Beef meatball recipe that belongs to your recipe box! These beef meatballs are tender, moist and versatile, perfect to make ahead and freeze. Save time & money by making a big batch!
Why you’ll love this Beef Meatballs Recipe
Ever find yourself at 5pm with no dinner plans surrounded by hungry mouths asking for food?
Now imagine, you had a stash of meatballs in your freezer to throw into a quick and delicious dinner in minutes, like this Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meatballs (<- my boys’ favorite!) Jackpot, right?
Investing an hour to make and freeze a big batch of homemade meatballs is a smart way to meal prep for busy weeknights.
This big batch recipe yields 4+ pounds of beef meatballs, which means 4 dinners to feed a family of 4!
And did I mention, it takes less than an hour to prepare?!
4 reasons homemade Make Ahead Meatballs are better:
Sure, store-bought frozen meatballs are a life-saver in a pinch, but homemade is always better. And here’s why…
✔️ You know exactly what goes in those meatballs. No additives, no flavor enhancers, just good quality ingredients!
✔️ And you can customize the meatballs to your taste. Add some onion, or load them with veggies! Up to you!
✔️ You can shape them into whatever size you want to. Love jumbo meatballs? Make them bigger! Or make smaller balls for soups.
✔️ Finally, it’ll probably cost you way less! Now, I don’t know how much it costs to buy frozen meatballs, but my guess is that these homemade meatballs cost a fraction of the ones from the store!
Ground Beef Meatball Recipe Ingredients
- Panko – Japanese breadcrumbs. Because Panko is made with crustless bread, it’s super light and ideal for this meatball recipe. It lightens the meatballs without weighing it down. In a pinch, you can use regular breadcrumbs or an old bread.
- Milk – You can use any kind of milk here. Whole, 2% or even skim milk works.
- Lean ground beef – My go-to for making these meatballs. You’d like you can use a combination of beef and pork too.
- Eggs – Helps to bind the meat mixture.
- Worcestershire sauce – Deepens the flavor.
- Italian seasoning blend – adds well-rounded flavor. You can use your favorite brand of seasoning and a homemade blend.
How to make Homemade Meatballs
The secret to the most tender and moist meatballs is in panade, aka Panko soaked in milk.
- Step 1. Combine Panko and milk and let it sit for 5 minutes.
- Step 2. Mix all ingredients together except for ground beef first. Then stir in beef. That way you won’t over-mix the meat, or you’ll get dense meatballs.
- Step 3. Shape the meatballs and arrange them on baking sheets, lined with parchment paper or silicone mat.
- Step 4. Freeze the meatballs uncooked or bake them and then freeze later.
TIP 1: Use a medium cookie scoop for faster and more uniform meatballs!
TIP 2: Line your baking sheet with a silicone mat, or parchment paper for an easy clean up.
You can also make these meatballs with ground turkey or chicken. Just bear in mind, the fattier the protein, the more tender and flavorful the meatballs are.
Meatball Recipe Ground Beef FAQ
The secret to moist meatballs is 3 ingredients: milk, breadcrumbs, and eggs. Do not skip any of these ingredients or else you’ll end up with tough and dense meatballs. Also, try not to over-mix the mixture as this can also make them denser.
With this big batch beef meatball recipe, I usually get about 125 1-inch meatballs. (Yes, I counted them! And not just once.)
A pound of ground beef will make roughly 30 medium-size (1-inch) meatballs.
If you’d like to try this recipe with just 1 lb of meat, I did calculation for you:
– ½ cup Panko Japanese breadcrumbs
– 6 tablespoons milk
– 1 lb lean ground beef
– 2 garlic cloves, pressed
– 1 egg
– ½ tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
– 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
– 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
– ½ teaspoons ground black pepper
Since these meatballs are smaller size (1-inch balls), I serve 7-8 meatballs per person.
How to freeze Meatballs:
FREEZE FROM RAW
- Arrange the meatballs on baking sheets in one layer and place them in the freezer for about 2 hours.
- Once they’re frozen, transfer them into freezer bags. I like to divide the meatballs into 4 bags, a little over 1lb each. Don’t forget to label them!
- Frozen meatballs are good for up to 4 months.
FREEZE FROM COOKED
- Allow baked meatballs cool completely.
- Arrange the cooled meatballs on a baking sheet lined with a parchment paper or silicone mat, and place it in a freezer for about 2 hours.
- Then transfer the frozen meatballs into freezer bag.
- Frozen meatballs are good for up to 4 months.
What to make with Ground Beef Meatballs
This beef meatball recipe is so versatile. Here’re some quick and easy dinner ideas:
More Favorites from Busy Cooks
Meatball Recipe Ground Beef (Big Batch)
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups Panko Japanese breadcrumbs Note 1
- ½ cup milk Note 2
- 4 lbs lean ground beef Note 3
- 5-6 garlic cloves pressed
- 4 eggs
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 4 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
Instructions
- To make panade, in a medium bowl, combine panko and milk. Let sit for 5 minutes.
- To make the meatballs, in a large bowl, mix together soaked Panko, beef, garlic, eggs, Worcestershire sauce, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. With clean hands, mix the beef mixture until well combined.
- To shape the meatballs, using a medium cookie scoop, shape the meatballs and arrange them on 2 baking sheets, lined with foil, or a silicone mat. (I usually get about 125 1-inch meatballs.) If desired, roll the meatballs between your palms to smooth out the surface.
