Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Jen's Incredible Baked Meatballs

Here is the long-awaited recipe for meatballs to go with the marinara sauce that my son made a few weeks ago. The meatball subs were delicious!  He does need some help in the kitchen but insists all of his weekly cooking be from scratch.  Like with the marinara sauce, We used a recipe from The Fountain Avenue Kitchen.






This meatball recipe reduces mess--and fat--by baking the meatballs instead of pan-frying. Parmesan and panko add great flavor and texture. Make them ahead and simmer all day with Basic Marinara sauce (your favorite store bought works, too) in a crock pot set on low. Or heat on the stove as you are boiling water for pasta.

Tip #1: Double the batch and freeze half to serve later as mini meatloaves. Or reheat with sauce, top with cheese and make into a mean meatball sandwich.

Jen's Incredible Baked Meatballs:

1 pound hamburger, grass-fed if possible
2 eggs, beaten with 1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 cup panko or bread crumbs
1 small onion, minced or grated (1/2 a large onion)
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon salt
freshly ground pepper to taste
1/4 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley or basil

Mix all ingredients with hands. Form into golfball sized meatballs. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Tip #2: If you have a leftover piece of rind from the Parmesan, let it simmer in the crock pot with the marinara sauce or save for another soup recipe. This will add a great flavor boost to most any sauce or soup.




92 comments:

  1. This is almost exactly how I make meatballs, the only real difference is that I use torn up stale bread instead of store bought bread crumbs. And I always bake meatballs. I hate cooking them in a pan. I had a friend that dropped them into boiling water, but I never tried that.

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    1. Dropping them in the water just doesn't sound appealing. Using bread sounds like a nice twist.

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    2. Actually, my mother made them that way. You start with water and add a whole tomato cut up, one carrot and 1/2 an onion cut in chunks, and two stalks of celery cut in chunks. You cook these until the carrots are very soft, then remove all the vegies and reduce by half. Then you add the uncooked meatballs and simmer on low for 30 minutes. Very tasty. You can also make a gravy from the sauce which is great over the meatballs.

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    3. I'll take your word for it. Maybe I'll try it that way next time I make these. Thank you for the tips.

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  2. Can't wait to try this...I've always cooked them on the stove top. Baking them sounds so much better. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. You're welcome. I hope you got a chance to try these.

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  3. this is the recipe I use for meatballs, meatloaf an even hamburgers, minus the cheese. but I'm willing to try that as well. I bet it's delicious.

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  4. These are in the oven right now and I can tell they are going to be delicious!! Thank you!! I am not a huge ground beef fan unless it doesn't taste like ground beef ;) and I think these will definitely fit the bill! Thanks again :)

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    1. I hope they turned out will for you :-D

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  5. Made these, but I made a few modifications. I left out the onion since there was already so much in the sauce I made, I subbed the seasonings with things I had on-hand such as italian seasoning mix. Once I mixed it all together, and balled up the balls I made little "compartment holes" in the center and stuffed it with mozzarella cheese, and topped them with some Parmesan cheese and a little shake of cajun seasoning for a kick. DELICIOUS! The best meatballs I have ever made, and it will become my new go to.

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    1. I like your twist on the recipe. I'll be trying that next time.

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    2. I want to try this recipe but I need to leave out the breadcrumbs. Did you use breadcrumbs or did you leave them out?

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    3. I did use breadcrumbs. I missed this comment so I'm glad they worked out for you without the breadcrumbs.

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  6. this is almost identical to my favorite meatball recipe! for a little extra moistness i add some sauce into the meat mixture, and occasionally i will fry them up for 5-7 minutes before baking them! thanks for the share!

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    1. You're welcome and thank you for the tip.

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  7. I'm making this tonight!!! Meatball subs will make my husband elated. He likes to have his with mayo and it's actually really good. :) I will be posting the results on my blog. www.lilacsandhoney.wordpress.com if you would like to check it out tomorrow.

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    1. I thought I would share your Meatball Sub blog here.
      https://lilacsandhoney.wordpress.com/2012/07/27/pinterest-trial-4-meatball-subs/

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  8. I just made these tonight using ground turkey and they came out great! The consistency is definitely different and they cooked faster, but they were moist and delicious!! Even my fiance, who loved the beef version and just loves beef in general, loved these! Great recipe!!

