“Why have I never baked meatballs before?!” That is the question that I asked myself after preparing meatballs with the boys last night. This baked Italian meatballs recipe is so much easier to make. The meatballs are more evenly cooked and they made our home smell heavenly while they were baking.
Another great thing about this particular recipe is that it is enough for up to eight people. We ate half and sent the other half to a family member. Really…I don’t think that I will ever cook meatballs on the stovetop again.
I want to thank my Facebook friends. Several of them have mentioned eating at NYC’s The Meatball Shop recently. We like meatballs, so I did a “google search” on their recipes. It turns out that The Meatball Shop actually has a The Meatball Shop Cookbook and has shared their recipes for their chicken, pork and beef meatballs on various sites.
Since I like the taste of my meatballs, I’m not quite ready to trade out my Parmesan for the ricotta cheese that they use in their recipe. I did embrace their idea of baking the meatballs instead of cooking them on the stovetop though.
The cookbook author recommended parsley and oregano, so I also added those ingredients. They worked really well with the onions and garlic from my original recipe. Enjoy!
Baked Italian Meatballs Recipe
Best Baked Turkey Meatballs
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 lbs of ground turkey
- 2 slices of the end of a bread loaf, crumbled up (or you can use bread crumbs)
- 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup finely chopped onions
- 1/2 cup chopped parsley
- 1 tbsp of fresh oregano (or 1 tsp of dried oregano)
- 4 cloves of chopped garlic
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Spread the olive oil on the bottom and sides of a 9×13 baking dish.
3. Thoroughly mix all of the rest of the ingredients together in a large bowl.
4. Use the mixture to roll golf ball sized meatballs and place them into the baking dish closely together.
5. Cook the meatballs in the oven for 20 minutes.
That’s it. Once the meatballs are cooked, take them from the dish and let them simmer in marinara sauce over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes.
What to serve with Italian meatballs for dinner?
You can serve the meatballs as part of a meatball sandwich (on hero bread), or with your favorite pasta. A carb-counting friend of mine even eats her meatballs with cooked spinach. Basically, eat them however you please!
Have you ever had the meatballs at The Meatball Shop? If so, do you think that I should try their recipe using the ricotta cheese?
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