- At this point, you can either freeze the meatballs raw on a sheet pan and then divide it into freezer bags. Or bake it and then freeze the cooked meatballs for later use, which eliminates the searing step later on.
- To bake the meatballs, bake in preheated 350°F oven for 15-20 minutes. Cool completely and then arrange on a clean baking sheet in a single layer. Place it in the freezer for about 2 hours. Once the meatballs are frozen, divide into 4 freezer bags, or vacuum seal for longer storage.
Notes
Nutrition
* Disclaimer: All nutrition information are estimates only. Read full nutrition disclosure.
Sharing of this recipe is encouraged and appreciated. Copying of full recipe to any social media is prohibited.
This post was originally published on October 15, 2018, and last updated on April 24, 2020.
Stay connected and join Busy Cooks community:
FACEBOOK | PINTEREST | INSTAGRAM
Reader's Reviews
Delicious and moist! We made 20 lbs. This is a winner.
So happy you made and loved the recipe, Roxanna!! Thank you for choosing my recipe and your feedback!
Love this recipe! It’s so easy and deicious.
Thank you for your feedback, Margie! So glad you enjoyed it!
These are fantastic!! Thank you so much!! I have them in red sauce now for my husbands birthday party tonight.
The panko vs. bread crumbs is so much better and they hold structure better too. I took advice of one commenter and added Parmesan cheese to you exact recipe. I was a lil apprehensive on the Italian seasoning (not my favorite) but followed exactly and so glad I did. Perfect!! As anyone can adjust seasonings to their likings.
Your tip on freezing is so helpful as well. I will do these again soon for my Dad to have on hand while my Mom recovers from shoulder surgery.
Thank you so much and appreciate your deliciousness and tips. This recipe is a keeper! Happy New Year!-XX
Easy to make and the taste is amazing! I’ve had more compliments on these meatballs’n
Thanks for the great idea & recipe! I left out the salt because my spaghetti usually has plenty of flavor and salt without adding more in the meatballs. I had one right after cooking the first batch & it was great! I’ll make these again when I run out. Super fast and easy to use just 3-4 for a single serve dish.
Thank you for sharing your feedback, Donna. Glad you liked the recipe!
I made these gluten free ( Panko- GF), Dairy free- Oatmilk, and egg free using Just Egg. Made enough for our Family of 11 with a few to spare. I made the meatballs a bit larger and they were delicious.
So happy your GF version turned out just as great! Thank you for your feedback, LuAnn!
How many individual meatballs does this approx make?
Hi, Geo. I usually get about 125 1-inch meatballs.
These truly are the most amazing meatballs I’ve ever made. I do have one question though…. with the nutritional info you have listed below the recipe.. is the Sodium level really 867mg?
Hi, Norman! So happy you tried and loved the recipe. Thank you for your feedback!!
And as for the sodium level… I’m not a nutritionist and I use an automated tool for calculating the information. But I took a deeper look at it and it does look like it was calculating the salt amount based off of table salt, which is denser than coarse kosher salt that use. And I recalculated the nutrition info with an adjustment and the sodium amount got decreased. Thank you for bringing it to my attention.
Salt was reduced to what mg amount? What measurement is a nedium sized cookie scoop?
Hi, Roslyn. I’m not a nutritionist, and exact sodium level depends on what type of salt is used. My recipe is tested with 4 teaspoons of coarse kosher salt for 4lbs of ground beef. If you’re using table salt, reduce the salt amount by half.
Medium cookie scoop is about 1.5 tablespoons of mixture.
Thanks for your response. I will be making the meatballs for a pot luck dinner next week. Your recipe is a KEEPER!
So happy to hear that, Roslyn! Thank you for your feedback!!
Delicious. My friends say they are the best they have had. I added a mix of pecorino and Parmesan as well as one grated white onion. My new favourite recipe. Thank you
Yay, so happy to hear you and your friends loved the meatballs. I love your addition of cheeses and onion! I appreciate your feedback, Kate!
You’ve done it again!! I love your make-ahead recipes. Thanks once again for another great recipe. This one is a keeper. This saves the day when you need to put together a fast and great meal.
Thank you so much, Barbara. So glad you find my recipes helpful!
What temperature and amount of time do you recommend to reheat? I’m doubling the batch for an upcoming baptism dinner and was hoping to just reheat them in either a slow cooker, roaster, or oven. Thanks!
Hi, Sarah. Are you planning to freeze pre-made meatballs? And if so, are you freezing them raw or cooked? Frozen cooked meatballs will take about 15min at 350°F or about 3 hours in slow cooker on low. Uncooked frozen meatballs will take about 25min at 350°F, or 4 hours in slow cooker on high. Hope this helps. And hope you all will enjoy the meatballs. Let us know.
I just made these meatballs. I followed the recipe, but I do not have a medium cookie scoop. I used 75% ground beef and put each of the batches on some sort of grease draining apparatus as they baked. I did my best to make all of them about 1 inch in diameter. Given all of those factors, these turned out so delicious. they are delicious all on their own, but I imagine that they will be delicious in other recipes. My husband and children and I very much approve. Love that this is for a bigger batch because we often cook for a lot of people or just like to cook more for future meals. I will be using this recipe again. Thank you.
Hi, Marissa. So glad you loved the meatballs. Grease draining apparatus is genius!!! Thank you for your feedback.