The Best Baked Garlic Parmesan Meatballs In 25 Mins.

Who doesn’t love a good meatball? This recipe makes a large batch of delicious soft-baked garlic parmesan meatballs that you can use in your following pasta dinner recipe or meatball sub sandwich. The juicy meatballs with parmesan cheese baked right in also have great flavor and make the best for all your family meals. So serve up a plateful of these tasty homemade meatballs for the next time you’re in the meatball mood. 

​I can’t take credit for this recipe; it’s, in fact, my partner’s recipe for baked meatballs. Working in the kitchen with me is something we do well together, and his influence can often be seen behind the scenes here at A Cents For Cookery. This parmesan meatball recipe is so delicious, with Italian seasoning in the meat mixture, that I couldn’t pass up sharing it with you. 

There are actually two methods to make this parmesan meatballs recipe, depending on your mood. One uses entirely fresh ingredients instead of spices. But for simplicity’s sake, I am sharing the spiced garlic and parmesan meatball recipe with you. 

If you are looking for more tasty ways to cook ground beef take a look at our super easy shepherds pie recipe!

Why you will love this recipe. 

Baking. When you bake this excellent meatball recipe, you take some of the work out of having to baby them while they slow cook in a tomato sauce. And let’s face it, making our busy lives a little easier is always good.

Flavorful! I promise you won’t be disappointed if you’re sick of dry and flavorless meatballs. These are juicy and packed with that pungent garlic and salty parm flavor. 

Simple meal idea. We can get caught up in making our dinners elaborate, but having a few good go-to recipes that whip up quickly any day of the week while still making hungry mouths drool is also a handy skill to have. These meatballs are simple to make and use just a few pantry ingredients. 

Let’s make these mouthwateringly good baked meatballs.

We start, of course, with the ground beef. A good meatball needs to be moist and not dry, so we use medium ground beef to make ours. The baking process will bake some of the added fat from the meat while baking the meatballs into the most tender meatballs. 

We add the ground beef with the other ingredients in a large bowl. Plain breadcrumbs mean you get the benefit of creating a soft texture and retaining moisture content while also giving a plain backdrop for the garlic and cheese to play off of. If you’ve ever made meatballs, you’ve likely debated whether to add egg or not. We live on the edge and add an egg to our meatballs. Why? After making these meatballs repeatedly, we’ve found that the egg makes the meatballs’ texture softer while also helping to bind the meat together. 

After you have added both the breadcrumbs and the eggs, you can add the garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and parmesan cheese. These ingredients will be followed up by our two ‘secret’ ingredients. Soya Sauce and Worcestershire sauce complement the other herbs and ingredients, contributing to a well-rounded and flavorful outcome. The meatball mixture will smell good before it’s baked in the oven. That fragrant aroma translates right into the delicious baked meatballs. 

The mixture is then blended thoroughly by hand because we want to be sure we are incorporating all the ingredients well. Pockets of dry breadcrumbs won’t do in this tasty recipe. When you think you have mixed the meat mixture well enough, it’s time to form the meatballs. 

We like our meatballs to be traditional in size. So, we are making them approximately two inches in diameter. However, it’s important to note that meatball sizes can be adjusted based on the specific dish being prepared. Remember that consistent sizing helps ensure even cooking and a consistent final result.

This recipe makes approximately 38-40 two-inch meatballs. That’s a lot of deliciousness, so we used a full-sized cookie sheet with sides to bake our meatballs. Place the formed beef meatballs on your baking tray with parchment paper in a single layer. Believe me, you will be happy you used the paper later. It makes cleaning the pan a whole lot easier. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Slide the tray into the oven on the middle rack and bake for 25 minutes. 

Remove the tray from the oven and cut open a meatball to check for doneness. The meatballs should be cooked all the way through. Soft and delicious, these meatballs make a great simple meal with a slice of garlic bread and a side salad. You can add them directly to your favorite pasta sauce and serve them for your next family dinner. 

Unused meatballs should be allowed to cool and stored in an airtight container covered in the fridge for up to four days. You can also freeze the unused meatballs in a plastic bag once fully cooled. Remove excess air and freeze for up to 3-4 months. Be sure to label the bag so you know when it was made. Always use your judgment and inspect the meatballs for any signs of freezer burn, off odors, or changes in texture before consuming them. If in doubt, it’s advisable to err on the side of caution and pitch them into the bin. 

Ingredients:

Ground Beef: This great meatball recipe uses medium ground beef because it has a higher fat content than lean ground beef. When baking beef, the fat content aids in these tender meatballs’ flavor and moisture. 

