Name: Easy Baked Meatballs
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 21
Ingredients: 1 pound ground beef; ½ cup milk; ⅓ cup bread crumbs, plain or Italian seasoned; 1 large egg; ½ cup finely diced yellow onion; 3 cloves garlic, minced; 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley; ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese; 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning or oregano (use ½ teaspoon if using Italian-seasoned bread crumbs); ½ teaspoon salt; ½ teaspoon black pepper

These baked meatballs are made with ground beef and couldn’t be easier to pull together. They mix up in one bowl and are perfect for spaghetti or eating on their own. With just 10 minutes of hands-on time, the oven takes care of the rest.

Baked meatballs on a sheet tray with a garlic bulb and small bowl of grated parmesan cheese in the background.

I’ve baked my meatballs for as long as I can remember. It’s honestly the only way I made them for decades.

Back in high school, I worked at a small mom-and-pop pizza place, and their meatballs were baked, not pan-fried. That method stuck with me.

Browning meatballs in a pan and finishing them in sauce definitely adds extra flavor from caramelized edges and rendered fat. But when time is tight, baking is my tried-and-true shortcut!

These easy baked meatballs mix up in one bowl, take about 10 minutes of hands-on time, and are ready in roughly 35 minutes from start to finish—perfect after a long day of work or for family dinners.

Another bonus: when baked on a rack over a pan, the grease drips away. I like to finish them on a paper-towel lined plate, which is optional, but it helps if you’re watching fat content.

Three-image collage showing baked meatballs on a tray, raw meatballs scooped and ready to bake, and oven-baked meatballs served over spaghetti with text reading easy baked meatballs.

Why You’ll Love This Oven-Baked Meatball Recipe

One bowl and minimal cleanup
About 10 minutes of hands-on time
Oven-baked means no flipping or splatter, and no standing over a stove
Easy to scale for large batches or freezing
Works for pasta, grinders (subs), meal prep, or sauces
Made with ground beef plus simple pantry and dairy ingredients

Three baked meatballs on top of spaghetti with marinara sauce, which is next to a tray of the homemade ground beef meatballs.

Ingredients for Baked, Ground Beef Meatballs

Ground beef
Milk
Egg
Italian-seasoned bread crumbs
Yellow onion
Garlic
Parsley
Grated parmesan cheese
Italian seasoning or oregano
Salt and black pepper

Overhead view of ingredients for baked meatballs including ground beef, Italian seasoning, bread crumbs, onion, garlic, parsley, parmesan cheese, milk, and an egg.

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

Ground beef
I prefer 85/15 for the best flavor, but leaner options like 90/10 or 93/7 work just fine if you’re watching fat content.

Milk
Whole milk or half and half both work well. This mixes with the bread crumbs to create a tender binding.

Egg
This helps hold everything together. Some people only use the yolk, but I always use the whole egg.

Italian-seasoned bread crumbs
This is the quick and easy route. If you only have plain bread crumbs, you’ll want to add extra Italian seasoning. In a pinch, lightly toasted sliced bread pulsed in a food chopper works too.

Yellow onion
Yellow onion gives the best overall flavor. Dice it very finely or use a food chopper so you don’t end up with chunks in the meatballs.

Garlic
Freshly minced garlic adds a lot of flavor. While fresh and powdered garlic taste different, you can substitute ½ teaspoon garlic powder if needed. I still recommend using fresh whenever possible.

Parsley
I mostly use it for color. You can leave it out if you don’t have any, but it also makes a nice garnish for serving.

Grated parmesan
Use grated, not shredded. The shelf-stable grated parmesan works just fine here. Other hard cheeses like Pecorino Romano or Asiago can be substituted.

Seasonings
Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. If you don’t have Italian seasoning, oregano alone works.

A close-up of the most delicious moist, baked meatballs filled with garlic and herbs with extra grated parmesan on top. The meatballs are on top of a saucy spaghetti.

Looking for more quick ground beef recipes? Try my easy hamburger rice casserole.

The Secret to Moist, Tender Baked Meatballs

Before anything else goes into the bowl, I always start by mixing the bread crumbs and milk together. This creates a soft paste that acts as a binder for the meatballs.

While that mixture sits for a minute, I prep the onion, garlic, and parsley, and grate the cheese if I’m using a block. Most of the time I use pre-grated parmesan as a time-saver.

This bread-and-milk mixture is technically called a panade, which simply means bread mash in French. All it really does is combine a starch with a liquid to add moisture. The result is meatballs that hold together and stay tender instead of dense or dry.

I use this same technique every time I make meatloaf too. Once you start doing it, you’ll probably never toss in dry breadcrumbs again.

Making a panade for baked meatballs by combining bread crumbs and milk. — Making a panade for baked meatballs by letting the bread crumbs soak up the milk.

The bread crumbs have soaked up the milk and formed a paste which helps keep the baked meatballs tender, and also acts as a binder. — Making a panade for baked meatballs by letting the bread crumbs soak up the milk.

