Easy Homemade Meatballs are an amazing healthy staple to stash in your freezer! They whip up into quick meals, be it glazed in your crockpot or as an easy meatball bake.
This recipe is low carb friendly and offers grain free options, too!
Why you’ll love this recipe
I know, making your own meatballs can seem like a daunting task if you’re not used to cooking from scratch. But it’s quick, easy, and you will not regret the time you’re putting into these!
- they are made from all-natural, wholesome ingredients
- you can use whatever meat you like – pork, beef, turkey, ground sausage… Or a mix!
- make a large batch and freeze them – so convenient!
Seriously. I’m meatball safe. Which means I always have meatballs in the freezer 😉
Do you love meatballs? Because wow, do I love meatballs (and meatloaf :D).
They go with so many things: Tomato sauce. A glaze. A creamy sauce (a mushroom sauce! putting on my list for recipes to make for the blog!).
Both my kids break into happy dances when I tell them we’re having meatballs. I’m raising them well, ha!
But I don’t love what’s in frozen meatballs you can get ready-made. So many fillers, flavors and additives… It’s not worth it, because making your own healthy ones is SO simple!
Ingredients you’ll need
- ground meat
- quick-cooking oats or a grain free option
- egg
- onion
- mustard
- dried herbs
- spices
- salt and pepper
- oil
Ingredient notes
Meat
Like I mentioned, you can use a variety here.
All beef, all pork or all turkey work very well and pretty much interchangeably.
A mix of beef and pork is also delicious, and so is a mix of ground sausage and beef.
Bulking ingredients
I like adding a few tablespoons of oats just to bulk them up, add a little fiber and to bind the meatballs a bit more. But if you’re grain free, you can absolutely leave them out.
Instead you can add veggies like shredded and squeezed zucchini, or defrosted chopped spinach with all the excess water squeezed out. About 1/2 cup per pound of meat.
Binder
Meatballs are very forgiving. Just today I made meatballs with no egg, no binder… And they turned out SO good.
Again, it’s not crucial to add egg to meatballs – the proteins from the meat bind enough as-is. So if you or someone in your family has an egg allergy, you don’t need it.
To add the bulk from the egg and help the meatballs stay firm, I like to add 1/4 cup of sour cream PLUS 1 teaspoon of either psyllium husk, ground chia or ground flax.
Seasoning
You can totally make your meatballs your own by using different seasoning! Make Swedish meatballs by omitting the herbs, and instead add a pinch of ground nutmeg and ground cloves.
You can also add Cajun seasoning, Italian seasoning, garlic powder… Whatever goes with the dish you’re planning to use your meatballs in!
How to make meatballs from scratch
It’s so easy to make meatballs from scratch!
Step 1: Add ingredients to a bowl
All of the ingredients (except for the cooking oil) go in at the same time, so just add everything to a large mixing bowl!
Step 2: Combine
Now you’ll want to combine everything. I either use gloved hands, or my hand mixer with the dough hook attachment.
If you’re making a very large batch, you can use a stand mixer with the paddle or dough hook attachment.
If you’re using a mixer, just make sure to use low speed and don’t overmix, or else your meatballs may come out too dense and tough.
Step 3: Roll into balls
I love using a cookie scoop to portion out meatballs – no more guessing if they’re all about the same size.
It makes it quick and easy to portion and shape the meat. Anything that makes me work faster in the kitchen is a win to me!
Just scoop and then gently roll into ball shapes.
Step 4: Bake
I find it easiest to cook meatballs in the oven. No splatters on the stove, and no flipping!
Just place them on an oiled baking sheet and bake for around 15 minutes, or until they’re no longer pink in the middle.
Top tips
- Mixing: Make sure to fully combine the meat mixture, but don’t overmix it. Overmixing develops the protein too much, yielding meatballs that can be tough and chewy.
- Portioning: A trigger release cookie scoop makes this easy, but if you don’t have one, you can also just use a tablespoon measuring spoon to portion out your meat mixture.
- Cookie sheet: For easy cleanup, feel free to line your pan with aluminium foil. I try to reduce the amount of foil we use in our home, so I’ll usually just deal with cleaning the cookie sheet. I do not necessarily recommend using baking parchment, because it tends to make the meatballs soggy. If that’s not a concern to you, feel free to use parchment!
Helpful hints
Freezer instructions
- flash-freeze raw meatballs in a single layer on lined (!) baking sheets until firm, about 1-2 hours, before bagging up in freezer-friendly bags or containers (flash-freeze cooked and cooled meatballs for about an hour on a lined baking sheet before bagging)
- label with the name and use-by date (freeze for up to 3 months)
- to reheat, place the frozen raw meatballs on a lightly greased baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until cooked hot all the way through. frozen cooked meatballs can be added straight to a sauce to reheat until piping hot all the way through.
Serving ideas
There are so many ways you can have meatballs!
- in tomato sauce over zucchini noodles
- in cream sauce over mashed cauliflower
- on a homemade whole-wheat or sourdough bun with coleslaw on the side, or with tomato sauce for a healthy meatball sub
- in sugar-free cranberry sauce with mashed sweet potatoes and cinnamon apples on the side
Easy Homemade Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef OR pork, OR turkey, OR ground sausage, OR a mix
- 1/4 cup quick-cooking oats NOT instant (see notes to make grain free)
- 1 large egg see notes to make egg free
- 1 onion very finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon prepared mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Oil for the pan
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 430°F (if cooking the meatballs right away). Lightly grease a baking sheet.
- Place all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well (I use an electric mixer with dough hook attachments).
- Scoop 1-2 teaspoons of meat at a time and shape into meatballs. Place on the baking sheet.
- Either flash freeze until firm for 1-2 hours before bagging to freeze up to 3 months, or bake for 12-15 minutes in the preheated oven until cooked through.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally shared on 12/09/2018. Updated to improve text and readability on 07/17/2024.
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