Name: Oven-Baked Meatballs
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 50 min
Cuisine: Italian-American
Ingredients: Cooking spray; 1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs; 1/4 cup 2% milk; 3 eggs; 1/2 small yellow onion, minced; 4 large cloves of garlic, minced; 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese; 1 teaspoon fresh thyme; 1 tablespoon fresh parsley; 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt; 1/4 teaspoon black pepper; 1 pound ground beef; 1 pound Italian sausage (casings removed if using link sausage)

Oven-baked meatballs made with Italian sausage and ground beef. Make them ahead and freeze to have on hand for easy dinners!

Calling these “classic” meatballs might be debatable seeing there are as many meatball recipes as there are people who like to make them. That said, I consider these classic meatballs because I’ve been making them this way for a long time. When I started this blog back in 2010 I shared the recipe and since then nothing has changed. They’re classic and I’m pretty sure I’ll keep on making them this way forever.

So, the recipe is the same but it was time to do some new photos because what has changed over the years are my photography skills. So, those old photos are now in the digital trash, but the meatball recipe is still the same. You gotta love the classics. They never go out of style.

Some Notes about the Meatballs

I use regular store-bought dried breadcrumbs and, while I prep the other ingredients, I let them soak in some milk and beaten eggs. The breadcrumbs turn into what’s best described as a slurry; a semi-liquefied mixture into which everything else is added. When you make it you will question the amount, but I promise it’s not too much.
While the breadcrumbs are soaking, I mince onion and garlic. I finely mince them because I don’t like chunks of onion in my meatballs. It takes a few minutes, but running your knife through diced onion and garlic a few times means they will disappear into the meatballs contributing only their flavor without the fear of biting into a piece of half-cooked onion.
Fresh parsley, thyme, and grated parmesan cheese are added to the mix, too.
After all the other ingredients are combined I add the ground beef and sausage. Instead of just dumping the meat from the packages to the bowl, I break off chunks of each and add them to the bowl. This makes it much easier to combine it all together without having to work the mixture too much, which can result in tough meatballs. Using my hands, I press the meat into the slurry sort. Then I reach under it and sort of turn it over and press it again. It’s sort of like kneading bread and it takes a few turns to ensure it’s all combined.
A scoop makes easy work of portioning out each meatball. I like a golf ball size, which is approximately two generous tablespoons.
I like to bake the meatballs in the oven. It’s less messy and you don’t have to hover over the stove dodging splattering oil.

It’s usually around September that I find myself in the mood to make meatballs. They’re not labor-intensive, but depending on the size of your baking sheet you may need to bake them off in batches. The recipe produces approximately 32 meatballs and they require 15 to 20 minutes of prep time and 30ish minutes to bake. I like to freeze them (4 to a bag) and keep them on hand for sandwiches and pasta.

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