Italian Meatballs (2024)

FAQs

What's the difference between meatballs and Italian meatballs? ›

American meatballs are the biggest in size, with Italian and Swedish meatballs following on the depth chart. Italian meatballs call for seasonings like grated parmesan and oregano, while Swedish ones use seasonings like nutmeg and allspice. While it doesn't sound like a huge distinction, you'll notice it in the taste!

These classic Italian-American style meatballs are huge and pillowy soft! They're made with ground beef and pork, loaded with herbs and cheese, and served with a traditional tomato sauce.

Baking will result in meatballs with a crunchy exterior, though the caramelisation achieved from frying will be superior. Baked meatballs take the least amount of effort, as you'll only need to turn them once or twice throughout the cook and you can make a larger batch at once.

Egg and breadcrumbs are common mix-ins to add moisture and tenderness. Another binder option that people swear by is a panade, which is fresh or dry breadcrumbs that have been soaked in milk. “The soaked breadcrumbs help keep the proteins in the meat from shrinking,” as food writer Tara Holland explained in the Kitchn.

The traditional spaghetti and meatballs dinner is a creation of the American household and has no actual roots in Italian culture. Italy does have their own version of meatballs, but they're very different from what we know here. Known as polpettes, they're very rarely eaten alongside pasta.

The first part of cooking will be done in frying oil but to finish the meatballs the right way, you will need to cook them in a sauce. Check out our Sunday Sauce recipe if you're looking for a recipe to make a homemade sauce. Otherwise, grab your favorite jar of tomato sauce.

Some people like to drop the raw meatballs directly in a pot of Italian tomato sauce and let them simmer. Some people like to cook the meatballs in the oven first and then put the browned meatballs in the tomato sauce.

What are the ingredients in cooked perfect Italian style meatballs? ›

Ingredients. Beef And Pork, Water, Textured Soy Flour, Bread Crumbs (Wheat Flour, Salt), Soy Protein Concentrate, Less Than 2% Of: Parmesan Cheese (Part Skim Cow's Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes), Oregano, Basil, Black Pepper, Natural Flavors, Salt, Dextrose, Sodium Phosphate.

When it comes to adding liquid to meatball mixtures, milk is often used for its versatility, depth of flavor, and richness. Without the use of milk, you may be faced with a plate of dry meatballs. Milk adds a certain level of moisture that helps produce perfectly tender meatballs.

An egg is usually a good start, as that can help with the tenderness and texture, but the king of meatball binders is breadcrumbs soaked in milk (also known as a panade). Soaking the breadcrumbs first makes them pliable and soggy, which allows them to easily and evenly mix into the ground meat.

Filler ingredients like breadcrumbs or flour are important too because they stop the meatballs becoming dry. The breadcrumbs absorb the juices from the meat as it cooks, trapping them within the meatball. Again quantity is important here; too much and your meatball will be more like stuffing or a dumpling.

While Italian meatballs can be made from a blend of meats, Swedish meatballs are usually made with ground pork or an equal amount of blended pork and beef and are mixed together with breadcrumbs and bound with eggs. Once they're shaped into the desired diameter, they're browned in a skillet.

It is typically crafted from durum wheat semolina and often enriched with high-protein burrata cheese, eggs, and additional cheese for richness in certain regional variations. In contrast, American pasta embraces flexibility, incorporating flours like all-purpose or enriched varieties for a softer texture.

Pork gives the meatballs extra flavor, and veal helps keep them moist and tender. But all-beef meatballs taste great too, as long as you choose an 80/20 blend, which has enough fat to keep the meatballs from drying out. If there are other types of meat in the mix, choose 90/10.

When it comes to the Swedish meatball it is thought that it was brought to Sweden by King Charles XII when he returned from Istanbul in 1713. The first recipe for meatballs in print was in the Cajsa Warg Cookbook in 1754.