If you’ve been looking for a simple, easy recipe for Oven Baked Beef Meatballs you will love this one.
These Oven Baked Beef Meatballs have been a family favourite for many years and are always a winner. In fact, they are a perfect family meal as adults and children alike love them. They are simple to make and are full of flavour which I provide by adding grated parmesan cheese, finely crushed garlic, parsley and dried oregano.
Until recently I have cooked meatballs in a frying pan. However, this method has several negatives. Cooking the meatballs in a frying pan requires your attention as they must be moved around to ensure even cooking. Invariably whilst moving them around a couple will break up. And inevitably the oil splatters everywhere leaving an enormous mess to clean up. Further, if cooking a large number of meatballs, it is necessary to cook them in batches and this is time-consuming.
It was a revelation when I discovered the ease and convenience of baking meatballs in the oven. Baking meatballs in the oven is by far the easiest and least messy way to cook them. There is no more standing over the stove or cooking in batches, leaving you free to get on with something else. The meatballs remain juicy, tender and full of flavour as the heat in the oven cooks them evenly.
There are no hard-to-find ingredients; in fact, you can find all of the ingredients in your local supermarket.
I use these ingredients:
Minced Beef: My personal choice is to use lean, minced (ground) beef. Although the meat is lean, when cooked in this manner, it will still result in juicy, tender meatballs.
Breadcrumbs: I use whatever bread I have, ideally day old bread, and whiz it into fine crumbs in the food processor. For those requiring gluten-free meatballs, you can use gluten-free breadcrumbs.
Egg: I use a free-range egg and this helps bind the ingredients together.
Herbs: I use finely chopped parsley. My preference is for continental (flat-leaf) parsley, as I find the flavour and texture superior to the curly leaf variety.
Additionally, I use dried oregano to achieve an authentic Italian flavour.
Seasoning: I use Maldon sea salt flakes but any sea salt can be added to suit your taste.
I provide further seasoning by adding freshly ground black pepper.
I also add finely crushed garlic and have included it here as it seems to defy definition as to whether it is a herb, a spice or a vegetable.
Parmesan Cheese: To achieve the best flavour I use good quality, freshly grated, Italian parmesan. I use Grana Padano; it’s not as expensive as Parmigiano Reggiano, but it is full of flavour. I must stress that there is no comparison between good quality parmesan which you grate yourself and that which is sold pre-grated.
This is how I make the Meatballs:
To make the meatballs, I add all the ingredients to a large bowl and combine them well. Now you can painstakingly use a fork to combine them, or, like me, use your hands. This achieves a smoother result in considerably less time. And yes, I always wash my hands before doing this; and after, too, of course.
To shape the meatballs I use a round tablespoon measure to scoop the mixture out and then roll it in my hands. You could also use a medium sized ice cream scoop. This will ensure evenly sized meatballs. Further, to prevent the mixture from sticking, I lightly dampen my hands before commencing. Depending on the number of meatballs that you are making you may need to do this several times.
And when it comes time to serve:
- Serve with toothpicks as an appetiser with drinks.
- As a casual, weeknight meal, serve them alone with a salad such as:
– Roasted Cherry Tomato Caprese Salad
– Potato Salad with Peas and Mint - With my Crispy Parmesan Baked Tomatoes;
- Or try Roasted Cherry Tomatoes cooked in the oven with the meatballs and serve both over pasta.
I encourage you to try these Easy Oven Baked Meatballs; once you make them in the oven, you’ll never want to make them any other way. Please let me know if the comments below if you try them.
Enjoy! Alex xx
Oven Baked Beef Meatballs
dried oregano.
Ingredients
- 500 g beef mince
- 1 cup fresh breadcrumbs * can use GF bread
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/3 cup Parmesan *
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- salt and pepper to taste
- olive oil spray
Serving Suggestions:
- basil pesto or tomato sauce
Instructions
- Prepare all of your ingredients as you will be mixing them all together at the same time.Make your breadcrumbs, grate your Parmesan, chop your garlic and parsley. (You can do all of this in a food processor if you prefer – it makes it very easy!)Preheat your oven to 180 degrees C when you are ready to bake.
- Add all of your ingredients to a bowl.
- Make sure all of the ingredients are combined well.
- Using a 15ml tablespoon, I like to scoop out the mixture so I have a consistent size of meatball. This ensures even cooking.
- Roll the scoop of mixture into smooth balls.
- Place a rack on a foil lined baking tray. Lightly spray with some olive oil. Place the meatballs on the tray.
- Bake at 180 degrees C (350 F) for 15 minutes.
- Serve the meatballs by themselves, or with a delicious basil pesto or tomato sauce.
Beef is very good for health and it will have many proteins I must try this dish tonight
I look forward to hearing how you enjoy the meatballs. 🙂
These meatballs are so full of flavor, and I love how easy and convenient it is to bake a whole batch. Thanks for sharing such a great recipe!
I am so glad that you like the recipe Amanda, please let me know if you make the meatballs. 🙂
This looks so delicious. I can imagine it with a good gravy or something. My daughter would love this as she is a huge meatball fan. We will have to try this out sometime soon.
Sounds good David, I hope that you both enjoy the meatballs. 🙂
These look great, loving the idea of baking instead of frying…. set and forget!!
Jaimie, it’s so much simpler to bake the meatballs. It leaves you time to get on with other things and the meatballs stay nice and moist. 🙂
Oh meatballs. Easy and always tasty. Kids love it. I freeze some so I always have little something to cook fast
It’s so useful to always have some on hand – it makes for a very quick meal. 🙂
The meatballs look so yummy. My family would definitely love to eat home-made meatballs. I am going to follow your recipe when I make spaghetti tomorrow.
That’s fantastic Karen, I am delighted you will make the meatballs. I am certain that your family will enjoy them. 🙂
Yum! These look amazing and not too hard to make. I will have to send these to my husband to make them for dinner one night.
Hi Tiffany, these are very easy to make. I do hope that your husband enjoys them. 🙂
I love meatballs but I never tried oven baked meatballs. I should do this sometime.
Oven baked meatballs are fantastic; definitely the way to cook them. I do hope that you try them. 🙂
Maybe the only thing better than a baked meatball is a fried one! Nahhhh – we’ll call it a tie!! YUM!
Haha, Annie, meatballs are always popular. 🙂 But the baked version has the important advantage of creating less mess. That works for me. 🙂
Meatballs are a family favorite! These look delicious and I love that they are baked!
Thank you Kathy. Yes, baking the meatballs is definitely the way to go. They stay juicier and they make much less mess which is always good. 🙂
that looks so tempting and will try it on Sunday brunch. the best part is it is not fried, just baked
That sounds wonderful. I do hope that you enjoy the meatballs for your Sunday brunch. 🙂
Oh gosh Alexandra! You got me drooling again! Those meatballs would be so yummy for some red tomato sauce during a BBQ party. I should try bakin them since I normally deep fry meatballs.
They sound perfect for your BBQ party. And I am sure that once you try baking them you will be converted. 🙂
It looks like a very simple recipe for those who eat beef. I never actually thought about it but does that mean that regular meatballs (brown looking ones) are fried?
I think that a lot are fried Alvern. I used to shallow fry mine but they required constant attention, sometimes a few would break up and they made a mess of the stove. This way there is much less to clean up, they hold their shape and I can get on with something else whilst they are cooking. A winner in my view. 🙂
Thanks for sharing! I’m trying this out over the weekend 🙂
I am delighted to hear that. Enjoy! 🙂
These look and sound so good! I love that they are baked too!
Baking the meatballs makes all the difference Catherine. They are a winner. 🙂