The one thing that sets this meatball recipe apart from others? Soak sandwich bread with grated onion. The bread puffs up when cooked, making these meatballs extra soft and juicy. Plus it adds extra savoury flavour without the need to fry onion separately.
Italian Meatball recipe!
I don’t want to blow my own horn, but I’m determined to do everything I can to make you want to try these meatballs and if that means a mini brag sheet, then so be it. So here we go:
“Your meatball recipe is the same as my Italian Nonna! Love the idea of soaking the bread in onion juice rather than milk….. Will make them like this from now on (won’t tell Nonna!)” – Dan, 20 July, 2018
“This recipe is better than my Italian family’s .….. This is going to be my current family pass down to future generations.” – Rosemary, 19 March, 2018
“… we had a meatball cook off at work… and guess who won!!!! Thank you Nagi!!!!” – Angie, 18 August 2017
* And her head swells….. though also, she is actually just really happy to think about all the meatballs being made and enjoyed by people in the far corners of this big wide world*
Just two little things that make all the difference
1. Soaked bread = soft meatalls. Bread soaked in some form of liquid puffs up when cooked, creating little air pockets that makes meatballs extra soft. It works far better than ordinary breadcrumbs which actually has the tendency to make meatballs tough little balls (panko breadcrumbs is ok though), and the Italians have been doing this for years.
Italians use milk for soaking. I use grated onion – see next point.
2. Soak bread in grated onion = better flavour. Grating the onions serves a few purposes.
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Flavour – 80% of my recipes start with “sauté onion until golden”. And there’s a reason for that. Onion is a flavour base that can’t be beaten, and I want it in my meatballs;
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Soaking – it’s the juicy grated onion that is used to soak the bread, rather than milk or water which is what other recipes use. This way the liquid balance is not thrown out of balance.
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No need to cook onion separately – If you use raw diced onion in the meatballs, you run the risk of having raw onions in them – unless you cook them for longer in which case you risk overcooking the meatballs!
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No need to finely chop onion – because unless they are very finely diced, there is a tendency for the onion to affect how well the meatball holds together. Make your life easier – grate the onion! (Wear goggles if it makes your eyes water…)
This is how I roll meatballs
I have often wished for someone to invent a compact meatball rolling device. I have visions of a bike pump type contraption where you feed the meat into one end and perfectly formed meatballs pop out the other.
If you’re thinking what I think you are – get your mind out of the gutter and just imagine how convenient that would be!!! 😂
But until such time, this is the most efficient way I’ve been able to come up with for rolling meatballs.
Tip: Baking option for meatball recipes
Any of my Meatball recipes can be baked. It’s healthier and they stay nice and round, though they are not quite as juicy as pan frying (sear = trapped juices).
To bake meatballs, preferably use a rack placed on a tray – helps keep the base more round – then just spray both the rack and the meatballs generously with oil and bake at 200C/400F for 20 minutes.
You won’t find Spaghetti and Meatballs in Italy …
Yes, really! In Italy, meatballs are called Polpette. Though the ingredients are typically the same as what I am using (except for my grated onion technique) along with a similar tomato sauce, they are larger (about the size of golf balls) and they are served with bread rather than pasta.
So Spaghetti and Meatballs is not authentic Italian, but that’s ok. Just as there’s no such thing as Beef and Broccoli in China, and no Chicken Tikka Masala in India, we love it anyway and we will always love it.❤️ – Nagi x
MORE CLASSICS WE’LL LOVE FOREVER
Italian Meatball
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
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Italian Meatballs (Extra Soft and Juicy!)
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 lightly packed cup of diced white sandwich bread , crusts removed (Note 1 for SUB)
- 1 small onion (brown, white or yellow)
- 14 oz / 400 g ground beef (mince)
- 3 oz / 100g ground pork (mince), or sub with more beef (Note 2)
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley , finely chopped (Note 3)
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano (or parmesan), freshly grated
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Cooking Meatballs & Sauce
- 2.5 tbsp olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 3/4 cup onion , finely chopped (white, brown or yellow)
- 24 oz / 700 g tomato passata (Tomato Puree in US/CAN - Note 4)
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes (chili flakes)
- 3 tsp dried Italian herb mix (parsley, basil, thyme, oregano)
- 1 tsp salt
- Black pepper
To Serve
- Pasta of choice
- Parmesan
- Parsley , finely chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Grate the onion using a standard box grater in a large bowl until you have about 1/2 cup of grated onion and juices.
- Add bread, mix to combine so the onion juice soaks the bread and disintegrates. Set aside while you prep the other ingredients (5 min or so).
- Add all the remaining Meatball ingredients. Use hands to mix well.
- Measure out a heaped tablespoon and roll lightly to form a ball. Repeat with remaining mixture. (Note 5)
- Heat 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil in a large non stick fry pan over medium high heat. Add the meatballs and brown all over - about 3 - 4 minutes.
- When they are browned but NOT cooked through, carefully transfer them onto a plate.
Cooking & Sauce:
- Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil into the fry pan.
