Why you’ll love these giant meatballs
The giant meatballs are seriously huge, weighing in at a quarter pound each. I actually weighed each of them before committing to rolling them into balls, and there was surprisingly just enough to make 20 meatballs.
Of course, I made a double batch just in case, so don’t worry—you’ll only get 10 with this recipe. Needless to say, we ate meatballs for days, but they’re absolutely delicious, dairy-free, and totally worthy of their own tinfoil swan.
More meatball recipes: cranberry appetizer meatballs / Greek meatballs / Thai chicken meatball curry / baked turkey meatballs
Ingredient notes:
- Ground beef & pork– We use a combination of beef and pork in meatballs because each of these meats adds its own flavor and texture making the perfect meatball. You can use all ground beef if you prefer, although opt for a higher fat content to keep the meatballs tender and juicy.
- Italian-style panko breadcrumbs – Make sure to check the label for hidden dairy ingredients.
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions listed are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
How to make giant meatballs
Make the sauce. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large saucepan. Add garlic and crushed red peppers, sauté until garlic is aromatic. When garlic is fragrant, stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, herbs and salt.
Simmer sauce. While the sauce is simmering, make the meatballs.
Make the meatballs. In a large bowl, mix meatball ingredients until evenly combined. Portion and roll into ¼ pound meatballs.
Bake the meatballs. In a large baking dish, bake for 20 minutes at 375˚F. Remove meatballs from the oven and cover with sauce and bake for an additional 25-30 minutes.
Garnish and serve. Top meatballs with remaining tomato sauce and sliced fresh basil and serve.
More italian recipes: dairy free tiramisu / Italian sausage risotto / braised pork Osso buco / pesto pork chops
Frequently asked questions
We recommend you bake these giant meatballs at 375˚F for 50 minutes. While regular sized meatballs bake wonderfully at 400˚F, since these are much larger we have turned down the heat and extended the cooking time. No matter what size meatballs you are baking, please make sure they reach an internal temperature of 165˚F.
Ground beef needs to be 165˚F internally to be considered cooked. Using a meat thermometer is the best way to be accurate and safe.
Giant Meatballs Baked in Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
- 2 pounds lean ground beef
- 1 pound ground pork
- 3/4 cup Italian-style Panko breadcrumbs
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons dried basil
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons coarse salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
For the sauce:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large garlic clove, minced
- 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 28- ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
For the sauce:
- In a large saucepan, heat olive oil, garlic and crushed red pepper flakes over medium heat until sizzling.
- Add remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat and keep warm.
For the meatballs:
- Preheat oven to 375˚F.
- In a large bowl, mix meatball ingredients until evenly combined.
- Portion meatball mixture into 1/4 pound pieces, rolling into balls.
- Place meatballs in a large baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove dish from oven and top meatballs with about half of the sauce mixture. Return to oven and bake for an additional 25 – 30 minutes, or until meatballs have reached an internal temperature of 165˚F.
- To serve, top with remaining sauce.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
Fabulous!!! Super easy, super tasty, super filling (freezing the rest lol) ….
Loved this recipe and so did my family. Definitely making these again.
Very nice. I want to spice it up next time.
Love this simple recipe that doesn’t require you to have a ton of fresh ingredients on hand! I need dairy free recipes a lot of the time and appreciate that this has no cheese or milk added to the meatballs. I prefer to adjust some of the seasonings based on personal preference but they are great as is! I keep coming back to this recipe over and over again.
This recipe is listed as egg free but eggs are part of the ingredients?
Oh thanks for letting me know, it certainly is not egg free!
Can you make this without the breadcrumbs at all? I can’t have wheat or gluten but they look delicious!
You would need to substitute something for the breadcrumbs. They act as a binder in this recipe, so the meatballs would fall apart without them. I’d recommend finding a good gluten free breadcrumb to use as a substitute.
my whole family LOVED these! I have searched high and low for the right recipe and can lay to rest my search and just keep remaking these. My only changes were I used all beef (only because I didn’t have ground pork on hand, and I usually don’t). And I added 1/4 cup parm cheese. Thank you. I’m excited to try your other recipes now.
These turned out great!! I didn’t make my own sauce because I’m lazy hut I did get a generic red sauce and jazz it up with the ingredients listed. This dish was super easy and picky eater friendly lol.
I’m confused. Recipe states 20 servings (20 meatballs). If using 2 lbs meat, and divide it into 1/4 lb portions, how do you get 20 meatballs? I’m thinking only 8?? Your baking dish in the video shows 12. I’d appreciate a reply. Thank you.
You are dividing the recipe after you add the other ingredients to the recipe, which actually calls for 3 pounds of meat total (2 pounds ground beef, 1 pound of pork). I usually weigh the meatballs out after I make the full mixture. I think the baking dish I used for the video is not my usual dish. I normally use a slightly bigger one and it does fit all 20, but you can divide them into two dishes if needed.
Made this last night and they were SO GOOD! Late at night I started craving them again and ate a couple straight out of the fridge:) so glad I made the full size recipe