These amazing spicy Italian meatballs are made with half hot Italian sausage and half lean ground beef. This is a step by step guide to making homemade Italian meatballs. So delicious!
This is the best Italian meatball recipe. It has just the right amount of spicy sausage and hearty beef. These authentic Italian meatballs are perfect in a baked pasta dish, on top of spaghetti, as an appetizer, or in a meatball sub sandwich. The possibilities are endless!
These Italian meatballs can be made ahead of time or frozen until you’re ready to use them. You can make a double batch, freeze them, and then pull them out of the freezer one at a time or when making a meal for the family.
How to make Italian Meatballs:
- Use a combination of meats. You can use spicy sausage, ground beef, venison, ground lamb, or even ground turkey. To get that spicy flavor, be sure one of the meats is spicy ground sausage. This will give you those robust Italian flavors you love and a little spice too.
- You can use bread/panko bread crumbs, small pieces of bread, or even crackers in your meatballs. I love using the crumbs, from the bottom of the box, of cheese-flavored crackers. If you want to make gluten-free meatballs, use a crushed up rice cracker in your meatballs.
- Egg, Using an egg or two in your meatballs well help bind the meat, cheeses, and bread crumbs or crackers together. It will help maintain a ball shape while cooking.
- Add shredded or grated cheese to give a flavorful punch to your meatballs.
- Add salt, pepper, minced garlic, and spices to your ground meat mixture. This is a great way to add different flavors to your meatballs.
- Spicy Italian meatballs are great in just about any pasta dish and also as an appetizer. Just pile them on a platter and serve with some warm marinara sauce or cheese sauce. Yum!
One of my favorite ways to use meatballs is in baked pasta! Yummo pasta!! You can use your favorite sauce, and favorite pasta too! My family’s favorite is baked penne with meat sauce and topped with these delicious Italian Meatballs!
Here are a couple of other recipes you can use in this variation.
Homemade Italian Marinara Sauce
Sun-dried Tomato Alfredo Sauce
These amazing spicy Italian meatballs are made with half hot Italian sausage and half lean ground beef. This is a step by step guide to making homemade Italian meatballs. So delicious!
- 1 lb Hot (Johnsonville) Sausage
- 1 lb Ground Beef (15% fat works great)
- 1/2 Cup Bread Cumbs or cracker crumbs
- 1/3 Cup Parmesan Cheese
- 1/3 cup cream
- 2 large Eggs
- 2 Tablespoons Fresh Parsley, minced
- 1 tsp Garlic, minced
- 1 tsp Onion
- 1/2 tsp Salt
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Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
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Spray a large baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray or line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
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In a large Mixing bowl, Combine the hot sausage and ground beef. Mix with your hands until well combined. (You can use food preparation gloves for this process if that makes it more tolerable)
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Add the rest of the ingredients. (Breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, cream, eggs, parsley, minced garlic, onion powder, and salt.) Mix again until well combined.
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To make the meatballs, roll about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the meat mixture between your hands to form a ball. Drop the meatballs onto the baking sheet, about 2" apart. Repeat this process until you have formed all your meatballs.
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Bake in a 350-degree oven for approx 25 minutes or until golden brown on the outside and the inside of the meatballs reach at least 145 degrees.
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Take out of the oven and let sit for a couple minutes before adding the meatballs to a baked pasta dish, or sub sandwich. These can be cooled and then frozen to use at a later date. This recipe makes approx. 24 meatballs. Enjoy!
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