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Tender, flavorful meatballs, made with spicy Italian sausage and just a few other basic ingredients. Easy to whip up for a weeknight, and nice enough for Sunday dinner.
If you’re anything like me, Italian sausage meatballs might sound a little weird. At least that’s what I thought when the idea came to me. My son really wanted meatballs to go with our spaghetti but I didn’t have any of my homemade meatballs left in the freezer, and no ground…anything…except sausage.
Now, while I may not be the first person to come up with this idea, I’m claiming it as a good one. There is such a good flavor and the texture is tender with a slight bite. The sausage is combined with breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese and an egg, similar to basic meatballs. I also added some sauteed onions and garlic that give a nice, smokey, slightly sweet flavor.
I don’t usually worry too much about the shape, but I do use a cookie scoop because it makes my life much, much easier. It’s also easy enough for my kids to use. The sausage meatballs are shaped into a ball and then baked for about 18-20 minutes.
They might still be slightly pink in the middle but you’re going to keep cooking them in the sauce anyway, so it will be fine. If you’re not planning to cook them in the sauce, make sure they are fully cooked before serving. We love them with spaghetti and our favorite sauce, wither homemade or jarred, but I imagine they’d be really delicious on a sub sandwich!
More Pasta Recipes
Italian Sausage Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground Italian sausage
- 1/2 medium white onion diced
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic 2-3 cloves
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. prepare a baking sheet by lining with foil and spraying with nonstick cooking spray.
- Heat a small amount of oil in a small skillet and cook onions until translucent. Add garlic and cook for about a minute, until fragrant. Set aside until cool enough to handle.
- Once onions have cooled slightly, combine with sausage, egg, breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese in a large bowl. Use your hands for best results and so you don’t over-mix the meat, which makes it tough.
- Divide the meat mixture into 24 equal sized meatballs and place on the foil lined baking sheet, at least an inch apart.
- Bake at 400 degrees for about 18-20, or until no longer pink.
- Serve with your favorite pasta and sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer Kristin Maxwell of “Yellow Bliss Road” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. For accurate calorie counts and other nutritional values, we recommend running the ingredients through your preferred online nutritional calculator. Calories and other nutritional values can vary depending on which brands were used.
I made these today and they are delicious.
Nice! Thanks for stopping by Steph.
I was looking for a recipe for ground Italian sausage as I had some to use up. The recipe came quickly together and its very tasty! Thanks so much!
You are so welcome Sue! Thanks for stopping by.
Should I freeze prepared meatballs baked or unbaked?
I always bake the meatballs and then freeze them once they’re cooled. They will hold their shape this way and only need to be defrosted to eat.
thank you! I cannot wait to put these together.
By far the easiest and yummiest meatballs I have ever made. My family loves them.
Thank you Cheryl! and thanks for sharing your positive experience!
Ive made these 3-4x and they turn out so flavorful and tender. Such a hit with my family
Hi Olivia,
So happy that you and your family loved this recipe
Thank you for stopping by!
Delicious and simple! I used chicken Italian sausage from Sprout’s and otherwise followed the recipe exactly except made smaller bite-sized balls to serve with various dipping sauces as appetizer. Disappeared very quickly.
Thank you Texicat!
Thank you for stopping by!
24? I made 70.
I like small bite size meatballs
If you make them smaller than the recipe calls for, you’ll surely get a lot more.
These were great. Mine were a little salty but I think that was due to the sausage I used because there is no salt added in this recipe. I used Bob Evans sausage roll Italian. Delicious otherwise.
It probably was the sausage you used. Italian sausage is typically salty anyway.
This recipe was a lifesaver. Hubs informed me at 9:00 am that he had invited three neighbors over to watch the Wildcard playoffs. Of course there was little to no appetizer food in the house. I had about 1/4 bag of Costco eat balls and a pound of Italian sausage. Made these meatballs and they were a hit. I may never buy Costco’s again.
Cant wait to try this! I have a family pack of sausage at home (its about 14 links) Im thinking half the package should be a pound. I am not home to check but I am hoping lol. Im going to follow the recipe to a T except I will be guessing on the Sausage.
It was very yummy! I made them tonight for my boysnd it was a hit:)
I made italian seasoned turkey meat instead of the sausage and it was perfect. Made with my homemade marinara too. Thank you!
Veronica ???
That’s great Veronica!
I have made theses sausage meat balls about 3or 4 times my family loves them. I like them so much I will not be making traditional meatballs ever.