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Baked Italian Meatballs

Craving juicy, tender, flavourful and simple to make meatballs? Why not make these easy baked pork meatballs? These meatballs are so versatile they can be eaten with, in, or on pretty much anything - pasta, rice, soup, bread, you name it, it'll taste delish!

Course Dinner
Cuisine Italian
Prep 35 minutes
Cook 25 minutes
Total 1 hour
Yields 50 (1 ½”) meatballs
Author Emi

Ingredients

  • ⅔ cup panko * see note for GF options
  • 1 cup milk
  • ½ medium onion finely minced
  • 6-8 cloves garlic finely minced
  • 1.5 kg medium ground pork
  • 4 eggs whisked
  • 4 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
  • 1 tablespoon fresh oregano chopped
  • ¼ cup fresh parsley chopped
  • 4 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoons black pepper fresh cracked
  • 2 teaspoons red chili flakes 3-4 teaspoons if you like it hot
  • ¼ cup Parmesan cheese grated

Garnish:

  • Parmesan cheese
  • Black pepper fresh cracked

Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 425 F. Line two baking sheets with foil and spray with oil.
  2. In a small bowl, combine panko and milk. Let the panko soak up the milk while preparing the other ingredients.
  3. Coat a frying pan with oil and heat to medium-high. When hot, add onions and garlic and sauté until brown (for about 10 minutes).

  4. In a large mixing bowl, add pork, panko and milk mixture, cooked onions and garlic, and all remaining ingredients. Using your hands, mix the ingredients just enough to incorporate. (Note: Over-mixing will cause a dense meatball.)

  5. Shape the meatballs into 1 ½ inch rounds.

    (Tip: Oil your hands to prevent the meat mixture from sticking to your hands.)

  6. Place the meatballs on the baking sheet 1 inch apart.
  7. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, then broil for 3 to 5 minutes or until the tops are browned.
  8. Serve with tomato sauce, a generous amount of Parmesan and freshly cracked pepper.
  9. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

*To make this recipe Gluten Free, substitute panko breadcrumbs with the same amount of gluten free panko breadcrumbs (e.g. Kikkoman), or crushed Rice Chex cereal (place in a plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin), or gluten free breadcrumbs (e.g. PaneRiso) of your choice.