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    1. Hmmm. turkey. I should try that version.

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    2. How long did you cook the turkey ?

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    3. I would be interested to know how long Lauren cooked the turkey version.

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  9. These are in the oven...very similar to my regular meatball recipe - but these have fresh basil from our garden in them. Looking forward to supper.
    Meg

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    1. I hope your meatballs were as delicious as these were.

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  10. Oh my goodness, these were incredible! I didn't get to make the marinara recipe, next time, but these were excellent! Thank you for the recipe!

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    1. You are so welcome! I'm glad you liked them.

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  11. We had these using ground bison and they are delicious! No leftovers with this recipe. A pinner had written the recipe onto the pin description on Pinterest without siting you as the source, so I was happy to find your site. Thank you for the recipe.

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    1. I'm glad you were able to find me. I need to find some bison so I can try your version.

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    2. oh i love bison better than beef , i'll have to use bison next time ! i made big meatballs for meatball subs tonight but we don't care too much for marinara sauce so i am using our favorite spaghetti sauce and i did shake some parm. on them before i put them in the oven ! hubby n son are excited to try something new for dinner and i am too !!

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    3. I'll admit sometimes I don't care to use marinara sauce and chose to go back to spaghetti sauce myself.

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  12. These are wonderful! Thank you!

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    1. I'm glad they worked out for you :D

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  13. I've treid to make meatballs once before and they didn't turn out very well, so I never tried again. Then I saw this recipe. I just made these with our pasta night and I will continue to make them. They are so easy and very tasty. Plus my 6 year old loves them, and thats hard to accomplish. Thank you!

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    1. I know how hard it is to please kids. I'm glad you enjoyed them.

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  14. Definitely will try your way with the Parmesan cheese and baking them.

    Thanks,

    Poutine

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  15. Just wanted to say that I have made these twice and tripled the recipe each time. The only change I made was to swap out the panko for crushed pork rinds to make them grain free. They were such a hit at my daughter's housewarming party the first time that I did it again and froze them for my husband and I. I take out 5 at a time which is plenty for a meal for the two of us with a salad and side. I usually put a few spoons of tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese on them after they are cooked. Nice recipe!

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    1. Great tips, Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

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  16. These were fabulous!! Thanks you so much for the recipe. I ended up leaving out the breadcrumbs and they were fine and did not fall apart. I will be making these again! :)

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    1. I really think the breadcrumbs act as filler anyway. I'm glad they worked out for you.

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  17. Just made these tonight with some mozzarella pieces in the middle & dried parsley and dried basil. Amazing! So moist, I can't believe it. I did put them on foil for easier clean up, but they ended up sticking a bit. Next time I'll use some cooking spray on the foil. Great recipe! So much better than the store bought yucky-tasting ones.

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    1. I really like the twist with cheese in the center and I need to remember that! I also had a sticking issue and I use cooking spray since posting this blog.

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  18. My family went wild over these - making again tonight!

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  19. Adding to my grocery list right now. Also always cooked mine in a pan which is such a pain and kinda greasy. Can't wait to try this option. Thanks!

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  20. A couple of people mentioned using cooking spray. Does it still stick a bit? I made them for the first time last night, and the bottoms got a little burnt and stuck to the foil, even though I sprayed it with Pam. Is parchment paper better? Should I turn them half way through? Any suggestions?

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    1. Mine also stuck... Wax paper would probably be the best bet.

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  21. Turn half way through. Works every time. :). If I make a double batch. Freeze cooked or raw?

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    1. I would think you could go either way. Cooked would make it more convenient but raw would make it fresher when you eat.

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  22. Not to sound rude, but wouldnt these meatballs taste just like meatloaf? It doesnt sound too appealing with marinara sauce. I made meatballs almost exactly like this, baked them, added marinara sauce, and it was a DISASTER. I will try this recipe, but I will be tasting the meatballs before I make subs out of them. My family LOVES meatball subs, but not meatloaf meatball subs.