- Add the onion and garlic and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes until translucent. Add the remaining Sauce ingredients. Bring to a simmer, then turn down to medium low so it bubbles gently rather than splattering everywhere.
- Carefully transfer the meatballs and any juices that have pooled on the plate into the Sauce.
- Cook the meatballs for 8 - 10 minutes, turning and stirring occasionally. Adjust Sauce salt and pepper to taste.
- While the meatballs are cooking, cook your pasta of choice.
- Serve the meatballs on pasta, garnished with extra parmesan and parsley if using.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
This Italian Meatball recipe was originally published August 2015. Long overdue for a video and new photos – no change to recipe, I wouldn’t dare!
I get a round: 8 more meatball recipes
LIFE OF DOZER
Bush walk. In hunt of something stinky to roll in – always.
This is in amazing recipe that never fails. It’s become one my favourites to cook. Thank you for providing very clear instructions on how to produce it.
Omg!!! Nagi you did it again!! Honestly I don’t bother looking at any other recipes these days I always just look for your take. I made two slight adjustments, I added wine instead of water to the sauce and and I stuffed a little grated mozzarella in to each of the meatballs when I formed them. They would have been delicious without too – thank you so much!!
My husband really liked the meatballs. I didn’t make the sauce as I have a jar of marinara sauce from our local grocery store that’s very good. When I fried the meatballs at medium high, they were scorched and I even turned down the heat. Next time, I’ll try baking these. Thanks so much for your wonderful recipes and sharing your adventures and Dozer. xx
These were absolutely incredible! I also added a bit of red wine to deglaze the pan when making the sauce. My super fussy eaters ate them up and asked for more, will definitely make again. Thanks Nagi!
As usual, Nagi has simple ideas that are wow factors for making simple dishes way better. Three ideas I hope I never forget, in order:
– passata as a sauce base, instead of any other type of tomato…I am sad I never knew this before.
– meatballs are very nice, easy to see how using grated onion (not minced or chopped) made a big difference versus past recipes.
– my clear-lens ski goggles are now stored with my onions, not my skis. Awesome, and I don’t care one bit how it looks!
I want to make a big batch and freeze them-is it better to freeze them raw or cooked?
Hi Esther, I would freeze them raw and then defrost and cook when required. N x
Your directions are not very clear on step 1. Please be more specific. I cannot read your mind.
Hi Elyse – there are photos in post and a recipe video that might help.
this is very rude. pls chill
Great recipe!! Recipe tin can do no wrong.
Only thing I did out of habit was out paper towel under the meatballs on the plate which meant I didn’t have any delicious meat ball juice to add to tomato sauce!
although the meatballs were tasty..and the onion mash dip for the bread crumbs awesome….I found that the meatballs didn’t hold their shape for frying! And the sauce was very acidic…
Hi James, sorry you had issues here – sounds like your mince was a little watery. To fix this, just add slightly more breadcrumbs until you get a texture that holds well. Some tinned tomatoes and tomato Passata are made from poor quality tomatoes resulting in an acidic taste (I’d kill for great tomatoes here) so to balance this, I usually add a teaspoon of sugar if necessary to balance the acidity. I hope this helps!! N x
These turned out fantastic. I’ve already made them twice in the space of 5 days. My husband really loved them. I used light rye bread and it worked really well. The first time I used dried oregano and time and lean beef mince, second time was with fresh parsley and veal/pork mince and second time was better. Used store bought pasta sauce. This one will enter the dinner rotation I think!
Excited to try this recipe this weekend. I am making meatballs/sauce/pasta for a crowd and will possibly triple/quadruple the recipe, do I also triple/quadruple ALL of the ingredients?
Hi Arlene, yes you will need to – click the number of servings and then scale up. All the ingredients will scale for you! N x
I cooked this tonight, and yes a little more prep than the many easier versions, but the end result was well worth it…
Finally a recipe with all the details I was wondering, like grams instead of cups, what Italian mix is, and now I know tomato passata and puree are equals! Thanks! Bookmarked this site after printing the Recipe.
Hi Nagi, based on the reviews i can’t wait to make this recipe! One question – do you remove the bread from the grated onion mix when making the balls, or do you include the bread and grated onion in the meatball? Thank you!
Hi Deborah – the bread and grated onion are in the meatball mix. N x
To chop up my bread I used a pizza slicer found it much quicker
Thank you Nagi for this wonderful recipe. My hubby and kids said it is really the best and it beats any restaurant version. Thank you!
Hi Nagi, even though I am a vegetarian, I really enjoyed making the meatballs. They were so tender and the family loved them. Thank you so much from Australia!!
That’s great to hear Anjli, thanks so much!! N x
Delicious! My husband will NOT eat anything with actual onion… just onion powder. I knew I needed the flavor so I just made a mix of a couple TBSP of milk and 1 tsp of onion powder and soaked the bread pieces in it. Turned out great! Husband loved the recipe… he just requested I add some fennel next time haha! I thought they were the best meatballs I’ve ever made. YUUUUM! Thank you, thank you!!!!