Growing up we never had meatballs with our spaghetti at home and I’d never even heard of meatball parmigiana. Whenever we went to a restaurant, my little sister would order spaghetti and meatballs if it was on the menu. Honestly, I thought you could only have meatballs at a restaurant, lol!
When I was in 6th grade and my sister was in 3rd we moved to a new neighborhood. There was a 6 foot picket fence around our yard but for some reason, there was a door in the fence which opened into the yard behind us. We became fast friends with the family that lived in the house behind us. Their daughter was in my sister’s class and their younger son was in mine.
We spent a lot of time at each other’s houses playing games, swimming our pools and eating together. This family was a true Italian family and ate a lot of dishes we had never heard of, but one night, we had spaghetti and meatballs! My sister and I were amazed that Mrs G. made meatballs at home. They were delicious and we had her write down her meatball recipe for our mom. On occasion, like my sister’s birthday, mom would make spaghetti and meatballs, it was such a treat.
I’ve made meatballs a few times, I wish I had Mrs G’s recipe, but I’ve always felt they were mediocre. Recently Aaron gave me a few packages of ground pork that they had received from their church’s foster care ministry. He said their foster kids won’t eat pork no matter how it is disguised so I brought it home. I decided it was time to concoct some new meatballs!
Easy Meatball Parmigiana
This recipe is easy to make, gluten free, keto friendly, and low carb. How can it be all those things? No breadcrumbs! Instead of using the typical Italian breadcrumbs as a binder, I used grated Parmesan cheese!
This recipe made 30 meatballs. This recipe calls for 24 meatballs but I only made half a recipe because it was just for Ron and I. I placed the rest of the meatballs on a sheet pan in the freezer overnight and then I popped them all into a zippy bag. Now I have meatballs all ready for another serving of meatball parmigiana, meatball subs, or spaghetti and meatballs. I just need to defrost them and bake them at 350° F for 35 minutes. The meatballs can stay in the freezer up to 4 months.
Easy meatball parmigiana is a delicious, family friendly meal that can be made in an hour.
- 1 lb ground pork
- 1 lb ground beef
- 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese grated
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 TBS Italian seasoning
- 1 TBS minced garlic I use jarred
- 1 TBS onion powder
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 cups spaghetti sauce I use Ragu
- 2 cups Mozzarella cheese shredded
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese grated
Spray a 13 x 9" baking dish with nonstick spray and set aside.
Preheat oven to 350° F
In a large bowl, combine the ground pork, ground beef, Parmesan cheese, egg, heavy cream, Italian seasoning, minced garlic, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Mix together using your hands so that you know when it is just combined. Don't overwork the mixture or your meatballs will be tough.
Form the meatballs and place them on a baking sheet or aluminum foil.
Place 24 meatballs in a single layer in the prepared casserole dish.
Pour the spaghetti sauce over the meatballs, covering them all.
Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the sauce.
Top with Mozzarella cheese.
Bake uncovered for about 40 minutes, until meatballs reach an internal temperature of 160° F.
Serve with a salad, garlic bread, and/or pasta.
Other Italian Recipes You Might Like:
- Creamy Italian Chicken
- Spaghetti Lasagna Casserole
- Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce
- Slow Cooker Chicken Carbonara with Linguine
- Crockpot Pesto Chicken
- Crockpot Chicken Parmesan
- 3 Cheese Chicken Ziti Casserole
- Simple Spaghetti Carbonara
- One Pot Chicken Alfredo
- Easy Bacon Pasta Parmesan
- Pizza Spaghetti Casserole
I hope you enjoy this easy meatball parmigiana recipe and all of the easy recipes I share here on The Mom Maven. Please share them on your social networks. I just ask that you not copy and share the entire recipe with photos. Please use the sharing buttons below and share the link to this post. Thanks!
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