Description
These Italian-style meatballs are seriously rich and flavorful thanks to the perfect combination of ground beef + pork and a generous amount of fresh aromatics, like onion, garlic, and fresh basil. Soaking the breadcrumbs in ricotta cheese creates the best light and meltingly tender texture. The ricotta meatballs bake, broil, and simmer in a simple, delicious tomato sauce, making them both golden-brown and perfectly tender all at once.
Enjoy them over a bowl of fresh pasta, as a holiday appetizer, or tucked in a meatball sub, these ricotta meatballs are endlessly versatile and absolutely perfect every single time. An instant classic!
Ingredients
Scale
- ¾ pound 85%-90% lean ground beef (see Recipe Notes)
- ¾ pound ground pork (see Recipe Notes)
- nonstick cooking spray
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ medium yellow onion, diced
- 8 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
- 6 ounces whole milk ricotta (approx. 3/4 cup)
- ¾ cup panko breadcrumbs
- 2 large eggs
- 2 ounces finely grated parmesan (approx. 3/4 cup)
- ¼ cup finely chopped fresh parsley
- ¼ cup finely chopped fresh basil
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- optional: up to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- kosher salt and ground black pepper, to season
- for serving, as desired: simple tomato sauce (below), grated parmesan, chopped fresh parsley or basil, crushed red pepper flakes, pasta as desired, etc.
for the simple tomato sauce:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, as needed
- ½ medium yellow onions, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
- optional: up to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 1 (one) 28-ounce can crushed fire-roasted tomatoes
- 1 (one) 14-ounce can diced fire-roasted tomatoes
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup grated parmesan
- ¼ cup finely chopped fresh parsley
- ¼ cup finely chopped fresh basil
- kosher salt and ground black pepper, to season
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F, ensuring a rack is positioned in the top ⅓ of the oven, about 8 inches under the broiler. Line a large baking sheet with foil for easy clean up as desired. Spray the prepared baking sheet generously with nonstick cooking spray. Gather and prep all ingredients according to the Ingredients List, above.
- Soften onion and garlic for the meatballs: Add the olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is hot and shimmering, add in the yellow onion. Season with a pinch of salt and ground black pepper as desired. Stir to combine. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and fragrant, 5-6 minutes. Add in the garlic and cook 1-2 minutes longer, until fragrant. Transfer softened onion and garlic to a bowl and set aside. Remove the skillet from the heat.
- Soak the breadcrumbs: Meanwhile, as the onion and garlic cook, soak the breadcrumbs. Add the ricotta and panko breadcrumbs in a large mixing bowl. Stir to combine well. Set aside to soak for 10 minutes.
- Cook aromatics for the simple tomato sauce: Meanwhile, as the breadcrumbs soak, begin cooking the simple tomato sauce. Return the skillet used to soften the onion and garlic for the meatballs in Step 2 over medium heat. If needed, add 1 tablespoon olive oil to the skillet. Once the oil is hot and shimmering, add the yellow onions. Season with 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt and ground black pepper as desired, and stir to combine. If anything begins to brown too quickly, reduce heat to medium or medium-low. Cook, stirring occasionally, 5-6 minutes, until softened and fragrant.
- Build and simmer the tomato sauce: Stir the garlic and crushed red pepper flake (if using) into the skillet, cooking until just fragrant, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Stir the tomato paste into the skillet. As it heats, stir to coat the veggies. Cook for 1-2 minutes, until deeply red. Deglaze the skillet with the white wine, using a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits that have formed at the bottom of the pan. Increase the heat to medium-high. Once the wine reduces by half, add in the crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, and water. Stir to combine. Bring the sauce to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium-low, maintaining a gentle simmer. Simmer 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened. If needed, cover to prevent splattering.
- Mix the meatballs: Meanwhile, as the sauce simmers, continue prepping the meatballs. To the large mixing bowl with the soaked breadcrumb mixture from Step 3, add the softened onion and garlic from Step 2, eggs, grated parmesan, chopped fresh parsley, chopped fresh basil, Italian seasoning, and crushed red pepper flakes (if using) to a large mixing bowl. Season with 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt and ground black pepper, as desired. Use your hands to mix well. Once the breadcrumb mixture is combined, add in the ground pork and ground beef. Using your hands, mix just until combined—take care to avoid over-mixing.
- Form the meatballs: Gently form the mixture into meatballs slightly larger than the size of a golf ball, rolling just until smooth – take care to avoid pressing the meatballs together too compactly. For quickness and ease, I like using a 2-inch spring-loaded scoop. The mixture will yield 16-18 2-inch meatballs. Arrange the meatballs on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake the meatballs: Transfer the meatballs to the oven and bake for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, turn on the oven’s broiler and broil for an additional 5-8 minutes, until a golden brown crust forms on the meatballs. Check them every so often as they broil, rotating the sheet pan as needed to broil evenly.
- Simmer the meatballs: Once baked and broiled, add the meatballs to the skillet with the sauce, carefully stirring to coat. Simmer 10 minutes, carefully stirring occasionally. Finish the sauce by carefully stirring in the grated parmesan, parsley, and basil. Simmer 5 minutes more, just to combine.
- Serve the meatballs: Serve the meatballs immediately as desired, with pasta or in a meatball sub, etc. Enjoy!
Equipment
Buy Now → Notes
- Best meat for meatballs: Many traditional meatball recipes call for use of ground veal. While I love the flavor of veal, the combination of ground beef and ground pork is most often available at the grocery stores I frequent. That’s what I opt to use. However, many grocery stores and butcher shops sell a pre-mixed 1:1:1 combination of ground beef, ground pork, and ground veal as a “meatball mix” or “meatloaf mix”. If you can find it at your grocery store, feel free to go ahead and use it in this recipe!
- Storage and Freezing Instructions:
- Storage and Reheating: These meatballs store very well—the simple tomato sauce gets even more flavorful as it sits and the flavors continue to develop and marry! Simply transfer the cooled meatballs and tomato sauce to an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop until warmed through, adding a splash of water or chicken stock as needed to loosen up the tomato sauce.
- Freezer Instructions: These meatballs are also incredibly freezer-friendly. To freeze, transfer the cooled meatballs and tomato sauce to a freezer container or divide between multiple freezer containers for smaller portions. Freeze up to 3 months. To thaw, place the frozen meatballs in the refrigerator overnight. Easily reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop until warmed through, adding a splash of water or chicken stock as needed to loosen up the tomato sauce.
- 20-Minute Meal Prep: Nearly all of the active prep work for these meatballs comes from prepping the veggies and forming the meatballs. Take care of some of this in advance and you can jump straight in to cooking during the week:
- Veggie prep: Dice 2 medium yellow onions and finely chop 12 cloves of garlic. Transfer to individual airtight containers and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. (10 minutes active)
- Mix and form the meatballs according to Step 2-3, 6-7 of Recipe Directions, above. You can roll out the meatballs immediately or save the rolling for dinnertime; either way, the mixture will keep for up to 3 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. (about 20 minutes active)