Italian Mini Meatballs
These freezer-friendly Italian mini meatballs are tender, juicy, and loaded with classic Italian flavors. Perfect with spaghetti, in soups, and as a party snack.
This easy, versatile Italian mini meatballs recipe is quick to prepare and packed with flavor. I like to make a batch of these tiny meatballs for dinner and freeze half of them for an easy appetizer or weeknight meal enhancer. This teeny, tiny, mini meatball recipe is a perfect addition for soups, pastas, appetizers, or as a topping for cheesy garlic bread.
Italian Mini Meatballs
Ingredients:
- Marinara sauce or pomodoro sauce **You can also use a jar of your favorite store-bought sauce
- 1½ slices of white bread, crusts removed, cut into small bits
- ¼ cup milk (or water)
- 3 button or cremini mushroom caps
- 2 tbsp fresh parmesan, finely grated
- 2 tbsp onion, finely minced
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
- 1-2 large cloves of garlic, minced, to taste
- 1 small egg, well-beaten
- ½ tsp dried basil
- ¼ tsp dried oregano
- ¼ tsp fennel seed, crushed finely
- Pinch or two of crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
- Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
- ¾ lb ground beef 15%-20%
- ½ lb ground pork
How to Make Italian Mini Meatballs
Prepare the marinara sauce or pomodoro sauce, if using. Click the link for the recipe.
Simmer on low heat in a small Dutch oven. Side Note: You can also use a jar of your favorite store-bought sauce.
Prepare the Italian mini meatballs by combining the bread and water in a large bowl and mixing so the bread soaks up all the liquid; set aside until needed. Side Note: Don’t skip this step–soaking the bread helps make these meatballs so juicy!
Place the mushroom caps, parmesan cheese, onion, parsley, and garlic in a food processor and pulse until well minced–like a paste.
Add the mushroom mixture to the large bowl with the bread mixture. Add the well-beaten egg, basil, oregano, crushed fennel seed, sea salt, and freshly cracked black pepper to taste, and mix well.
Add the ground beef and ground pork and use your hands to stir the mixture together just until well combined. Don’t overmix.
Portion the mixture into 1-teaspoon-sized balls, roll, and place on a plate (or a baking sheet if you are going to freeze them). Side Note: I use my tiny 1-teaspoon cookie scoop, and it works well.
Cook the meatballs by heating the oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the meatballs to the skillet, placing them in one at a time, and cook in batches to get a good sear.
Cook, gently turning every 2 minutes, for 5-6 minutes, or until evenly browned.
Simmer the meatballs in the sauce by carefully adding them to the pot of simmering pomodoro or marinara sauce (or store-bought jarred sauce). Simmer them on low for 10-15 minutes, to allow them to soak in the sauce.
Serve topped with fresh parsley along with your favorite pasta or crusty bread and lots of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Enjoy.
To freeze, place the uncooked teeny, tiny Italian mini meatballs on a small baking sheet in an even layer and separated from each other. Side Note: Freezing them uncooked helps them retain moisture, which prevents dried-out meatballs when thawed.
Place in a flat spot in the freezer and freeze for 2 hours.
Remove from the tray and place in a freezer zip-lock bag or airtight container for up to 3-4 months.
Equipment
- Small Baking Sheet (if freezing)
Ingredients
- Marinara sauce or pomodoro sauce, warmed **You can also use a jar of your favorite store-bought sauce
- 1½ slices of white bread crusts removed, cut into small bits
- ¼ cup milk or water
- 3 button or cremini mushroom caps
- 2 tbsp fresh parmesan finely grated
- 2 tbsp onion finely minced
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley chopped
- 1-2 large cloves of garlic minced, to taste
- 1 small egg well beaten
- ½ tsp dried basil
- ¼ tsp dried oregano
- ¼ tsp fennel seed crushed finely
- Pinch or two of crushed red pepper flakes to taste
- Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste
- ¾ lb ground beef 15%-20%
- ½ lb ground pork
Instructions
- Prepare the marinara sauce or pomodoro sauce, if using. Click the link for the recipe. Simmer on low heat in a small Dutch oven. Side Note: You can also use a jar of your favorite store-bought sauce.
- Prepare the Italian mini meatballs by combining the bread and water in a large bowl and mixing so the bread soaks up all the liquid; set aside until needed. Side Note: Don't skip this step–soaking the bread helps make these meatballs so juicy!
- Place the mushroom caps, parmesan cheese, onion, parsley, and garlic in a food processor and pulse until well minced–like a paste.
- Add the mushroom mixture to the large bowl with the bread mixture. Add the well-beaten egg, basil, oregano, crushed fennel seed, sea salt, and freshly cracked black pepper to taste, and mix well.
- Add the ground beef and ground pork and use your hands to stir the mixture together just until well combined. Don't overmix.
- Portion the mixture into 1-teaspoon-sized balls, roll, and place on a plate (or a baking sheet if you are going to freeze them). Side Note: I use my tiny 1-teaspoon cookie scoop, and it works well.
- Cook the meatballs by heating the oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the meatballs to the skillet, placing them in one at a time, and cook in batches to get a good sear.
- Cook, gently turning every 2 minutes, for 5-6 minutes, or until evenly browned.
- Simmer the meatballs in the sauce by carefully adding them to the pot of simmering pomodoro or marinara sauce (or store-bought jarred sauce). Simmer them on low for 10-15 minutes, to allow them to soak in the sauce.
- Serve topped with fresh parsley along with your favorite pasta or crusty bread and lots of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Enjoy.
- To freeze, place the uncooked teeny, tiny Italian mini meatballs on a small baking sheet in an even layer and separated from each other. Side Note: Freezing them uncooked helps them retain moisture, which prevents dried-out meatballs when thawed.
- Place in a flat spot in the freezer and freeze for 2 hours.
- Remove the mini meatballs from the tray and place them in a freezer zip-lock bag or airtight container in the freezer for up to 3-4 months.
Looks saucy and moreish. My husband would devour this!
These Italian mini meatballs look absolutely delicious — love how tender and flavorful they seem, and the size makes them great for appetizers or a cozy dinner. I’m excited to try this recipe soon and see how the seasoning turns out!
How can you give a five star rating for a recipe you have not even made yet, dis-service to other people that rely on true ratings and to the producer of the recipe wanting honest feed back for her hard work of creating a recipe.
Yes, the recipe looks very good, but you don’t look at it you eat it, that’s how you judge it honestly.
Do you chop up the mushroom caps? How does the mixture end up being “paste-like” otherwise?
Jeff,
When you pulse the stated ingredients together in the food processor, it will become a very minced mixture, which you then combine with everything else. It helps create moisture in the meatballs without big chunks of veggies. I hope this helps.
-Pam
Pam,
I made these last night for dinner and they turned out amazing – so flavorful.
I especially liked the pop of fennel. The blend of ground pork and sausage was perfect. I assembled and shaped them earlier in the afternoon.
I would recommend these 100%!
Thanks, Pam!
Anne,
I’m so glad you liked them, and I always appreciate your sweet comments. Thanks for taking the time to let me know.
-Pam