Stef's Famous Italian Meatballs Recipe is the BEST!

Delicious classic recipe for large Italian meatballs. They pair well with spaghetti, pizza or meatball sub sandwiches.

spaghetti and meatballs with parmesan cheese sprinkled on top piled on a white plate

You’re in for a treat! Stef’s famous meatball recipe is here! This Italian sausage meatballs recipe makes the best spaghetti and meatballs, ever. They’re large homemade meatballs and they have a couple secret ingredients. These are a mix of ground pork and ground beef and make an amazing cheesy meatball the whole family loves.

Make these with our homemade marinara sauce as an appetizer or spoon them over spaghetti. You can also use these for meatball subs or any of your family favorite quick meals. YUM!

collage - top left image of hand holding large uncooked meatball. Tray of 3 rows of 5 meatballs below the hand. Bottom left image of cooked golden meatballs on baking sheet. Right image of black large pan full of marinara sauce and meatballs with bits of basil. — Making these amazing meatballs is easy.

Table of Contents

What Are Italian Meatballs?

Italian meatballs are usually ground beef and Italian ground sausage mixed with bread crumbs, cheese and spices then formed into little balls and cooked. Italian meatballs have their origins in the United States. They’re not originally an Italian recipe.

birds eye view of a black large saute pan on a dark gray counter. Pan is full of red marinara sauce, large cooked meatballs and sprinkled with fresh slices of basil.

Notable: Stef’s famous classic Italian sausage meatballs are filled with Italian seasonings and just the right amount of spice. They have a little bit of Italian spiciness that’s perfect for any pasta or meatball dish.
Main Ingredients: round beef, ground Italian sausage, bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, milk
Cooking Method: Oven Baked

Ingredients

You may have all of these ingredients for this (keyword/list word) in your refrigerator or pantry and not need to make a trip to the grocery store! If this is your first time making this (keyword) you might want to read the possible variations before deciding on your ingredients.

Lasagna Sauce Ingredients

1 pound ground mild Italian pork sausage
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 clove garlic, crushed (1 teaspoon)
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 ½ teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon sugar
28 ounce crushed tomatoes, do not drain
28 ounce tomato sauce

Ricotta Cheese Mixture Ingredients

15 ounces ricotta cheese
¼ cup parmesan cheese, grated
1 ½ teaspoons dried parsley
1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano

Additional Lasagna Ingredients

¼ cup parmesan cheese, grated
2.5-3 cups low moisture mozzarella cheese, shredded (I don’t recommend fresh mozzarella cheese for this recipe)
12 dried lasagna noodles

Optional Garnish

Fresh parsley or fresh basil

Variations and Substitutions

Spices: Substitute spices in the pasta sauce with Italian seasoning. Use 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning instead of dried parsley and dried basil. In the ricotta cheese mixture use 1 tablespoon of Italian seasoning instead of the dried parsley and dried oregano.

Sausage: Substitute ground beef or hot Italian sausage for the mild sausage. You can also substitute ground chicken or ground turkey.

Noodles: Substitute no boil lasagna noodles.

Tomatoes: Substitute diced canned tomatoes instead of crushed tomatoes if you prefer.

Consider one of our other types of meatballs: air fryer meatballs, chicken meatballs, turkey and spinach meatballs, mozzarella stuffed meatballs.

Stef's famous meatball recipe ingredients on a dark gray counter. Ingredients include ground pork, ground beef, brown sugar, spices, garlic, bread crumbs, egg, parmesan, yogurt and worcestershire sauce — Gather your meatball ingredients

I prefer Italian style bread crumbs to panko breadcrumbs in this meatball mixture. Choose pre-seasoned breadcrumbs which add a ton of flavor. Mixing the breadcrumbs with the yogurt or buttermilk prior to adding in the other ingredients really adds a lot of extra moisture to these perfect meatballs.

Italian sausage meatball recipe stacked on a bed of spaghetti and topped with parmesan cheese.

birds eye view of an oval personal serving plate full of cooked spaghetti noodles covered in marinara and 6 meatballs. Serving spoon sits next to plate as well as saute pan with meatballs.

ITALIAN SAUSAGE MEATBALLS RECIPE INSTRUCTIONS

Stef’s famous meatball recipe is easy and foolproof. This is a simple recipe with basic ingredients. You can ace this Italian sausage meatball recipe even if you’ve never made meatballs before. Your family will be impressed when you serve the best spaghetti and meatballs ever. Full ingredients and instructions are in the recipe card below.

1. Preheat the oven.

Preheat the oven to 400°F. TIP: you can also make these in the air fryer. See air fryer cooking instructions in our air fryer meatballs recipe.

2. Mix yogurt and breadcrumbs.

In a large bowl, combine the yogurt/buttermilk and breadcrumbs. Stir together and allow them to sit for a few minutes. This will help make a moister meatball.

birds eye view of medium sized glass bowl on a dark gray counter. Bowl has raw meat, shredded parmesan cheese, a pile of bread crumbs, a raw egg, yogurt and spices inside it. — Place all the ingredients in a large bowl.

Clear glass bowl on a gray counter. Bowl is full of raw meat. Two whole garlics next to — Place all the ingredients in a large bowl.

