Soft Meatballs Recipe

Soft meatballs served over a bed of spaghetti sprinkled with parsley.

5 from 2 votes

Meatballs are a classic Italian-American dish that are simple to make and a definite crowd pleaser. This recipe is a favorite in my family, takes only 10 minutes to prep, and is so flavorful. You’ll want to make this again and again!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 25

Servings

Calories 248kcal

Author Alexandria Drzazgowski

Equipment

Ingredients

Meatball Ingredients

1 lb ground chuck
3 eggs
1 cup plain bread crumbs
3 Tbsp Parmesan cheese heaping
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp dried Parsley
½ tsp dried Basil
¼ tsp black pepper (Use code FF20 for 20% off)
¼ tsp garlic powder

Cooking Ingredients

96 oz marinara sauce 4 24 oz jars, optional
2 cups water optional

Instructions

Make the Meatballs
In a large bowl, use your hands or a wooden spoon to combine the meatball ingredients together until completely combined.
Use your hands to divide the meat into 10 portions. Then roll each portion into a round meatball. Follow the cooking instructions below based on your desired method.
Cook the Meatballs
Option 1: Bake
To bake your meatballs, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Place the meatballs on an ungreased, unlined baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees Fahrenheit.
Option 2: Boil
To boil your meatballs, add the pasta sauce and water in a large pot. Cover the pot and turn the heat to medium high. Heat the sauce until it begins to simmer.
Once the sauce is simmering, add the raw meatballs into the sauce. Make sure there is enough sauce to cover the meatballs completely. Put the lid back on the pot and allow the sauce to simmer for about 25-30 minutes, stirring once (gently) about halfway through the cooking time.
Cook until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees Fahrenheit.

Video

Notes

Ground Beef Chuck: The fat adds more flavor to this dish and makes the meatballs very soft. If you want to cut down on fat, you could use a leaner beef.
Bread Crumbs: Eggs and bread crumbs hold the balls together. I use plain breadcrumbs for this recipe, but you could use seasoned bread crumbs if that’s all you have. If you don't have bread crumbs on hand, you can dry some bread and put it in a food processor to make fresh bread crumbs.
Parmesan Cheese: Grated
Spices: Salt, parsley, basil, garlic powder, black pepper. Dried spices are preferred but fresh is fine too
Marinara Sauce: I used already-jarred marinara sauce to make my meatballs. You can also use marinara sauce that you are cooking on the stove at the time of simmering your meatballs. In that case, you will not need any extra water.
Water: To thin out the already jarred marinara sauce
Boiling the meatballs in the sauce is my preferred method. It flavors your sauce really well and also makes the meatballs more tender.
The meatballs will still be tender when baked, but the outside will be a little crispier than if they were boiled. Some people prefer that crispiness on the outside.
Do not overmix your meatball mixture. This will prematurely melt the fat in the meat and create tough meatballs.
You can use any ground meat for this recipe but of course it will change the flavor drastically. Beef is most traditional (my specific favorite is ground chuck) but you could also use ground pork.

Nutrition