Classic Italian Meatballs
Classic Italian meatballs---just like Nonna used to make! These meatballs are actually my mother's recipe, the ones she's been making for years. Made with a blend of ground beef, pork, and veal and simmered in marinara sauce, they're tender, delicious, and hard to beat.
Ingredients
For the Homemade Marinara Sauce
- 2 cans whole tomatoes (28 ounces each)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup yellow onion peeled and diced
- 4 garlic cloves peeled and lightly crushed
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt or more to taste
- Ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon fresh basil or more, torn
For the Meatballs
- 1 pound meatloaf mix (a combination of ground beef, pork, and veal)
- 2 cups fresh breadcrumbs crusts removed and the white part of the bread torn into small pieces (Use a hearty bread, such as ciabatta or boule.) (Note 1)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder (Note 2)
- ¾ cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese (Note 3)
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup Italian flat-leaf parsley minced (Note 4)
Instructions
- Puree the canned whole tomatoes using an immersion blender, food processor, or traditional blender.
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot on medium-low to medium heat. Add the onion and crushed garlic, stirring the onion periodically and cooking until it becomes soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, press the garlic cloves into the olive oil to release their flavor (it's OK if some cloves break). Remove them once they start to turn golden.
- Pour the pureed whole tomatoes into the pot. You may want to lower the heat or temporarily remove the pot from the heat in case it's too hot and causes the tomatoes to splatter. Add the salt, black pepper, and basil. Turn the heat to low so that the sauce simmers gently.
- As the sauce cooks, place all the ingredients for the meatballs in a large bowl and mix by hand, careful not to overmix.
- Roll the mixture into individual balls slightly larger than the size of a golf ball. You should end up with about 15 to 18 meatballs.
- Before placing the meatballs in the sauce, taste it for salt and add more if needed. If the tomatoes taste bitter, add a pinch of granulated sugar. Drop the meatballs gently into the pot and move them around carefully with a wooden spoon until they're just submerged in the sauce. Gently simmer them for 45 minutes before removing the pot from the heat.
- Serve these meatballs alongside some pasta or a salad. You could also turn them into a meatball Parm hero. Enjoy!
Notes
Note 1: Be sure to use fresh breadcrumbs. Dried breadcrumbs will not be the same.
Note 2: You may be tempted to use fresh garlic, but it will remain raw inside the meatballs and could taste bitter.
Note 3: I highly recommend using Pecorino Romano cheese for its pungency and saltiness (and you won't need added salt). Milder cheeses (like generic Parmesan) won't flavor the meatballs as much, and the results won't be the same.
Note 4: Don't substitute with dried parsley. Only fresh will provide the vibrant flavor these meatballs need.
Nutrition
Serving: 1meatball | Calories: 159kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 27mg | Sodium: 266mg | Potassium: 58mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 198IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 86mg | Iron: 2mg
Tried this recipe?Let me know how it was!