My middle brother’s favorite meal as a kid was spaghetti and meatballs. Not only did he love eating it but he also loved making it. He got so excited to roll meatballs. He and my dad still get together on the occasional Sunday morning to make a huge pot of tomato sauce and roll a bunch of meatballs together. When I first moved out to Denver, I made meatballs the way my dad always did, browned in a pan on the stove. After making it a couple of times, I decided to find an easier way to do it. I hated the grease splattering all over the kitchen and having to tend the meatballs. I’m always trying to do ten things at once and would end up burning a few as I was running around the kitchen. Thus baked meatballs! In my opinion, they are way easier to make and definitely easier to clean up!

Baked Meatballs

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Bake Time: 30 minutes
Yields: 24 golf-ball sized meatballs

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef

2 eggs, beaten with 1/2 cup milk

½ cup grated Parmesan

1 cup panko or bread crumbs

1/2 large onion, minced or grated

3 cloves garlic, minced

½ teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon salt

freshly ground pepper to taste

¼ cup minced fresh basil (or 1 tablespoon dried basil)

Instructions

Mix all ingredients with hands. Form into golf ball-size meatballs. Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes.

Notes

Once they are cooked, the meatballs can be frozen up to 3 months. To rewarm them, on the stove top, cook them in a pot of hot tomato sauce for 1 hour on low. Careful not to burn the bottom of the sauce!