The Best Baked Meatballs {Easy, No-fry Meatballs}
These Baked Meatballs are easy and healthier then frying! Use them for meatball subs or spaghetti using the Marinara recipe, or use them to make Sweet & Spicy meatballs using the Spicy Apricot Glaze recipe.
Servings: 45 meatballs
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound ground italian sausage (or hot italian sausage, or can use all ground beef)
- ½ teaspoon salt (or 1 teaspoon salt, depends on sausage, see notes)
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried sage
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 cup italian bread crumbs
- 1 cup romano cheese ,freshly shredded
- 2 large garlic cloves, minced (or use 4 small)
- 2 whole eggs
- ½ cup water
Optional:
- 2 tablespoon olive oil (for basting)
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 425°F, and prepare a large baking sheet by lining it with foil and coating it with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, combine all of the spices, garlic, romano cheese, bread crumbs, and eggs.
- Add in the ground beef and ground italian sausage, then mix with hands or a spoon until just combined.
- Pour in the water, and mix again until just combined.
- Using a small cookie scoop, scoop out meat mixture and form into balls by lightly rolling between your hands.
- Place each meatball onto the prepared baking sheet leaving a little space between each one.
- Using a basting brush, lightly coat the top of each meatball with olive oil (this is optional, but it helps with browning).
- Bake meatballs in the pre-heated oven for 20-25 minutes, depending on the size of your meatballs. (Mine took 23 min. for 2" diameter)
- Serve them as Meatball Subs or Spaghetti & Meatballs using the --> Simple Marinara Sauce recipe. Or make them into Sweet & Spicy meatballs using the Sweet & Spicy Apricot Glaze !
Video
Notes
Amount of Salt to Use:
The amount of salt to use depends on the type of ground pork you use, because they vary on salt content.
- For this recipe I used an organic grass-fed italian sausage. The sodium content was lower than the store-bought kind, which is why I used 1 teaspoon of salt.
- If using store-bought Italian or Hot Italian sausage, use only ½ teaspoon salt.
- If using regular ground pork, use 1 teaspoon salt.
- If you don't care for pork, just use all ground beef (so 2lbs ground beef).