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    1. I hope you tried this recipe and that it worked for you. :)

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    2. halo , you may want to try adding your own ingredients for meatballs subs , sometimes alil says more :-) ijust add egg,breadcrumbs,minced onion,red pepper flakes,blk pepper,alil salt. oh and i did sprinkle alil parmesan cheese over them as well. this posted recipe is great tho and my usual recipe is very similar , great for spaghetti or swedish meatballs :-)

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  23. I saw your recipe on Pinterest, but the pin linked to a spam site (only exists for advertising) that had stolen your content. I searched on Google to find the original here. I think the site "owner's" profile photo is stolen, too. Some people! Here is the site if you are interested in trying to take the content down: http://pinterest-meats.blogspot.com/ You can also address this directly at Pinterest. I reported the pin I saw, but there are probably many more.

    I look forward to trying the recipe!

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    1. I sent a polite message to the owner of that site, explaining to them about the sharing policy of blogs and recipes, but never heard back.

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  24. Do you freeze before cooking or after you've baked them?

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    1. I think you can do either. It would depend on whether you want them done quickly or fresher. I imagine cooked might last longer though.

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  25. This recipe is great !! I'm back to this website to look at the recipe to make my 2nd batch. Great stuff! Such moist and flavorful meatballs! I got lazy last week and got a box of frozen meatballs from the grocery store and they are nothing close to these meatballs. That is why I am rolling up my sleeves and making a huge batch and freezing them after.

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    1. I'm glad you like them. When you get a chance, don't forget to check out my other recipes too.

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  26. Love these meatballs. I'm back on this website to look at the recipe again to make my 2nd batch. These meatballs are just so moist and flavorful. I'm going to make a huge batch this time and freezing them. Good stuff !!

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  27. If made with ground turkey do I need to adjust any of the other ingredients?

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    1. I don't really think you do. All of the seasonings in this recipe should work with turkey.

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  28. Going to give the meatballs a try tonight for our supper, I'm sure they'll be great, the recipe sounds good! Thank you for posting it for everyone to give a try.

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    1. You are so welcome. I hope your family enjoyed them.

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  29. Just wanted to say thanks for a yummy and quick recipe! These were great! We had them with the marinara sauce and noodles last night and tonight we are going to do sandwiches!

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  30. Made these for dinner last night only substitution I made was dry parsley instead of fresh these were the best meatballs ever! Even the kids loved them!

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  31. Made these for dinner last night only substitution I made was dry parsley instead of fresh these were the best meatballs ever! Even the kids loved them!

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  32. My mother always plopped the meatballs right in the simmering tomato sauce on the stove. They cook right in the sauce and taste delicious. I do the same thing and they are always a hit.

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    1. That sounds like a great option. They'll absorb the sauce flavour into them as they cook.

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  33. Inspired by your amazing recipe, I twisted it a lot since my fridge is almost empty today...My meatballs have mint, kalamata olives, onion, garlic, an egg and two tablespoons of oatmeal. I added oregano, salt and pepper. Thank you for the inspiration.

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  34. I am going to make these tonight for meatball subs. I am trying to figure out if I need to double the recipe. how many meatballs does one batch make? Did I miss the recipe for the marinara sauce?

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    1. I'm sorry for the delayed response. I changed emails and there were a bunch of missed comments in my old email. When my son made these, we ended up with about 20 meatballs. The link to the marinara sauce is on the words "Basic Marinara Sauce".

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  35. Do you think this would work with lamb? Would I need to cook it longer?

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    1. I've never tried it with lamb. But I'm guessing it would have to cook a bit longer. I would just keep an eye on it.

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  36. I was thinking of trying this with lamb. Would i need to cook it longer?

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  37. Hey to everyone, it’s my first visit of the blog site; this blog includes awesome and actually best info for the visitors. cookware cleaning

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  38. Second time making these. First time was with spaghetti, this time for sub sandwiches. They are so moist and delicious. Great recipe!

    Normally pinterest recipes are hit or miss but this is definitely a keeper!

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  39. This post has made me sooo hungry! Thanks for sharing!

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  40. How many meatballs will this recipe make?

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    1. It depends on how big they are. My son helped make them and we ended up with about three dozen of varying sizes. This photo was taken by Fountain Avenue Kitchen. I believe she originally posted that she made two dozen.

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  41. Made this for my company holiday party-day and they went over great! Thanks for a great 'easy' recipe :)

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  42. These are delicious!!! I made them the other day and frozen them. Just made them for my boyfriend and I and we can't get enough! Thanks for the recipe!

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