Meatball parmesan is a hearty Italian dish that goes great over noodles or served as a sub sandwich. These homemade meatballs are smothered in sauce, covered with melted cheese, and baked in the oven until brown and bubbly. Deliciously easy—just the way it should be.
Easy Baked Meatball Parmesan
When searching for the perfect Meatball Parmesan recipe, you want something that’s both easy and packed with flavor—and that’s exactly what you’ll find here.
My recipe uses a blend of ground beef and ground pork for homemade meatballs that are juicy and tender with every bite. A simple mix of breadcrumbs, garlic, and Italian herbs brings just the right balance of seasoning, ensuring that each meatball is perfectly flavorful.
To save time without sacrificing taste, I use a high-quality store-bought marinara sauce that adds rich, robust flavor. After simmering the meatballs in the sauce, I cover everything with a generous layer of mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, creating that golden, bubbly topping that makes every bite irresistible.
Whether you serve it over pasta or stuff it into a crusty sub roll, this Meatball Parmesan is comfort food done right. With its simple prep and mouthwatering results, this recipe is the one to choose when you want a cozy, Italian-inspired dinner that’s easy enough for any night of the week.
Meatball Parmesan Ingredients
- Lean ground beef: Provides a hearty base with rich flavor and texture. I like to use 93% lean ground beef. It’s not overly greasy but contains some fat to make the meatballs moist and juicy.
- Italian ground pork: Adds moisture and enhances flavor, giving the meatballs a traditional Italian taste.
- Italian breadcrumbs: Acts as a binder, helping the meatballs hold their shape while adding texture. You can use gluten free breadcrumbs to make this a GF parmesan meatball recipe.
- Whole milk: Keeps the meatballs moist and tender.
- Minced garlic
- Italian seasoning: A blend of herbs infusing meatballs with classic Italian flavors.
- Onion powder
- Dried parsley
- Parmesan cheese: I prefer to shred my parmesan fresh, but you can buy it already shredded. But please don’t buy the grated parmesan cheese in the green bottle! Good parmesan cheese definitely will take all of your recipes up a notch.
- Salt
- Pepper
- Eggs
- Pasta sauce: Use your favorite store-bought jar of pasta sauce, marinara sauce, or tomato sauce. Or make your own pasta sauce if you have a homemade recipe you love. I used 1 ½ jars.
- Mozzarella cheese: Freshly shredded mozzarella cheese melts beautifully on top, providing a creamy, gooey texture.
- Fresh basil
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Meatball Parmesan
- Make The Meat Mixture: Combine the ground beef, ground pork, breadcrumbs, milk, garlic, Italian seasonings, onion powder, dried parsley, Parmesan, salt, pepper, and eggs. Mix all ingredients with your hands until just combined.
- Make The Meatballs: Use an Ice Cream Scoop to scoop the meat to form meatballs and place them on a foil-lined Cast Iron Skillet.
- Bake: Cook at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 20-25 minutes. Remove from the oven.
- Assemble: Remove the meatballs and foil from the skillet. Pour the pasta sauce on the bottom of the skillet, then add the meatballs back in. Cover with the remaining sauce and mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle with Italian seasonings.
- Cook: Cover with foil and cook for 20 additional minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove the foil and cook for 15-20 more minutes or until browned on the top.
- Serve: Sprinkle with fresh chopped basil and serve. Enjoy!
Serving Suggestions
You can place your baked meatballs parmesan in a sub roll to make a meatball sub or meatball sliders. For a quick weeknight dinner, add them into baked spaghetti or a meatball casserole, or simply serve them as the main meal with roasted cauliflower.
You can also pile your meatballs over a plate of pasta (Fettuccine noodles are our favorite, but you could use rotini, penne, rigatoni, or spaghetti.) Or zucchini noodles, or over our Cauliflower Rice.
Tips & Variations
- Make With A Different Meat: Feel free to make your meatballs with a different type of ground meat. Ground chicken or ground turkey meatballs will taste equally delicious in this meatball recipe as the beef and pork mixture. You can also make all-beef meatballs or all-pork meatballs if you prefer.
- Cut the Carbs: To keep this dish low-carb and keto-friendly, replace the breadcrumbs with crushed pork rinds as the meatball binder.
