Ciao, friends! Meatballs in marinara is a magnificent Italian dish that is simply irresistible!

To create the most delicious Italian meatballs, this recipe uses a combination of ground beef and Italian sausage, mixed with bread crumbs, buttermilk, cheese, onion, garlic, and a copious amount of Italian seasoning.

Once the meatballs are formed, you have two options - fry them on the stovetop or broil them to perfection. Either way will give the meatballs a gorgeous crispy exterior. Then simply nestle the meatballs in a rich, homemade marinara sauce and let them bake until they are tender, juicy, and mouthwateringly delicious.

Photo byRebecca Blackwell/ alittleandalot.com

Honestly, if my tastebuds were fully in charge of my life, I would eat baked meatballs in marinara every single week for the rest of my life. I love them that much. I love them on homemade spaghetti noodles, on meatball sandwiches, and on Meatball Pizza. I especially love them all by themselves, covered in a thick layer of melted mozzarella cheese.

This recipe is pure comfort food and the result of years of tweaking and testing, until the meatballs were tender, juicy, and packed with Italian flavor.

"These meatballs are the best we ever tasted - all your testing really paid off!! Thank you for sharing the recipe!!! - Ana

"The best meatball marinara recipe I've ever made or tasted." - Kelli

Photo byRebecca Blackwell/ alittleandalot.com

5 Tips for Italian Meatballs that are Tender and Juicy

#1. Use a 50/50 blend of high-quality ground beef and Italian Sausage

Most meatball recipes call for a mix of ground meats, generally some combination of ground beef and pork. This recipe calls for a mix of ground beef and Italian sausage. The sausage brings a lot to the table, adding flavor and just enough fat to keep the meatballs from being dry.

I've played around with all sorts of ratios of ground beef to Italian sausage and a 50/50 mix produces the perfect balance of flavor and texture.

It goes without saying that your meatballs will be as good as the quality of the meat you use, so choose the highest quality you can find. Choose bland, overly fatty meat, and you'll get bland, greasy meatballs.

• 85 - 90% lean ground beef is ideal for meatballs that are juicy and moist.
• Try to find an Italian Sausage for which all the ingredients are recognizable and the fat content is close to 20%.

#2. Buttermilk makes meatballs tender and extra flavorful

Buttermilk is one of my all-time favorite ingredients to use in cooking and baking - here are 24 of my favorite buttermilk baking recipes. It contributes flavor and acts as a tenderizer, adding moisture and juiciness to these meatballs that you just can't get otherwise.

(By the way, if you marinate a whole chicken in buttermilk it makes the BEST Roast Chicken EVER.)

In this recipe, hunks of fresh bread are soaked in buttermilk until the bread absorbs most of the liquid. This soggy bread mixture will keep the meatballs moist AND help them stay together while they cook.

AND, if you don't have any buttermilk, here are 7 ways to make it.

#3. A little bit of cheese goes a long way

The key to adding cheese to meatballs is to add just enough to boost the flavor without adding so much that they become more cheesy than meaty.

• After trying several different combinations of cheeses, I settled on a mixture of parmesan and mozzarella.
• Parmesan contributes flavor and mozzarella contributes a satisfying amount of melty cheesy goodness without going overboard and interfering with the meaty texture.

#4. For maximum flavor, add a LOT of fresh herbs, garlic, onions, and Italian seasoning.

If you want flavorful meatballs, you can't skimp on the garlic, onion, parsley, and Italian seasoning. To add even more umami, I've also included a touch of Worcestershire sauce to both the meatballs and the marinara sauce.

#5. Brown the meatballs first then let them bake in homemade marinara sauce.

This recipe gives you the option of broiling or panfrying your meatballs until the outside is brown and crisp. Both cooking methods produce a gorgeous dark brown crispy exterior so here are a couple of things to consider:

• If you have a large sheet pan or broiling pan, you can broil all the meatballs at once, which takes a bit less effort than pan frying them, which you'll need to do in batches.
• The downside of broiling is that some meatball grease will likely splatter over the inside of your oven. This will happen if you pan fry them as well, but the splatters will be contained to your stovetop.

So, pick your poison and start cooking.

After browning, pop the meatballs into the marinara sauce and let the whole thing cook in the oven for about an hour.

Photo byRebecca Blackwell/ alittleandalot.com

Recipe: Italian Meatballs In Marinara

For step by step photos showing how to make these meatballs and information about how to store and freeze these meatballs, please see the original recipe: Meatball Marinara

• 1 recipe Homemade Marinara Sauce
• ¼ cup (1.34 ounces/ 50 grams) extra virgin olive oil (Omit if broiling the meatballs instead of frying them.)
• 1 ½ cups (178 grams) of bread cubes cut or torn into ½-inch pieces
• 1 cup (8 ounces/ 227 grams) of buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
• 1 pound (16 ounces/ 450 grams) ground beef, 85 - 90% lean
• 1 pound (16 ounces/ 450 grams) of ground Italian sausage, spicy or sweet
• 2 large egg yolks, lightly beaten with a fork
• ½ cup (45 grams ) grated parmesan or pecorino Romano cheese
• ¾ cup (75 grams) grated mozzarella cheese
• ¾ cup (15 grams) minced fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic (about 4-6 large cloves)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 ½ tablespoons dried Italian herb seasoning
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar

Instructions

*Get the Marinara Sauce started first. While the marinara sauce simmers on the stovetop, make the meatballs.

1. If broiling the meatballs: Place a rack in the center of your oven and preheat it to 450 degrees F (232 degrees C). Spray a broiler pan with non-stick spray. Or, line a rimmed baking sheet with foil, top it with a wire baking rack, and spray the baking rack with non-stick spray. Or, line the inside of a roasting pan with foil, set the pan's flat rack inside the pan, and spray the rack with nonstick spray. (*See links to all of these pans below.)
2. If frying the meatballs: Cover a sheet pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Add ¼ cup olive oil to a large, heavy bottom skillet or saucepan and set aside.
3. Add the bread cubes and buttermilk to a large bowl and let sit, mashing with a fork occasionally, for about 10 minutes, until the bread is breaking down and the mixture resembles a paste.
4. Add all remaining meatball ingredients to the bowl with the bread cubes and buttermilk. Mix with your hands until all the ingredients are well combined.
5. Test the meatball seasoning: Heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Make one small meatball - about the size of a ping pong or golf ball. Fry the meatball in the skillet for about 3-5 minutes on each side, until deeply browned and crispy. Use a spatula to flatten the meatball into a fat patty so the inside cooks as quickly as the outside. Remove the meatball from the skillet, taste it for seasoning, and adjust your meatball mixture if necessary.
6. Form the mixture balls that are about the size of a ping-pong or golf ball and place them on the prepared broiler pan or baking rack, or sheet pan.
7. To broil the meatballs: Broil meatballs for about 30 minutes, until they are well browned.
8. To fry the meatballs: Set the skillet with olive oil in it over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot and shimmering, add about 8 - 10 meatballs to the pan. Let cook, turning every so often, until the meatballs are browned on all sides. Remove the browned meatballs from the pan and repeat with the remaining meatballs.
9. Cook the meatballs in the marinara sauce: Heat the oven to 350 degrees F (176 degrees C). Nestle the meatballs in the marinara sauce. Cover and bake for 1 hour.

For more of my recipes, visit alittleandalot.com and ofbatteranddough.com.

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