Homemade meatballs are a very easy to make, and since we skip the very messy step of pan-frying these before they hit the sauce, it becomes downright simple. Here I use a standard half-beef/half-pork mixture. You can substitute water or beef broth for the milk, if preferred. Ketodiet


Ingredients

  • ⅓ cup plain bread crumbs 
  • ½ cup milk 
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil 
  • 1 onion, diced 
  • 1 pound ground beef 
  • 1 pound ground pork 
  • 2 eggs 
  • ¼ bunch fresh parsley, chopped 
  • 3 cloves garlic, crushed 
  • 2 teaspoons salt 
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper 
  • ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes 
  • 1 teaspoon dried Italian herb seasoning 
  • 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

  • Step 1 Cover a baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray. 
  • Step 2 Soak bread crumbs in milk in a small bowl for 20 minutes. 
  • Step 3 Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir onions in hot oil until translucent, about 20 minutes. 
  • Step 4 Mix beef and pork together in a large bowl. Stir onions, bread crumb mixture, eggs, parsley, garlic, salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, Italian herb seasoning, and Parmesan cheese into meat mixture with a rubber spatula until combined. Cover and refrigerate for about one hour. 
  • Step 5 Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). 
  • Step 6 Using wet hands, form meat mixture into balls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Arrange onto prepared baking sheet. 
  • Step 7 Bake in the preheated oven until browned and cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes.

Cook's Notes:

Some recipes use equal portions of beef, veal, and pork, which is also nice, yet more expensive. These days you can find all sorts of lean-to-fat ratios for ground beef. Most stores sell 90% lean, 10% fat, but I prefer the 80% lean, 20% fat ratio for this recipe. 

Once cooked, you can add the meatballs to your favorite prepared tomato sauce for 1 to 2 hours.

Nutrition Facts Per Serving: 82 calories; protein 6.2g; carbohydrates 1.7g; fat 5.5g; cholesterol 32.3mg; sodium 192.1mg.