This Italian sausage meatball recipe is easy and fast. Pork meatballs are oven baked with fresh parsley, eggs, and panko bread crumbs (gluten free or regular).
Serve sausage meatballs with your favorite Italian sauce or as a poppable appetizer with a flavorful dipping sauce.
Add some tomato sauce and serve this sausage meatball recipe in a sandwich, hoagie style. I love it in my puttanesca sauce recipe.
Baked Sausage Meatballs Vs. Seared Sausage Meatballs
This Italian sausage meatballs recipe is easy because they're baked. Having said that, sausage meatballs can also be seared and cooked in a pan if preferred.
Two pounds of meatballs is a lot, and I find it easier and just as good to bake them on a sheet pan and not deal with the extra time and mess of the stovetop.
Meatballs have enough fat in them that they can be cooked directly on the baking sheet. Cooking directly on the pan should give sausage meatballs a seared looked on the underside and a baked look on the top. See video.
Aluminum foil or parchment paper keep the sheet pan clean so you may not have to wash it.
Sausage Meatballs are Versatile
The herb choice does not matter in a meatball recipe. If you are feeling basil, tarragon, sage, oregano, rosemary, then use that instead of parsley.
Don't have fresh herbs for your meatballs? Substitute 1 teaspoon dried instead.
The meat type does not matter in any meatball 🙂 Don't have sausage? Try ground lamb, turkey, chicken, or beef.
Looking for a gluten free meatball recipe? Substitute a gluten free panko or pulverize oatmeal in a food processor. I've substituted gluten free oatmeal many times in this sausage meatball recipe.
What are Panko Bread Crumbs and What do They Do?
It's a Japanese crustless bread crumb that is lighter (less dense) than regular bread crumbs and is lower in calories, but most importantly they are larger bread crumbs that produce a lighter texture than regular breadcrumbs. Having said that, any breadcrumb will work in a pinch 🙂
Bread Crumbs help bind the meatball together so it doesn't fall apart. Same with the egg. It helps bind the meat together.
Italian Sausage Meatballs FAQS
Any ground sausage will work for meatballs. Breakfast sausage has different herbs - I always think of sage. Italian sausage makes me think of fennel or Italian seasonings. Hot sausage makes me think of spicy chili flakes. I have heard sweet Italian sausage be used interchangeably with mild but always double check that there is no added sugar just in case.
No ma'am. No sir. You're thinking of ham, pepperoni, salami, packaged andouille or kielbasa links (that say cooked on the package) etc... Ground sausage, whether it's in the case or not, needs to be cooked.
Serving Suggestion
Serve these meatballs as an appetizer as is or with a dip like horseradish and sour cream sauce or basil pesto or serve it with some homemade gnocchi or regular spaghetti with a flavorful tomato or puttanesca sauce.
You May Also Like
If you like meatballs, ground meat, and Italian food, check out these recipes:
Things In My Kitchen:
- 13 x 18 baking sheets - for bakin' the meatballs. I use these "jellyroll" sheets for baking nearly everything.
- 3 quart mixing bowl - Nothing fancy but perfect mixing bowl for batters, salads, meatloafs, or veggies.
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Italian Pork Sausage Meatballs
EatSimpleFood.com
This Italian sausage meatball recipe is easy and fast to make and oven baked with fresh parsley, eggs, and panko bread crumbs (gluten free or regular).
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 2 lb ground mild Italian sausage
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 2 small eggs, beaten
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- ¼ cup fresh parsley or basil, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- In a large bowl, mix sausage, salt, pepper, eggs, bread crumbs, and parsley.
- Form 1 ½" sausage meatballs and place on a lined baking sheet.
- Bake for ~13-15 minutes or until cooked through.
Notes
- Don't have fresh herbs? Substitute 1 teaspoon dried instead.
- Don't have sausage? Try ground lamb, turkey, chicken, or beef.
- Gluten free? Substitute a gluten free panko or pulverize oatmeal in a food processor.
- Meatballs have enough fat in them that they can be cooked directly on the baking sheet. Aluminum foil or parchment paper keep the pan clean so you may not have to wash it. Cooking directly on the pan should give them a seared look on the underside and a baked look on top.
Gloria Miller says
This was a great starting point! We like our meatballs spicy, so I used hot italian ground sausage. Cut recipe in half:
1 lb. hot italian sausage
1 egg
1/4 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
Same temperature of oven, 17 minutes.
Otherwise same recipe.
Beckie Hemmerling says
Hot Italian sausage sounds delicious. Thanks for leaving a comment and letting me know what you did Gloria!