Baked Meatballs
Baked Meatballs are the ultimate comfort food, perfect for appetizers, sandwiches, casseroles, or served with your favorite pasta sauce over spaghetti.
These meatballs are juicy, flavorful, and so easy to make you’ll want to have them on repeat.
Enjoy these tender and flavorful meatballs as an appetizer in a sandwich or hero, served with marinara sauce over spaghetti. You can also use them in our classic Tater Tot and Meatball Casserole.
About Baked Meatballs
Everybody should know a good recipe for meatballs. Why? Because they are popular with guests, incredibly easy to make, and can be used in lots of dishes.
One of the things I love about this recipe is that prep takes just about 10 minutes. Afterward, pop the meatballs in the oven. And 20 minutes later, you’ll have the most perfect baked meatballs.
Read below for meal prep tips and storage suggestions.
Ingredient Notes
Please use the recipe card below for a detailed, printable ingredient list.
GROUND BEEF – Use 90/10 ground beef for a good balance of flavor and juiciness without too much fat.
EGG – Acts as a binder to hold the meatballs together.
PECORINO – Adds a rich, savory flavor that enhances the meatballs.
ONION – Finely diced for a hint of sweetness and texture.
PARSLEY – Fresh and finely chopped to add a burst of color and freshness.
BREAD CRUMBS – Traditional bread crumbs help bind the ingredients and keep the meatballs tender.
How To Make Easy Baked Meatballs
For detailed, printable instructions, please check the recipe card below.
- Combine all ingredients. Wet your hands and shape meatballs.
TIP: Use a (lightly wetted) retractable ice cream scoop to make the meatballs quickly. - Transfer meatballs onto a baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes at 400º Fahrenheit.
Recipe Sucess Tips and Tricks
The secret of this recipe lies in the cheese. Pecorino Romano.
Pecorino Romano cheese is similar to Parmesan in taste and texture. While Parmesan is made with cow’s milk, Pecorino is made with sheep’s milk.
The taste is a bit sharper and more pungent than in Parmesan cheese. Pecorino has a nutty, salty taste with a hint of tanginess.
And yes, you can substitute traditional Parmesan cheese.
Where To Buy Pecorino?
You’ll find Pecorino in the cheese aisle of most larger supermarkets. But my absolute favorite place to buy it is Costco.
Costco has delicious Pecorino at a great price. One log lasts my husband and me for several months, and we often use it instead of Parmesan.
TIP: Because Pecorino Romano is saltier than Parmesan, you’ll need to add less salt to whatever dish you use.
Silpats
- Use a Silpat instead of covering your baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil. I was late in discovering Silpats.
But over the last 6+ months, I’ve used them for meatballs, cookies, and salmon. You can use them at high temperatures (up to 500 Fahrenheit) and use them again and again. Bonus: they are super easy to clean.
Serving Suggestions
WITH SPAGHETTI – Serve these meatballs over a bed of spaghetti with your favorite marinara sauce.
AS A SANDWICH – Place the meatballs in a sub roll, top with marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese, then bake until the cheese is melted.
IN A CASSEROLE – Use the meatballs in your favorite casserole recipe for a hearty and delicious meal.
AS AN APPETIZER – Serve the meatballs with a dipping sauce like marinara or BBQ sauce for a tasty appetizer.
More Delicious Meatball Combinations
- Ground Meat + Ground Pork – 50% Beef + 50% Pork = 100% delicious meatballs.
- Ground Turkey – Makes for a leaner meatball.
- Ground Chicken – another great option for making delicious meatballs. Especially when you want to cut down on red meat.
RELATED RECIPE: BBQ Chicken Meatloaf.
Storage and Leftovers
MAKE AHEAD – You can prepare the meatballs and shape them a day in advance. Store them covered in the refrigerator until ready to bake.
STORE – You can store meatballs in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Although I love glass containers, I’ve recently become obsessed with these containers. They are hands down the best storage containers I’ve ever owned. I’m unsure what the secret is, but they keep everything fresh for a few days longer.
So, if you’re meal prepping, you can make a batch of baked meatballs on Sunday. Make Meatballs and Spaghetti on Monday, and enjoy the leftover meatballs with sauce in a sandwich on Tuesday.
FREEZE – It’s actually pretty easy to freeze our Baked Meatballs! Once you finish baking them in the oven, they cool down completely. Cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap and store them in the freezer until they harden, about 1 hour. Transfer the lightly frozen meatballs into a freezer-safe ziplock bag for easy storage. Properly stored meatballs will last 3-4 months in your freezer.
More Easy and Delicious Recipes
BAKED ZITI – This is an easy recipe that’s perfect for parties or weeknight dinners.
LASAGNA ROLL-UPS – A fun twist on classic lasagna.
FRIKADELLEN – German meatball/burger recipe.
BEEF STROGANOFF – One of my favorite comfort food recipes – ever!
SAUSAGE AND HASH BROWN CASSEROLE – My go-to recipe when I don’t know what to cook.
Please take a moment to rate our Bake Meatball recipe below.
Baked Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef 90/10
- 1 large egg lightly beaten
- 1 cup Pecorino grated
- ½ cup onion finely diced
- ⅓ cup parsley finely chopped
- ½ cup bread crumbs traditional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° Fahrenheit.
- Combine all ingredients. Wet your hands and shape meatballs.
- Transfer meatballs onto a baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes at 400° Fahrenheit.
Nutritional Information
Nutritional Disclaimer
Cheerful Cook team members are not trained nutritionists or medical professionals. Calorie information and nutritional values are estimates. If you have nutritional concerns, we recommend using a nutritional calculator.
Maike Corbett is the founder and food blogger of Cheerful Cook, a popular recipe website featuring comfort food recipes from the US and Germany. She has been featured in numerous media outlets, including the AP Wire and MSN.