Skillet Italian Meatballs

Jump to:

• What are traditional meatballs made of
• Recipe Ingredients
• Variations
• How To Make Italian Meatballs
• Serving suggestions
• Recipe FAQs
• Other Easy Italian Inspired Recipes
• Get the Recipe

What are traditional meatballs made of

That depends whose tradition you're asking about. In our case, we're making Italian-style meatballs. For those, the traditional recipe would be a blending of ground pork and ground veal or beef.

By the above definition, our recipe is not wholly authentic but it's pretty dang close. We went with all-beef for a quick and easy meatball recipe.

But Italy isn't the only country that has a famous and tasty meatball.

Meatball recipes from around the world.

Head over to Spain and try Albondigas. Or Mexico's version which add rice to the meat mixture or this Guatemalan version.

And no trip to Ikea is every complete without their meatballs, but you can always go more authentic with these Swedish (Köttbullar) meatballs.

Your culinary passport can take you to Sri Lanka, Greece, India, Denmark, and so many more places. (In fact, stay tuned for our upcoming post that's all about meatballs.)

When you look at those recipes, you'll see the ingredients all wildly vary, so I guess we can say that traditional meatballs are made of ground meat rolled into a ball with binders and seasonings. But each culture seems to have their own traditional meatball.

Recipe Ingredients

• Ground beef — we used 85% lean beef. The fat percentage is important when making meatballs; too much and they're shrink to nothing by rending a lot of grease and too lean, they'll be dry and lacking in flavor.
• Seasonings — for this particular recipe we used Italian seasoning blend, parsley, granulated garlic, onion powder, salt, and pepper.
• Binder — Italian seasoned bread crumbs, eggs, Parmesan cheese, and milk.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Variations

• Meat — we used ground beef but any ground meat, like ground turkey, chicken, pork, lamb, and so on can be used. Each will lend their own flavor changes.
• Seasonings — This is where you can get creative with the flavor profile, basil, rosemary, thyme, and so on can be used. Minced garlic or garlic powder can be substituted for granulated as can kosher salt for regular table salt.
• Binder — Italian seasoned breadcrumbs are easy and convenient, but regular or Panko breadcrumbs can be used or even day old or fresh bread that has been torn to pieces. I've even seen crackers and oatmeal used as a binder in a pinch.

How To Make Italian Meatballs

Pro Tip: Take a tablespoon or so of the meatball mixture from the mixing bowl and fry it off in a small skillet before rolling the rest of the mixture into meatballs. By frying off a small portion, you can taste for seasonings and make any needed adjustments.

Serving suggestions

• Serve them with spaghetti or any pasta tossed with your favorite sauce and topped with some freshly grated parmesan cheese.
• Serve the meatballs over a bed of polenta, mashed potatoes, or even rice. Spoon a bit of marinara sauce over the top.
• Grab your favorite hoagie roll or bread loaf and stuff the skillet meatballs in side with any flavored tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese. Tossing them in the oven so the cheese melts will make these meatball subs extra special.
• Instead of rolling large meatballs, roll them smaller and make dozens for potluck or game day appetizer. Serve them up in a bowl of sauce topped with melty cheese.

Recipe FAQs

Get the Recipe