Yum! That’s the word I have to start this blog post. I usually don’t bake my meatballs in the oven. More often than not, I form them and let them cook and simmer in a red sauce for awhile on the stovetop. I also think if I cook them in the oven, they will get a crusty bottom. Let me just say, there were no crusty bottoms on these guys! I decided to bake them last night for a couple of reasons. The first was because I wanted to make enough for our spaghetti dinner last night and also for Italian Meatball Sandwiches for tonight. Plus, not everyone wanted their spaghetti in a red sauce last night, so baking them was going to be the way to go. And, let me just say, I’m glad I did. They were really good and they were really moist!

I started with 2 pounds of 80% lean ground beef. I placed that in a large bowl for mixing along with two eggs and 1 cup of panko bread crumbs.

In a separate, smaller bowl, I mixed together the seasonings I intended to use to season my meatballs. Into that bowl I added kosher salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, garlic powder and onion powder.

I added the seasonings to the bowl with the meat, eggs and bread crumbs and mixed it all together using my hands.

I used a light touch while mixing the meat because I didn’t want the meatballs to feel dense. Once everything was mixed well, I used a large cookie scoop to form my meatballs. Using the cookie scoop would also ensure that my meatballs would all be the same size.

I was able to get 24 meatballs out of two pounds of beef. I wanted to make enough that I would have half for our spaghetti dinner and the other half would be used for meatball sandwiches for dinner tonight. I figured three meatballs per serving of spaghetti and three meatballs per sandwich.

I baked the meatballs in a preheated 375 degree oven for 30 minutes. They turned out perfect. We all enjoyed them and are definitely looking forward to the leftovers in our meatballs sandwiches for dinner tonight.

This was the perfect Sunday night dinner, in my mind!

Ingredients

2 pounds 80% lean ground beef

1 cup panko bread crumbs

2 eggs

1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon pepper

2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon garlic powder

3/4 teaspoon onion powder

Italian parsley for garnish

Shredded parmesan cheese for serving

Directions

1. In a small bowl, mix together kosher salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, garlic powder and onion powder. Set aside.
2. Place ground beef, eggs and panko crumbs to a larger bowl. Add seasoning mixture and mix together with meat, eggs and panko using your hands or a fork. Mix lightly, but thoroughly.
3. Using a larger cookie scoop, form your meatballs and place them on a parchment lined, large sheet pan.
4. Place in the oven and bake for 25 – 30 minutes. When they reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees, your meatballs are done.

Enjoy!

Until next time, Kris