot of your favorite tomato sauce and continue to cook in the sauce for another five to ten minutes. Or place them into hot stock for an Italian Meatball soup.
- These meatballs freeze well. Freeze on a single layer in a dish or pan. Once frozen, place in zip lock bags and place back into the freezer.
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Making these tonight for dinner. Made sauce this morning. Salad is ready and bread is rising and going in the oven in 1 hour. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
You’re very welcome Kim! (Sounds like a delicious meal!)
This is a great recipe, thanks for sharing this. Yummy.
To the comment about the missimg basil and how the sauce shouldn’t have mint… Mint is the most widely used herbs in Italy especially by home cooks. Our Sicilian sauce & meatball recipe comes from a native Sicilian still living in Italy who says everyone she knows has used mint for generations in their dish. This article outlines 13 recipes from 13 parts of Italy that hinge on the herb mint, one of which is meatballs.
https://www.seriouseats.com/2009/06/seriously-italian-mint-in-italian-cooking.html
Thanks Janna! Glad you enjoyed the recipe! 🙂
Good recipe I like it Thank you
You’re very welcome! Glad you liked the meatballs!
Looks like a very good recipe. I use water instead of milk learned that from my wife’s 98-year-old grandmother and she also uses freshly grated pecorino romano instead of the parm cheese which makes a tremendous flavor difference. I bake mine as well just a lot easier. Just found your blog and absolutely love it!!!
Thanks John! We’re glad you found us! 🙂
This is how I have made meatballs for 40 years. The key is soaking bread in milk or water. No bread crumbs. You will have perfect results every time.
Thanks Rob!
I had had a recipe for meatballs made with wet fresh bread years ago and lost it somewhere along our many moves in the military. I am so happy to have found this recipe. I had used water in the old recipe, but this recipe was even better. I used a large cookie scoop to measure these and got 52 meatballs from a batch. My husband would’ve eaten all 52 right there if I’d have let him. They are DELICIOUS!!! Thanks for bringing back an old favorite of ours but making it even better than ever!
You’re very welcome Elaine! So glad you both enjoyed the recipe!
How much bread and milk in cups please.
Hi Elly – the milk is already in cups (1/3rd). We will have to do an approximate volume measurement for you the next time we make the meatballs – but weight is a more accurate measurement because the texture of your bread will impact the weight and a cup measurement doesn’t reflect that.
Love the way you cook I do the same an a pleasure to read
Thank you so much Michelle!
thank you for sharing
HI! I have a Sicilian husband and have been trying to find new recipes to cook for him, your home made speghetti sauce and pork and beef meatballs sound awesome and I look forward to trying them for him, I’m not sure if you guys have one posted but a recipe I found I really wanted to try for him was eggs in purgatory. Thank you guys for the recipes! Makes me happy to see families still cooking at home instead of always going out.
Hi – We don’t have a recipe for eggs in purgatory – but it sounds delicious! I hope you enjoy the recipes and thank you so much for taking the time to write to us! (We love sharing our recipes!) 🙂
My Italian (Sicilian) husband puts a little mint in his ravioli because that’s the way his mother made them. You don’t taste the mint persay, but it does make them extra special! We do put fresh basil in the sauce. It’s nice to try ways other people make it too! Thanks for sharing Martha!
You’re very welcome Julie – We agree – the mint adds something special (without being a very distinctive flavor). Thanks for taking the time to write to us!
I agree we ever use mint and I see no basil in them
What would be the time and baking temperature for the meatballs?
Hi Sherrill – Step 6 outlines a few cooking options for the meatballs – for baking it would be 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees (F) or until the internal temperature reaches 150 degrees. Hope that helps!