This baked Parmesan meatballs recipe makes a huge batch of flavorful and delicious homemade meatballs for the whole family. Pair them with some pasta for a satisfying spaghetti and meatballs meal, bake them in a comforting meatball casserole or cheesy meatball skillet, make some sloppy meatball subs, or freeze them for another day.
Skip the store-bought, processed, frozen meatballs and make some homemade meatballs instead. They have a lot more flavor, taste infinitely better and freeze great for quick weeknight meals. This baked Parmesan meatballs recipe is my go-to for homemade meatballs so if you’re looking for a great meatball recipe, look no further. It makes a huge batch of 55 delicious, Parmesan-infused meatballs. With seasoned Italian breadcrumbs, Worcestershire sauce, fresh garlic and Parmesan cheese, these meatballs are all about flavor.
There’s a whole slew of recipes you can use with these meatballs. You can add them to some provolone-topped rolls to make a hot meatball sub or smother them in lots marinara sauce for a cozy plate of spaghetti and meatballs.
You can even bury them under a mountain of cheese with a comforting meatball pasta bake and Or better yet, top them with some marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese melt that cheese down in a meatball skillet for some epic cheese strings. Let’s make some meatballs!
Parmesan Meatballs Ingredients
PARMESAN MEATBALLS RECIPE TIPS
- Ground beef – We’re using lean ground beef in this recipe so less fat is rendered while baking the meatballs.
- Garlic – Six medium garlic cloves should give you about 2 tablespoons of minced garlic. If you don’t have any fresh garlic around, you could try substituting it with garlic powder but I highly recommend fresh garlic!
- Binder – The eggs and Italian breadcrumbs act as a binder to help your meatballs stay together.
- Worcestershire sauce – This seasoning adds a deep umami flavor to ‘beef’ up the meatballs.
- Parmesan cheese – Use grated Parmesan cheese so it spreads more evenly in the meatball mixture.
- Making the meatballs – Use an ice cream scoop as a baseline of how to size your meatballs. Pack them together with your fingers and smooth over some of the cracks so they don’t fall apart. You can roll them around a few times in the palm of your hand to help them keep their shape, but try not to do this too much or you’ll end up overmixing them. You want the meatballs to be a little lumpy with some visible cracks.
Recipe Tip
- Overmixing the meatballs will give you really dense and spongy meatballs. You still want the meatballs to have a little texture to them because that’s what separates homemade meatballs from the frozen kind.
- Skillet method – Pan-fry the meatballs in a skillet and brown them on all sides, about 2 minutes per side.
- Freeze them – Freeze any leftover meatballs for up to 3-4 months and use them for another day.
Homemade Marinara Sauce
While you’re making meatballs from scratch, if you’re in the mood to make a better marinara sauce than the jarred stuff you get from the store, try this recipe for homemade marinara sauce.
How to Serve Parmesan Meatballs
There are so many things you can do with these homemade meatballs but here are a few ideas:
- Stick with the classic spaghetti and meatballs idea.
- Pair it with your favorite tube-type pasta, some marinara sauce, fresh or shredded mozzarella cheese and fresh basil for an easy and comforting 5-ingredient meatball pasta bake.
- Add some meatballs to an oven-safe skillet along with some marinara sauce and top with some mozzarella cheese and basil for a cheesy meatball skillet that goes great with some warm crusty bread.
- Pop a generous serving of hot meatballs in marinara sauce on some hoagies, top with lots of provolone cheese and toast it for a classic meatball sub.
- Make some party food with some meatball sliders using Hawaiian rolls, marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese.
- Simmer them in some marinara sauce or a creamy Alfredo sauce and stick them in some toothpicks for an easy party appetizer.
Customize It!
- Add more flavor – Try a 50-50 mix of ground Italian sausage or pork with the ground beef for more flavorful meatballs.
- Add some herbs – Add some freshly chopped parsley or parsley flakes to the meatball mix before baking.
And that’s about it! If you decide to go on this meatball journey with me, don’t forget that if you find yourself getting bored after one too many meatball-filled days, you can freeze them for another time. These meatballs are versatile, forgiving, and packed with meaty goodness. What’s not to love?
Enjoy these Parmesan meatballs and happy cooking! Let me know how you liked them, any substitutions you made and what you paired them with in the comments below.
This post was originally published on August 3, 2013 and updated on July 31, 2022.
MORE MEATBALL RECIPES TO TRY
- Meatball Pasta Bake
- Cheesy Meatball Skillet
- Slow Cooker Italian Meatballs
- Slow Cooker Grape Jelly Meatballs
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Parmesan Meatballs
- Total Time: 27 minutes
- Yield: 55 meatballs 1x
Description
This baked Parmesan meatballs recipe makes a huge batch of flavorful and delicious homemade meatballs for the whole family.
