Maria's Italian Meatballs Recipe

Ingredients

1 pound lean ground beef (85% to 90%)
1/2 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1/4-1/3 cup water, to moisten (see instructions)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 medium onion
Garlic
Salt
Pepper

Preparation

Step 1

Mix all ingredients together. Don't add all of the water at one time. Mixture should be moist but not so that the meatballs fall apart.

Shape meatballs to desired size and place on a broiler pan (I wet my hands before shaping each meatball and it helps make a nice meatball.)

Broil until outside is slightly brown on one side and then turn and broil the other side. When finished, add to spaghetti sauce and simmer at least 20 minutes.

From Maria:

This is my Italian mother's recipe for meatballs. Everyone always loves them and you can adjust the seasonings to taste.
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REVIEWS: (51)

When making my meatballs, besides what Maria uses, I mix ground pork sage flavor w/ground beef, green pepppers ,onion, garlic, mushrooms, sundried tomatoe green onion, and then I season with basil,Italian seasoning, salt ,pepper, oregano, little Tony Chachere's Creole , then bake until brown all over. I let cool then either add to sauce or bag, then freeze until I need them.

Squisito! (Italian for delicious!)A-mazing. I can not stop eating them. I just prepared them. I used shallots in lieu of onions (2), the rest I followed it straight through. I broiled them for about 10 mins them transfered them to the sauce. But the sauce after so long became almost nada and I like them virtually swimming on it, so next time I will put two cans (I used Hunt's four cheeses can sauce and they are better than ones I had once at Carino's. Far better.). I've tried most sauces, from expensive to .99 and Hunt's can our favorite. I hope you find them squisito too!! GRAZIE!

The first Italian meatballs I have ever made and they were so easy and very good. So much better than the frozen kind I usually buy. I did use 1 egg instead of water and put in 2 cloves of chopped garlic. My husband said as good as any he had eaten in Italy"

Really good meatballs! I am really picky when it comes to Italian food and was somewhat skeptical the first time I made these meatballs but after making them, I was so happy with the way they came out. I love the tip of wetting your hands as you shape them. It really helps to form a perfect meatball. This is the only way I make my meatballs now. I have fried them for years, but baking them is so much easier and in my opinion comes out just as good, if not better. My boyfriend is so happy when I make them. He just keeps saying, “I love your meatballs!” He devours them. Thank you so much for this recipe! As a side note, we are both garlic lovers so I add extra garlic to mine.

Fantastically delicious! While I admit that I modified it a little, most have already touched on that. I fried instead of broiled, mostly because I'm more confident in my frying skills than in my broiling skills. A good dose of dried basil and an egg substituted for the water also made it into my meatballs. All in all, I'm saving the recipe for the next meatball adventure!

Don't use the entire onion! You will love this! Made this because the reviews were tremendously positive and I was looking for an easy delicious new meatball. Well I found it! I did use 1/8 minced medium white onion because for 1 lb 1 whole minced white onion was way way too much. My husband even said hey it looks like you are making onions and ground beef! Anyway, I did replace the egg for the water and also threw in a few dashes of parsley and minced a couple cloves of garlic and tossed that into the mixture too with about an additional 1/8 cup of breadcrumbs and broiled for about 5 minutes on each side, then tossed into a 3 quart covert pan with a jar of Prego Natural and let simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally and these were juicy and tender and oh so delicious! My husband said they were definitely the best meatballs he has ever had, and we are definitely picky! Will make these again and again! Thanks for the delicious recipe! Loved it! Will make it again and again and again!!

I added Italian seasoning as well and they came out so good.. also used Jarred ricotta marinara sauce.. even better!

Fantastic! I love this recipe. It is simple and delicious, plus my kids can help. My husband loves it too.

Just wanted to let you know that we often make your meatballs. The kids love it and when I made it for other people....they loved it.

Mmmm Mmmm good! Going to have this for dinner tonight! And to the person confused about season to taste or whatever the person that posted this said...."taste" doesnt have to be taken literally. It's the same as saying to your own personal preference! Duh!

My son is a picky eater, your recipe won the 100%. He ask for more. Thank you!Very easy, delicious, yummy.

Before using this recipe I've never made meatballs before. This was very easy to follow and the outcome was a tender, juicy meatball. Like a few other users, I used one egg instead of water, and I also added a little Worcestershire sauce and fresh parsley to flavor the meat a bit. I can't use my broiler, so I browned them in a pan before adding them to the sauce. I'd definitely recommend these!

YUMMMM EEE!!! This is definitely a do over! I did make it "my own" though. I went 1# ground beef and 1# sausage. (a lot of boys to feed) I used the egg instead of water, added some extra parsley, baked at 350 for 30 minutes and patted all the extra fat off the meatballs before I put it in the sauce to simmer. I am MORE than pleased with the taste. It did not leave the family hungry!

I Loved These! Fast & EASY! Well first of all I did modify these. I didn't have half an onion, I only had about 1/4. I used 2 heaping teaspoons of California style Garlic Salt. I used extra Parmesan cheese in mine. I used one egg instead of the water.I was generous with the pepper.Lastly I had to fry mine in a cast iron skillet because my oven does not work.They stayed together well (only one meatball fell apart) That one I hurried and cooked it in the pan and ate it with ketchup on it while I cooked the rest LOL. I will definitely be making these again!"