Italian Meatballs (Extra Soft and Juicy!)

• servings: 4 servings
• active time: 20 minutes
• total time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

For the meatballs:

1 cup of Panko breadcrumbs

1 small onion (brown, white or yellow)

400 g ground beef (mince)

400 g ground pork (mince)

1 egg

1/4 cup fresh parsley

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, freshly grated

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

Milk

2 ½ tbsp olive oil

For the sauce:

2 garlic cloves, minced

3/4 cup onion , finely chopped, white, brown or yellow

24 oz / 700 g tomato passata (Tomato Puree in US/CAN)

1/2 cup water

1 tsp red pepper flakes (chili flakes)

3 tsp dried Italian herb mix (parsley, basil, thyme, oregano)

1 tsp salt

Black pepper

Directions

Grate the onion using a standard box grater in a large bowl until you have about 1/2 cup (ish) of grated onion and juices.

Add bread and a few tablespoons of milk mix to combine so the onion juice soaks the bread and disintegrates. Set aside while you prep the other ingredients (5 min or so). (if your bread mixture looks a little dry, add more milk).

Add all the remaining Meatball ingredients. Use hands to mix well.

Measure out a heaped tablespoon (I recommend a cookie scooop) and roll lightly to form a ball. Repeat with remaining mixture.

Heat 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil in a large dutch oven. Add the meatballs and brown all over - about 3 - 4 minutes. You likely will have to do this in batches.

When they are browned but NOT cooked through, carefully transfer them onto a plate.

Cooking & Sauce:

Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil into the same dutch oven used to sear the meatballs.

Add the onion and garlic and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes until translucent. Add the remaining Sauce ingredients. Bring to a simmer, then turn down to medium low so it bubbles gently rather than splattering everywhere.

Carefully transfer the meatballs and any juices that have pooled on the plate into the Sauce.

Cook the meatballs for 1 hour, turning and stirring occasionally and adding water if the sauce gets too thick for your liking. Adjust Sauce salt and pepper to taste. You can cook this as little as you need to cook through the meatballs or leave it to simmer.

Notes

These meatballs are juicy and delicious. I've added the tweaks I made to this recipe into its description already, so it's not exactly the same as what you'll find on the website.

If you want to make these into subs, get a nice sub roll. Heat up the meatballs in a pot (or the microwave if you're lazy and don't care about the red sauce splatters).

Cut the sub roll on one side, add in as many meatballs as you want, add in some provolone (or white American cheese if you want to channel your Subway energy) and pop it under the broiler until the cheese melts and the bread is toasty.

You can add red onion and some spinach to it, or go no veg and enjoy as it. It will be delicious either way.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 307 g
• Calories: 442 kcal
• Total Fat: 22 g
• Saturated Fat: 7 g
• Cholesterol: 125 mg
• Sodium: 1552 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 26 g
• Dietary Fiber: 5 g
• Total Sugars: 11 g
• Protein: 34 g