Looking for an easy appetizer? These homemade meatballs are easy, made from ground beef, and are baked, not fried. These juicy little meaty balls of flavor are ready in 30 minutes! They also freeze really well! Just bake what you need to add them to spaghetti or a meatball sub!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Ready in 30 minutes! 15 minutes of prep time plus 15 minutes of cook time!
- Juicy, tender meatballs, not dry or rubbery!
- Made primarily of ground beef, not breadcrumbs!
- Raw meatballs can be frozen in an airtight container and cooked as needed!
- Great recipe for an appetizer!
- Goes well with Italian Dishes like Baked Spaghetti and Meatballs!
- Also works for meatball sandwiches or subs with marinara sauce!
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Breadcrumbs - You can substitute Panko crumbs. Fresh bread crumbs work fine, too, in case you don't have a container of dry bread crumbs on hand.
- Meatloaf Seasoning Packet - You can find the packets of meatloaf mix next to the gravy mixes and such. Any brand is fine.
- Barbecue Sauce - use your preferred brand and flavor.
- Ground Beef - I used lean ground beef. I haven't tried other ground meat like ground turkey or ground pork for this recipe.
What I Used For This Recipe
Step by Step Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
- Line two baking sheets with foil and lightly spray them with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, stir the barbecue sauce, onions, eggs, meatloaf seasoning, breadcrumbs, and milk together.
- Mix until all the ingredients are mixed together well.
- Use a #40 cookie scoop to measure out and place the meatballs in a single layer with an inch between each one on the prepared baking sheet. They should be a bit smaller than a golf ball.
- Bake the meatballs in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 13-15 minutes.
- Serve these flavorful meatballs hot!
- I like to put a decorative deli toothpick in each meatball, put them on a platter, and garnish with fresh parsley!
- Store leftover meatballs in the fridge.
- Reheat cooked meatballs in the oven, the microwave, or, my favorite, an air fryer!
Recipe FAQs
Ground beef works best for this easy meatball recipe.
Yes, you can. I actually use Panko in these most of the time because I rarely have breadcrumbs in my cupboard.
You do need some sort of breadcrumbs, panko, or cracker crumbs in meatballs because they help hold the meatballs together.
Any kind works! We are partial to this Spicy Barbecue Ranch, though!
Yes, follow all the instructions, except instead of putting them in the oven, put the pans of meatballs in the freezer. Once frozen, pop the frozen meatballs into a freezer bag or freezer container and put them back in the freezer. Sometimes I make a double batch so that I can have some to freeze!
You don't need to thaw them. Just line them up on a baking sheet and bake them like normal. They only need an extra 5 minutes of baking time.
Related Ground Beef Recipes
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Easy Beef Meatballs Recipe
Ingredients
- ¼ Cup Barbecue Sauce
- ½ Cup Minced Onions
- 2 Eggs
- 1 pkg. Meatloaf Seasoning
- ½ Cup Dry Breadcrumbs
- ½ Cup Milk
- 2 lbs. Ground Beef
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
- Line two baking sheets with foil and lightly spray them with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a mixing bowl, stir the barbecue sauce, onions, eggs, meatloaf seasoning, breadcrumbs, and milk together.
- Incorporate the ground beef until all the ingredients are mixed together well.
- Use a small cookie scoop to measure out and place the meatballs on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake the meatballs at 375 degrees for 13-15 minutes.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
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Jeff
Excellent recipe and very delicious.
L.S.
Fantastic! These are easy to make and great for now and later meals.
Greg
I can't stop eating these. They are delicious. You can freeze them for a quick meal later too.