Oven Baked Beef Meatballs

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