Breadcrumbs: These are not to be confused with panko breadcrumbs, which absorb more fat, making a drier and crisper texture. Traditional bread crumbs are finer and don’t absorb as much fat, resulting in a softer outcome. 

Garlic Powder: Known for its pungency, garlic powder adds a depth of flavor that is a classic pairing with parmesan cheese. 

Parmesan Cheese: Baking with parmesan meatballs adds a well-known cheesy flavor and a wonderful aroma to your dinner. 

Soya Sauce: Salty and aromatic, soya sauce brings another depth of flavor while its salt enhances and balances the other flavors of this simple dish. 

Worcestershire sauce: This ingredient adds flavor and complexity to the meatballs. It pairs well with soya sauce. 

Egg: These serve not only as a binding agent in your meat mixture but also to add to the moisture content, resulting in a succulent meatball. 

Onion Powder: You get all of the onion flavor in the meatball without the textural bits real onion would add. It contributes to the meatball’s overall flavor, making it well-balanced. 

Italian Seasoning: This herb blend consists of dried basil, oregano, and thyme. It is aromatic and brings an Italian flavor element to the meatball that complements the garlic and parmesan cheese. 

Substitutions and Add-Ins for this easy meatball recipe

Ground beef: You can use lean ground beef instead of medium ground beef. Lean ground beef tends to cook faster than fattier medium ground beef, so you will want to Keep an eye on the cooking time to avoid overcooking the lean meat, which can lead to dry meatballs. 

Bread Crumbs: You can use crushed crackers or rolled oats instead of dry store-bought bread crumbs. Remember, though, that switching this particular ingredient out will change the flavor and texture of the meatball. 

Garlic Powder & Onion Powder: These spices can be switched with fresh ingredients. Be sure to mince garlic cloves finely so no one has a significant bit in their meatball. The result will not be a smooth textured meatball, though, as using fresh ingredients will add to the crunchiness of the resulting bite. 

Parmesan Cheese: Growing up, my mom often interchanged our parm at pasta night with Romano cheese. Both can be purchased as powdered cheese and work well in this meatball recipe. 

Soya and Worcestershire sauces: If you don’t have either, you can omit them and replace them with a quarter teaspoon of table salt to compensate for the change in the recipe. Alternatively, you can play around with some soya sauce-like choices, such as tamari sauce, miso paste, coconut aminos, or Bragg’s liquid aminos. Remember that each ingredient that is replaced or substituted will alter the result. 

​Egg: If you have dietary restrictions or find yourself without eggs, don’t panic. You can still make a good meatball by switching to another ingredient, such as milk. Milk will add the needed moisture while also helping to create a tender texture. 

Italian seasoning: This is entirely optional. In fact, we’ve made these without often, and the result is still a flavorful meatball. I tweak the herbs in the meatballs based on what I use them for. If we have pasta, then Italian works well. You can also try straight fresh basil chopped finely, dried oregano, marjoram, thyme, rosemary, or parsley.

Expert Tips, Serving, and Storing Suggestions for These Ground Beef Meatballs

Tip#1: Line the baking sheet with parchment paper to make clean-up easier. 

Tip#2: be sure that the baking sheet has sides all the way around so that grease doesn’t spill over into the oven during the baking process.

Tip#3: Test meatballs after the 25-minute bake time to be sure that they have cooked. You can cut one right open to see whether it’s cooked or use your meat thermometer to be specific. Internally, the temperature should read between 145 and 160 degrees Fahrenheit. The lower the cooked internal temperature, the softer and juicy your meatball will be. 

Serve this huge batch of baked meatballs for your next big family pasta dinner night. They are the best meatballs that go great in most store-bought pasta sauces. Alternatively, you can use these meatballs to make a delicious meatball sub with some melty mozzarella cheese and a rich and delicious marinara sauce, maybe a little thin sliced green pepper, too yum. Or, if you are planning a big get-together, they make tasty hors d’oeuvres. Make the meatballs bite-sized instead of two-inch size, and place meatballs on a serving tray with toothpicks. Your guests will love these savory hot bites from the oven. 

To store these tasty bits, let them cool and place them in a container in the fridge covered for up to four days. Or if you have way too many cooked meatballs left and don’t want to eat them right away, you can store them in the freezer for up to four months. Be sure to label the food container or freezer bag (remove excess air in freezer bags before freezing) with the date so you can track when it expires. Thaw the meatballs overnight in the fridge and reheat for simple meals during the week. But of course, the best way to enjoy this easy baked meatball recipe is fresh from the oven! 

If you enjoyed this easy baked meatball recipe, we would love to hear about it. Leave a comment below the recipe card if you test this recipe. As always, we love hearing from you, our readers!