Ingredients
- 2 lb. lean ground beef
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup Italian breadcrumbs
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir to mix everything evenly.
- Portion out about one ice cream scoop worth of meatball mixture and squeeze it several times with your fingers to form the meatballs.
- Roll the mixture between the palms of your hands a few times to form a 1 1/2″ sized meatball (see notes on overmixing).
- Arrange the meatballs on a non-stick or greased baking sheet and bake at 425°F for 10-12 minutes or until the meatballs are fully cooked.
- Allow the meatballs to cool down before trying to pick them up or they will break apart.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Overmixing – Try not to overmix when forming the meatballs. Overmixing will give you really dense and spongy meatballs.
- Add more flavor – Try a 50-50 mix of ground Italian sausage or pork with the ground beef for more flavorful meatballs.
- Add some herbs – Add some freshly chopped parsley or parsley flakes to the meatball mix before baking.
- Scroll up to RECIPE TIPS for more useful tips, suggestions and ingredient substitutions.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
Comments & Reviews
I make these all the time. Quick and easy to make, and everyone loves them! I have a three and a one year old, and a picky eater as a husband. Delicious!
These are my favorite meatballs so I’m always happy to hear someone else loves them too! Thanks for sharing how well it is loved, Doris 🙂
I made this recipe Parmesan meatballs. It says 10 minutes bake at 425. The meatballs are not cooked! Try 25 minutes.
Sorry to hear the timing did not work out for you but I’m glad you managed to fine-tune it to get your meatballs cooked!
Great flavor and consistency.
Thank you for sharing, Scott!
My family loved this dinner, but I was most shocked by my very picky toddler’s reaction. She doesn’t eat hamburger of any kind, but decided to try just one bite. She ate 3 meatballs for dinner, and woke up demanding more for breakfast! Thanks so much for this recipe!
Love it! I’m hearing more and more comments about my recipes winning over picky eaters but toddlers are the best! You are very welcome and enjoy them. These meatballs are a staple and favorite of mine too 🙂
My new favorite meatball recipe! I used a large ice cream scooper that yielded 18 meatballs. They were cooked and ready to be devoured! Thank You.
Wow, those are some big meatballs! This recipe normally gives me at least 50. More meatball (size-wise) to love 🙂
I used these meatballs in Italian Wedding Soup. They were incredibly easy and so incredibly tasty. I chopped fresh basil and parsley into the mixture. This a definite keeper!
Thanks so much for reporting back with your success, Adrienne! I’m glad my tips helped you customize the recipe for something else. By the way, I love Italian wedding soup!
Really easy and great recipe. I cut it in half and it worked perfectly. Kids loved it too!!
Glad it was a hit with everyone, Annelise. Thanks for letting me know!
These were perfect. Rather than bake them, I simmered them overnight in a slow cooker with fresh marinara sauce so all that meaty goodness cooked into my sauce. What great meatballs. Delicious.
That’s a great idea, Glen. Thanks for chiming in and letting us know what else you can do with them.
just made these can confirm theyre good
Woohoo! Congrats on your mountain of meatballs 😉
This is fantastic! Thank you for this recipe. It always makes me sad when I read reviews on how good people think the recipe will be but most don’t post on how it actually ended up being. This recipe was so good that my 5 year old picky eater ate just the meatballs. ? Easy to make as well as kid and parent approved. This one is a keeper and I will be make them again but with mozzarella in the middle ?
I agree! I 100% prefer reviews from someone who has made it and what changes they made if any. It helps future, diligent readers who bother to sift through the comments. So thanks for coming back and rating!
This is my go-to meatball recipe and it’s honestly ruined all meatballs in the wild for me since I know I can make better at home. So much for being lazy and ordering meatballs outside. And if you’re trying a cube of mozzarella in the middle, try making them a teeny bit bigger to fully wrap it up so that cheese doesn’t melt onto the pan while baking.
Be still my beating heart! You are the meatball QUEEN!
Haha! Yeah I love me some meatballs! It’s so easy mass producing these and freezing them. I can live with Meatball Queen. 😉
Looks perfectly done, I like that you add parmesan in this meat balls,sound tasty 🙂
That Parmesan cheese takes it to a whole other level!
Is that grated parmesan?Thanks
Yup, use grated Parmesan. It distributes more evenly than shredded Parmesan and the taste is more pronounced in the meatballs. Good luck, Dana!