Best Italian Oven Baked Meatballs Recipe + Video (2024)

FAQs

Is it better to bake meatballs at 350 or 400? ›

After all of the Italian meatballs I've been making lately, I consider myself a meatball expert. A good rule of thumb is to bake meatballs for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees fahrenheit.

Baking will result in meatballs with a crunchy exterior, though the caramelisation achieved from frying will be superior. Baked meatballs take the least amount of effort, as you'll only need to turn them once or twice throughout the cook and you can make a larger batch at once.

Baking them at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes should do it. I bake turkey meatballs for 15 minutes, and bake beef/pork ones for 20–25 minutes to ensure they're cooked through. If you need the drippings to make your sauce, you can scraped them out of the broiler pan bottom.

Covering them with foil can help when reheating, but you will still want to remove it during the last few minutes of cook time in the oven. How do you keep meatballs moist when baking? The key is in the preparation! Make sure to handle the meat as little as possible and mix the ingredients just until combined.

✅ To ensure meatballs are cooked, check their internal temperature using a meat thermometer. 🌡️ They should reach 160°F (71°C) for ground beef or pork and 165°F (74°C) for ground poultry. 🔍 Alternatively, cut a meatball in half; it should be uniformly browned with no pink interior.

Because meat shrinks when cooked, mince proteins are likely to separate and crumble unless bound together. Whether it's breadcrumbs or egg (or both), or simply salt, binding the mince is a crucial step in maintaining the softness of your meatballs while preventing them from falling apart.

Although the meatballs are not browned first, they still cook though in the sauce and it is safe to add them to the sauce raw, as long as the sauce is kept at a simmer until the meatballs are cooked through. Cooking the meatballs this way means that they stay quite tender even when cooked.

Chill your meatballs: refrigerating your meatballs an hour before cooking helps them hold their shape throughout the cooking process. They can chill in the fridge for up to 24 hours before cooking, making meatballs a great make-ahead dish, too.

A traditional size for this sort of meatball is 2 to 3 inches across, but you can make them any size you want. Once you roll the meatball in your hands, roll it in the flour to give it a good coating. Set each one on a baking sheet as you work.

Should I bake meatballs on foil or parchment paper? ›

Roll the meat mixture into 1 1/2 inch meatballs and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. I love parchment paper because it ensures that the meatballs do not stick to the baking sheet and it also makes clean up easier. Bake in a 400F oven until cooked through, about 20-24 minutes.

Because doneness and safety cannot be judged by color, it is very important to use a food thermometer when cooking ground beef. To be sure all harmful bacteria are destroyed, cook all ground beef products to an internal temperature of 160 °F throughout. Ground beef can be pink inside after it is safely cooked.

Browning meatballs is the first step in the cooking process. You aren't going to drop them into a pot of sauce raw. Not only will browning them prevent them from falling apart while they simmer in the sauce, it'll develop desirable color and flavor. Color and flavor elevate the dish.

Baking soda acts as a meat tenderizer by changing the physical composition of meat fibers. It raises the pH levels on the surface and makes it tougher (pun intended) for the proteins in the meat to bond.

Tenderizing the Meat:

As the collagen in the meat dissolves over time, it transforms into gelatin, which not only adds a silky texture to the sauce but also contributes to the overall richness and depth of flavor. The longer the simmer, the more tender and succulent the meatballs become.

Cover an oven tray with parchment paper. Leave some space between the meatballs. Place them in a preheated oven at about 200 degrees. Half way through, turn them over.

Just like a sausage, a hamburger, or a steak, the hotter you get them and the longer you cook them, the more moisture they lose. On the other hand, it was undeniable that the sauce got better and better as it cooked, both by reducing and by picking up flavor from the meatballs as they simmered.