Proper Storage
- To Store: Leftover meatball parmesan should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.
- To Freeze: To freeze your baked meatballs, place them on a baking sheet and put them in the freezer after cooking. Then, transfer them to a freezer Ziploc bag or an airtight container. They will keep this way for about 3 months. Thaw them thoroughly before serving.
- To Reheat: To reheat, place the meatballs into a saucepan on medium-low heat to warm through with the sauce.
More Easy Dinner Recipes
- Garlic Butter Steak Bites
- One-Pot Chicken Parmesan Pasta
- Chicken Pot Pie Skillet
- Smothered Pork Chops
- French Onion Pork Chops
- Garlic Butter Chicken and Potatoes Skillet
- Meatball and Potatoes
If you tried this Meatball Parmesan Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!!!
Meatball Parmesan
Video
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 pound Italian ground pork
- ½ cup Italian breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup whole milk
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese shredded
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 2 eggs lightly beaten
- 1½ 24 -oz jars pasta sauce
- 1 – 1½ cups mozzarella cheese shredded
- ½ tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tbsp fresh basil finely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a large cast iron skillet with foil and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl combine ground beef, ground pork, Italian breadcrumbs, whole milk, minced garlic, Italian seasonings, onion powder, dried parsley, Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and lightly beaten eggs. Using your hands mix all ingredients in the bowl until just combined, being careful not to overmix the meat.1 pound lean ground beef, 1 pound Italian ground pork, ½ cup Italian breadcrumbs, ¼ cup whole milk, 1 tablespoon minced garlic, 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning, 2 teaspoons onion powder, 1 tablespoon dried parsley, 1 cup Parmesan cheese, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, 2 eggs
- Use an ice cream scoop to form meatballs. You should be able to make 17 large meatballs from the meat mixture (or 34 smaller ones)
- Place meatballs on the foil lined cast iron skillet and place in the oven. Cook at 400 degrees for 25 minutes (20 minutes if smaller meatballs). Remove from the oven and set the cast iron skillet on a hot pad.
- Lower the oven temperature to 375 degrees. Place meatballs on a plate and remove foil from cast iron skillet.
- Pour ½ of the pasta sauce on the bottom of the skillet. Add meatballs back to the skillet on top of the pasta sauce.1½ 24 -oz jars pasta sauce
- Pour remaining sauce over the top of the meatballs. Add 1 – 1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese to the top of the meatballs. Sprinkle on Italian seasoning.1 – 1½ cups mozzarella cheese, ½ tsp Italian seasoning
- Cover the cast iron skillet with foil. Place back in the oven and allow to cook for 20 additional minutes at 375 degrees. Remove foil and cook for an additional 15-20 minutes, or until browned on the top.
- Carefully remove the cast iron skillet from the oven and set on a hot pad. Sprinkle fresh chopped basil over the top of the meatballs and serve over your favorite pasta.1 tbsp fresh basil
Jenn’s Notes
- To Store: Store leftover meatball parmesan in an airtight container in the fridge for about 3 to 4 days.
- To Freeze: To freeze your baked meatballs, place them on a baking sheet and put them in the freezer after cooking. Then, transfer them to a freezer Ziploc bag or an airtight container. They will keep this way for about 3 months. Thaw them completely before serving.
- To Reheat: To reheat, place the meatballs into a saucepan on medium-low heat to warm through with the sauce.
- Feel free to make your meatballs with a different type of ground meat. Ground chicken or ground turkey meatballs will taste equally delicious in this meatball recipe as the beef and pork mixture. You can also make all-beef meatballs or all-pork meatballs if you prefer.
- To keep this dish low carb and keto friendly, replace the breadcrumbs with crushed pork rinds as the meatball binder.
what pan would you recommend for those of us who do not have a cast iron skillet large enough for the recipe?
Hi! can I use a Dutch oven vs cast iron skillet for this recipe?
Looking forward to trying it!
Thanks,
Lea
we were burned out on the everyday cooking when I came across princess I was excited to cook again. my first time I did the sloppy Joe pastas it was so good. try the recipes you won’t be disappointed
I think it is a really lousy format, to have the detailed instructions on putting the recipe together, BEFORE you list the ingredients with amounts of each.
Did you use the recipe card?
Your recipe card is actually missing a step between 7 and 8.