3 Add the rest of the Italian meatball ingredients.

Add ground pork, ground beef, onion flakes, oregano, black pepper, salt, Worchestire sauce, egg, and ¼ cup parmesan cheese and sugar to the breadcrumb mixture. Use gloved hands to mix the ingredients thoroughly.

Adding the grated cheese inside the meatball will make a cheesy meatball that isn’t overly cheesy. They’re large meatballs so you don’t want to overwhelm them with cheese but a little cheesy goodness is perfection.

4. Form cheesy meatballs.

Use a 2 tablespoon (or desired size) cookie scoop to form large meatballs from the meat mixture. You can roll them in your hands for a tighter, more uniform meatball if desired.

birds eye view of a large ice cream scoop full of uncooked meatball meat. — Use a scoop to measure meatballs and make them even.

hand holding large uncooked meatball. — Use a scoop to measure meatballs and make them even.

5. Bake the large meatballs.

Place meatballs on a cookie sheet or in a baking dish coated with non-stick cooking spray. Bake for 13 minutes. (Meatballs do not need to be cooked all the way through; they will cook the rest of the way while simmering in the pasta sauce.)

Gray counter. Overhead birds eye view of black decorative baking sheet with 15 uncooked meatballs. — Place uncooked meatballs on a baking sheet.

gray counter. Overhead birds eye view of black decorative baking sheet with 15 cooked meatballs with a little cheese dripping out. — Place uncooked meatballs on a baking sheet.

6. Prep marinara and spaghetti noodles.

Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti noodles according to package instructions to al dente. Drain. Prepare marinara sauce or add 1-2 jars of your favorite pasta sauce or tomato sauce into a large skillet. Heat over medium until sauce warms through and begins to simmer. Cover to prevent it from splattering all over your stove.

7. Add Italian meatballs to marinara sauce.

Add enough meatballs (2 large per person or 4-5 small) to the saucepan and simmer for 5-10 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through.

birds eye view of a black large saute pan full of red marinara sauce and 11 large meatballs. — Place your cooked meatballs in the marinara sauce.

8. Serve

Serve meatballs and sauce over cooked spaghetti to make the best spaghetti and meatballs ever. Garnish with parmesan cheese and/or fresh parsley or basil.

WAYS TO USE LEFTOVER MEATBALLS

You at the best spaghetti and meatballs ever and now you have leftovers. Here are some great ideas for these large meatballs.

Appetizer: Serve a cheesy meatball and marinara as an appetizer.
Meatball Subs Using sub rolls, top with meatballs, marinara and mozzarella. Bake until cheese is melted. Try these meatball sliders, meatball sandwich bakes or meatball bombs.
Pizza: Make a meatball pizza. Use this pizza dough, our marinara as sauce, some mozzarella cheese and sliced leftover meatballs. Or try our meatball calzone.

Birds eye close up view of a large saute pan full of marinara, meatballs and fresh basil.

WHAT TO SERVE WITH MEATBALLS

Serve your tender meatballs with spaghetti and marinara sauce for classic spaghetti and meatballs. Or serve with your favorite sauce, vegetables and bread.

MORE MEATBALL RECIPES

Make one of our other delicious meatball recipes. Our ground chicken meatballs, ground turkey meatballs with spinach, mozzarella stuffed meatballs or air fryer meatballs are great alternatives to this delicious recipe.

What is the difference between Italian meatballs and Swedish meatballs?

Swedish Meatballs are usually smaller than Italian meatballs. Italian meatballs are usually made with a 50-50 ratio of ground pork and ground beef while Swedish meatballs are usually all ground beef. Swedish Meatballs use spices like allspice and nutmeg for flavoring while Italian meatballs are flavored with garlic, Italian spices and garlic. In the United States, Swedish meatballs are often known for the gravy over the meatballs.

How long can you refrigerate meatballs?

Cool completely and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 days.

Can you freeze meatballs?

Yes! You can freeze meatballs either raw or cooked. Either way, arrange meatballs on a baking sheet so they aren’t touching. Place in the freezer. Once they’re frozen transfer to a ziplock bag to store. Raw frozen meatballs can be stored for up to 3 months. Cooked frozen meatballs can be frozen for up to 2 months.

How do you make this Italian sausage meatball recipe dairy free?

Use a dairy free yogurt substitute instead of yogurt and omit the parmesan cheese.

Is it safe to put raw meatballs in marinara sauce?

Yes. You can put raw meatballs in marinara sauce as long as they’re covered by the sauce and the sauces simmers until the meatballs are cooked all the way through. I don’t like this method because it can make the sauce too greasy.

How do you make BBQ meatballs?

We love to make BBQ meatballs. Cook these meatballs, as directed. Toss them with this delicious BBQ sauce, or make them in the crockpot.

Can you make this Italian sausage meatball recipe on the stovetop?

You can! Follow the recipe instructions as written. Form meatballs and set aside. Heat some canola or olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium heat. When the skillet is hot, place the meatballs in the pan, rotating them gently as they cook until they are browned on all sides. Proceed with the recipe instructions to add a simple marinara sauce to the skillet and then simmer until the meatballs reach an internal temperature of 160°F.

The Best Italian Meatballs

What Are Italian Meatballs?

Ingredients