My Best Basic Beef Meatballs Recipe is gluten free and made with ground beef and sirloin and spices. Perfect for appetizers and main dishes.
Every homemaker should have an Italian meatball recipe like my Basic Beef Meatballs recipe to fall back on for simple and easy weeknight meals. And this one tops it all.
Before I relied upon store-bought frozen meatballs for easy meal prep over homemade ones. But not anymore.
I found that I could just as easily whip up delicious family-pleasing meatballs that taste better and are more versatile for my daily and entertaining needs.
I’ve tried other recipes, some that used bread, breadcrumbs, eggs, milk, etc. but none came out the way I wanted it to.
You might wonder why I use both ground chuck and ground sirloin. The reason is that meatballs need a bit of fat and richness. That’s what these two choice meats provide.
For this recipe, I decided to go back to the basics using a simple spice. And, to be honest, I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of this sooner!
So with each bite, you’ll notice that the meatballs aren’t dried out but remarkably moist and beefy and full of flavor.
Also, what’s great about this recipe is that you can easily make up a couple of batches, bake and freeze them.
So when you need a quick meal or appetizer, simply pull the meatballs out of the freezer, thaw or place them in the sauce of your choice and whola! you’ve got a delicious dinner without any muss or fuss.
And, because they’ve already been fully cooked, there’s no worry about having to heat them more than you need to.
These meatballs are perfect for:
- Spaghetti with Tomato Cream Sauce and Meatballs (dinner)
- Waikiki Meatballs (dinner)
- Cranberry Meatballs (appetizer)
- Meatballs and Tomato Sauce with Butter and Onions (dinner)
- Swedish Meatballs (dinner)
Plus, each batch makes approximately three dozen meatballs. Perfect for any hungry crowd!
How to Make Basic Beef Meatballs Recipe
To Make:
You will place all of the ingredients in a bowl, in this case, ground chuck and sirloin and spices. Mix by hand, gently working in all of the meat and spices together.
Next, grab a tablespoon or so of prepared meat. You can either eyeball it or use an ice cream scoop (the size to match how large you want your meatballs to be) to measure out your desired meatball size and then roll the meat into a ball using the palms of your hands.
This is the tricky part: Don’t overwork your meatballs. By this I mean, don’t press the mixture together too tightly. If you do, your baked meatballs will come out tough–think golf balls.
Place each formed meatball onto a sided baking sheet and bake in a preheated 375 degree F oven for approximately 40 minutes.
Keep in mind that smaller meatballs require less cook time than gargantuan ones. If in doubt, use a meat thermometer. You are looking for 165 degrees F internal temperature from an instant-read thermometer.
And, that’s it! Use these basic meatballs immediately in your favorite pasta sauce or freeze in an air-tight container and use at a later date. Enjoy!
For more delicious ideas for entrees for your weeknight dining, be sure to check out Wisconsin Homemaker’s Recipe Section.
Best Basic Beef Meatballs Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground chuck
- 1 pound ground sirloin
- 1/2 tsp celery powder
- 1/2 tsp dried parsley
- 2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, add all the ingredients together. Mix well by hand or with a spoon.
- Using a teaspoon, scoop out meat and roll into the shape of meatballs.
- Place your meatballs on a sided cookie sheet, leaving approximately an inch between each meatball.
- Put in oven and bake for approximately 40 minutes or until cooked through. Remove and let cool.
- Serve immediately in your favorite sauce or freeze to use later.
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