I’ve been on a meatball recipe lately. I made these herbed meatballs a few months ago, stashed a few in the freezer and quickly depleted that stash. The last time I made these, I used Italian sausage, and I guess for that reason I felt I needed to eat them Italian style with Sunday gravy, also known as tomato sauce.
The herbed meatballs were awesome, but they are also equally awesome on their own, served with some roasted kale and potatoes or just as snack food.
A few things to note for this recipe, DO not substitute dried herbs here. The brightness of flavor – and color- of the fresh herbs really makes these herbed meatballs stand out from your everyday ball of meat!
If you do use sausage instead of ground pork, then I would go easy on any additional salt. If you’ve never made meatballs before and you are wondering how to check those seasonings – and I highly recommend that you do so – just heat a pan over med-high heat, take a small round of the meat mixture and form a mini patty, cook it up, taste, adjust seasonings as necessary.
Another key is DO NOT over mix. I know you’ve heard this a thousand times if you’ve ever watched a cooking show, but the idea is to create a bite that is fluffy and light in texture, bursting with flavor. This is not a mini burger. It should not be heavy and dense! And hands are the best tool around for this.
Quick And Easy Herbed Meatballs
Ingredients
1 pound ground beef (minced beef)
1 pound ground pork (minced pork) - or Italian sausage
2 medium egg - lightly beaten
⅓ cup almond flour
½ cup Parmesan cheese - grated
½ bunch parsley - chopped
½ bunch cilantro (coriander) - chopped OR basil
3-4 tablespoons oregano - chopped
3 stalks green onions (scallions or green shallots) - chopped, including greens
¼ cup milk - or half and half
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes - to taste
1 teaspoon salt - to taste, I used smoked salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper - to taste
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine all ingredients, mix gently with your hands until well combined.
- Using a small cookie scoop, form 2-inch meatballs and place them on a large baking sheet. I stick them in the fridge for 30 minutes or so before cooking or freezing. This helps them hold a round shape instead of flattening out.
- You can pan fry or bake these. If baking, cook at 375°F for 20-30 minutes. For pan-frying, cook until well-browned on all sides.
