Oven-Baked Meatballs With Savory Herbs and Tender Centers
By Lucas Morgan
Prep
10 min
Cook
20 min
Total
30 min
Servings
4
Baking meatballs on a baking sheet in a 400-degree oven helps avoid steaming and adds browning․ Allowing meatballs to rest after cooking helps the juices settle back into the meat․ Beef and turkey meatballs with herbs and spices‚ including parsley‚ oregano‚ onion‚ and garlic‚ and diced yellow onion make tasty‚ tender homemade meatballs․
Meat mixture ingredients: one pound of ground beef or turkey‚ one egg‚ dried parsley‚ oregano‚ garlic powder‚ onion powder‚ salt‚ pepper‚ diced yellow onion‚ and breadcrumbs․ Mix the meat mixture gently to prevent it from becoming too dense․ Use wet hands and a cookie scoop to form uniform 2-inch meatballs that don't stick to your hands․ Diced yellow onion adds sweetness‚ and breadcrumbs add texture to the finished product․
Space the balls about 1 inch apart on the baking sheet to promote browning of the outside surfaces; otherwise‚ the balls may steam instead of bake․ The balls will be golden brown and fully baked after 18 to 20 minutes of baking․ The most likely reason the balls don't brown is that they are baked too closely together on the pan․ To avoid overbrowning the bottoms of the balls on a dark pan‚ flip them during baking․ Using parchment paper or a glass pan will also help prevent overbrowning on the bottoms․
Serve the meatballs with your favorite sauce over pasta or on their own․ Other options for serving meatballs mentioned in the article include using grape jelly and BBQ sauce as appetizers․ Storage tips include letting meatballs cool before covering to avoid steaming and softening the browned exterior․
Why you'll love this recipe
- Putting the 2-inch balls 1 inch apart lets steam escape‚ which browns the balls in the oven instead of leaving them white․
- Stirring just to blend prevents overmixing the ground meat‚ as directed in the recipe‚ which causes tough‚ dense meatballs․
- Wet hands or cookie scoop keep dough from sticking to your fingers as you form balls and help produce evenly sized cookie balls that bake evenly․
- An oven temperature of 400°F and cooking time of 18-20 minutes provide enough time to fully cook the meatballs and brown them on the outside․
- Flipping the chicken once while cooking in a dark pan helps prevent overbrowning on the bottom of the chicken‚ avoiding the issue mentioned in the recipe directions for cooking in a dark pan․
- Allowing cooked meatballs to rest for a few minutes helps them reabsorb juices‚ as explained in the article‚ making the meatballs more flavorful and juicy in the middle․
Ingredients
- •1 lb ground beef or turkey
- •1 egg
- •1 ½ tsp dried parsley
- •1 tsp dried oregano
- •1 tsp garlic powder
- •1 tsp onion powder
- •¼ tsp salt
- •¼ tsp black pepper
- •1 small yellow onion (diced small)
- •¼ cup breadcrumbs
Instructions
- 1
Heat the oven to 400°F.
- 2
Prepare a baking sheet with foil or cooking spray.
- 3
Combine the ground meat, egg, spices, onion, and breadcrumbs in a large bowl, using hands or a silicone spatula to mix.
- 4
Roll the mixture into 2-inch balls and place them 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet.
- 5
Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until golden brown and cooked all the way through.
- 6
Serve with your favorite sauce over pasta or alone.
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