Classic Italian American Meatballs
Published Oct. 8, 2025
- Total Time
- 1¼ hours
- Prep Time
- 15 minutes
- Cook Time
- 1 hour
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 1large egg
- ½cup whole-milk ricotta
- ¼cup finely grated Pecorino Romano, plus extra for serving
- ¼cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 1garlic clove, finely chopped
- Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) and freshly ground black pepper
- ½pound ground beef
- ½pound ground pork
- ¼cup olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 1tablespoon olive oil
- 1garlic clove, finely grated
- 1(24-ounce) jar passata or 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
For the Meatballs
For the Sauce
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
599 calories; 47 grams fat; 15 grams saturated fat; 1 gram trans fat; 25 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 16 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 8 grams sugars; 29 grams protein; 834 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Prepare the meatballs: In a large bowl, whisk to combine the egg, ricotta, Pecorino Romano, parsley, garlic, 2 teaspoons salt and 1½ teaspoons pepper. With your hands or a spatula, mix in the ground beef and pork until the ingredients are evenly distributed.
- Step 2
Form the meatballs: Using a standard soup spoon, scoop a scant ¼ cup of the meatball mixture into the palm of your hand, and use the spoon to scrape the mixture against your palm and shape it into a ball. Repeat with the remaining mixture to form 12 meatballs.
- Step 3
Make the sauce: In a medium saucepan, heat the 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium. Add the garlic and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the passata and simmer on low until bubbling, 4 to 5 minutes, season with salt and pepper.
- Step 4
To cook the meatballs, heat the ¼ cup olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is hot and shimmery, add half the meatballs and sear until golden brown on all sides, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer the browned meatballs to the prepared sauce and repeat with the remaining meatballs.
- Step 5
Simmer the seared meatballs in the tomato sauce until they are cooked through and tender, 20 to 25 minutes.
- Step 6
Serve the meatballs with the tomato sauce, more Pecorino and a drizzle of olive oil.
Private Notes
Comments
Instead of frying, roast (400F) the meatballs until rare and finish them in the simmering sauce- don’t forget to add the juices from roasting pan to deepen flavor
My Mamma never fried her meatballs (very similar composition to these) she just let them cook in the sauce, yielding a very tender meatball.
If you have problems with acid, try adding a single, whole carrot to the sauce, and letting it cook for about 20 minutes. You can toss the carrot afterwards, or eat it if you want. It is just there to cut the acid a bit.
I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong with the meatballs, but they fall apart when browning them. Once I add them to the sauce, it becomes more like a meat sauce.
Terrible. This sure looked good on paper. But no. They did not hold their shape. The 1/4 cup measure was too much. I had the instinct that I should add breadcrumbs or some other "binder" but had faith the this recipe was tested and true. The fell apart.
Sorry, I respect the people who said bread crumbs are necessary. Against my intuition and experience, I followed this recipe and the “meatballs” fell apart — the sauce is still great but there are NO meatballs to speak of. I’m going back to Rao’s outstanding meatball recipe.