Why Start with Bread and Milk?
Letting the bread crumbs absorb the milk first helps lock in moisture and keeps the oven-baked meatballs soft and tender.

How to Make Homemade Meatballs in the Oven

Detailed recipe and instructions are in recipe card at bottom of post.

Preheat the oven to 400°F and prepare a rimmed baking sheet. Line it parchment if baking directly on it, or with foil if placing a cooling rack on top. Spray the rack well with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, combine the bread crumbs and milk. Stir and let it sit for a minute to form a soft paste.
While the bread mixture rests, finely dice the onion, mince the garlic, chop the parsley, and grate the parmesan if needed.
Add the onion, garlic, parsley, parmesan, egg, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper to the bowl. Mix until everything is evenly combined.
Add the ground beef and gently combine using clean or gloved hands. Stop as soon as the mixture comes together. Do not overmix.
Scoop about 1 to 2 tablespoons of the mixture, depending on your preferred size, and gently roll into balls. Place them on the prepared rack with space between each one.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, using less time for smaller meatballs, until they reach an internal temperature of 165°F.
Let the meatballs rest for a few minutes, then transfer to a paper-towel lined plate if desired.

Step-by-step grid showing how to make baked meatballs, starting with soaking bread crumbs in milk, mixing the meatball mixture, rolling meatballs, and baking in the oven.

Tray filled with homemade oven-baked meatballs piled together, showing their juicy and tender texture.

Tip for Easy Rolling: For evenly sized meatballs, I use a 2 tablespoon coffee scoop, though a #40 cookie scoop works too. Lightly oil your hands before rolling to keep the mixture from sticking and make shaping much easier.

Expert Tips for Making the Best Baked Meatballs

Always start with the panade. While the bread crumbs and milk form a paste, chop the aromatics and herbs.
Don’t pack or roll the meatballs too firmly. Gentle rolling keeps them tender.
Baking on a rack lets grease drip away, but a baking dish or rimmed tray works too.
Bake at 400°F for nice browning and a quick cook time.
Use a meat thermometer to check doneness; meatballs should reach 165°F.
These meatballs freeze very well after baking and cooling, and reheat easily in a microwave, sauce, or soup.

No Rack? No Problem. A sprayed 9×13 baking dish or a rimmed sheet pan lined with parchment paper works just fine, and transferring the meatballs to a paper-towel lined plate helps absorb extra grease.

Baked meatballs on a paper towel-lined dish to absorb any unwanted grease or fat.

Fork lifting half a meatball covered in sauce from a plate of spaghetti and meatballs, with a tray of baked meatballs and parmesan cheese in the background.

Ways to Use Baked Meatballs

Spaghetti and meatballs
Meatball subs or grinders
Soups (I make them half the size for soup; about 1 tablespoon mixture per meatball)
Meal prep with sauce and veggies
Added to marinara for quick dinners
Frozen for busy weeks

Baked meatballs on a plate piled high with spaghetti and sauce. Next to the spaghetti and meatballs is a sheet pan with more baked meatballs and a small bowl with grated parmesan.

Since I now mostly make dinner for two, I have plenty of leftovers which I either freeze, or portion into individual glass containers with sauce and a vegetable on the side. This works great for lunch the next day or a dinner that’s already made (yay for that!).

More Quick Dinner Recipes

Easy Baked Meatballs

Yield: 21 meatballs (2 tablespoons each)

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

These baked meatballs are made with ground beef and couldn’t be easier to pull together. They mix up in one bowl and are perfect for spaghetti or eating on their own. With just 10 minutes of hands-on time, the oven takes care of the rest.

No Ratings

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef
½ cup milk
⅓ cup bread crumbs, plain or Italian seasoned
1 large egg
½ cup finely diced yellow onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning or oregano (use ½ teaspoon if using Italian-seasoned bread crumbs)
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper if baking directly on the sheet, or line with foil and place a greased cooling rack on top.
In a large bowl, make a panade by combining the bread crumbs and milk. Stir and let sit for about 5 minutes until a soft paste forms.
Add the onion, garlic, parsley, parmesan, egg, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Mix until well combined.
Add the ground beef and gently mix with clean or gloved hands just until combined. For the most tender baked meatballs, do not overmix.
Scoop 1 to 2 tablespoons of the mixture and gently roll into meatballs. Place on the prepared baking sheet or rack with space between each one.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until meatballs reach an internal temperature of 160°F.
Let rest for a few minutes, then transfer to a paper-towel lined plate to absorb excess fat, if desired.

Notes

Start with the panade (bread crumbs + milk) while prepping aromatics.

For evenly sized meatballs, I use a 2 tablespoon coffee scoop, but a #40 cookie scoop works just as well.

Roll gently; don’t pack the meatballs too tightly.

Bake on a rack or in a tray—both work.

Bake at 400°F for quick cooking and browning.

Use a meat thermometer; meatballs should reach 165°F.

Freeze baked meatballs after cooling; reheat in microwave, sauce, or soup.

Easy Baked Meatballs (Oven-Baked Shortcut)

Why You’ll Love This Oven-Baked Meatball Recipe