Kittencal's Italian Melt-In-Your-Mouth Meatballs

"Cooking the meatballs in simmering pasta sauce will not only add so much extra flavor to the sauce the meatballs will be melt-in-your-mouth tender, you may of course oven-bake the meatballs for about 25 minutes, --- don't be afraid to add in more Parmesan cheese and a little more milk, there is no need to measure exactly, this recipe is pretty much foolproof, leftover cooked meatballs make a wonderful pizza topping just slice thinly and freeze until ready to use ----- these also make wonderful juicy burgers shaped into patties-- for more of my tried and true recipes check out my food blog at www.kittencalskitchen.com"
 
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photo by Izy Hossack photo by Izy Hossack
photo by Elissa D. photo by Elissa D.
photo by Simone photo by Simone
photo by Kim M. photo by Kim M.
photo by Anonymous photo by Anonymous
Ready In:
50mins
Ingredients:
10
Yields:
1 1/2 pounds
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ingredients

  • 1 12 lbs ground beef (a mixture of 1 pound ground beef and 1/2 pound ground pork will work well also)
  • 1 large egg, slightly beaten
  • 12 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 13 cup breadcrumbs (or use enough to hold the meat together (no dry breadcrumbs? just soak 3 slices of bread in the 1/3 )
  • 1 -2 tablespoon fresh minced garlic (or use 1 teaspoon garlic powder or to taste)
  • 1 -2 teaspoon salt (or to taste, I use 2 teaspoons seasoned salt)
  • 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
  • 13 cup milk (can use up to 1/2 cup milk)
  • 12 teaspoon dried oregano (optional, or to taste)
  • 14 cup chopped fresh parsley (or 2 tablespoons dried parsley)
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directions

  • Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.
  • Shape into small meatballs (at this point you can place on a jelly-roll/baking sheet and freeze to use later, or cover with plastic wrap refrigerate up to 24 hours before using).
  • Drop the meatballs into simmering pasta sauce, do not stir for at least 20 minutes or you will risk breaking the meatballs.
  • Continue cooking in the simmering sauce for another 20 minutes (depending on how fast your sauce is simmering 40 minutes total should fully cook the meatballs).
  • After the 40 minutes cooking time continue cooking your sauce with the meatballs in for as long as desired.
  • **note** you may also bake the meatballs at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes or until cooked through.

Questions & Replies

  1. WOW the reviews are great!! can not wait to try. Have one question: So I can use bread crumbs but soak them in milk? or 3 slices of white bread soak them, if I use the bread does it just fall apart when mixing in with meat or do I need to break the bread up. Your video show bread crumbs.
     
  2. Soak 3 slices of bread in the 1/3 what, please? I’m assuming milk since it’s the only 1/3 on the recipe?
     
  3. this recipe definitely needs to be rewritten to make it more understandable regarding the breadcrumbs and soaking the bread in what?
     
  4. This recipe is written correctly. Dry breadcrumbs 1/3 of a cup. I always use dry breadcrumbs and place in bowl with milk. You can let the breadcrumbs soak up the milk. Add the rest of the ingredients. If I find it feels to dry after mixing I add a bit more milk.
     
  5. Is refrigerating them for 24 hours mandatory or can I just cook them once they're prepped? I kind of want to make this tonight.
     
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Reviews

  1. These really are amazing! I come from a large Italian family and it's frowned upon to use anything other than the "old family recipe", which frankly, wasn't very good! Everyone I've made these for (including my dad who still compares everything to his mom's cooking) were skeptical, especially about putting the meatballs in the sauce raw, but they were instant converts after dinner was served! My entire extended family claims these are the best meatballs they've ever had. And that's actually a little funny since I also used turkey instead of beef, which the men in my family generally refuse to eat because they claim ground turkey tastes like cardboard. However, they loooved these even after I fessed up! I've made them using just ground turkey, and when I can find it, I use turkey sausage as well. I also use store bought sauce (another sin in my family!)because it's easier, and the sauce ends up tasting so great that no one has ever complained! My aunts now think I may not be such a failure in the kitchen after all!
     
  2. I made these meatballs up early this morning following the recipe exactly except I added 1 small onion chopped finely into the meatball mixture. I popped them in the crock pot and added 1 can tomato sauce and 1 can chopped tomatoes and juice. I added onion powder, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt and freshly ground black pepper. I cooked on high for about 1 1/2 hrs. to bring it to a boil, then lowered it to low for another 7 hrs. The meatballs were delicious and so tender and yummy. They are easy to throw together and the crock pot didn't heat up the house! Thank you for sharing this winner of a recipe Carol. I can't wait to share the recipe with my family! Linda
     
  3. Awesome - If I could have given this recipe 15 stars I probably would have. Only deviation I made was I put a small cube of mozzarella cheese in the middle before I baked them. My family scarfed them up. They raved they were the best meatballs ever. Will be making again soon!
     
  4. Very good recipe, my family flipped over this meal. My only issue is that if you cook the meatballs in the sauce you must use a higher grade ground beef like 93/7 otherwise the sauce will be very greasy. Just my two cents worth.
     
  5. I did basically EVERYTHING wrong in attempting to assemble these, yet they STILL turned out to taste like pure heaven! I seem to have garnished a terribly bad habit of not following measurements, at all (generally because I mostly cook for just myself, and the scaling can be unnerving), so I'm positive that I used too much of one thing, and not enough of the other. I also went the severly-slacking route and heated some doctored-up jarred pasta sauce, but HOT DANG! these were (and still are, after having been frozen and thawed) the most moist, flavorful meatballs that I have EVER tasted. I honestly still cannot believe that I made them, myself. Thank you so much, kittencal!
     
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Tweaks

  1. Always mix your ingredients for the meatballs before adding the meat so you do not overwork the meatballs. I also think the bread stoked in milk makes a softer meatballs versus breadcrumbs. I have been making meatballs for years and its the milky bread part that makes them have a perfect texture. great recipe for a small amount. I love that because when I make them I usually make about 6 lbs of meatballs with gravy to freeze. It is nice to have a small recipe, thank you
     
  2. I browned the meatballs before simmering in the sauce.
     
  3. Add 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, a pinch of oregano, a pinch of lemon-herb spice and a tiny pinch of cayenne pepper, This made the most outstanding meatballs ever.
     
  4. Best meatballs ever. I made them in the morning, put in crockpot with sauce! Yumm!!!
     
  5. Halved the parsley and replaced the other half with basil.
     

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