Classic Baked Ricotta Meatballs

Bowl of cooked spaghetti noodles with a pile of baked meatballs in the center, garnished with chopped parsley.

These scrumptious Italian-style ricotta meatballs are tender, juicy, and full of flavor! Enjoy them with pasta, pizza, sandwiches, soups, and so much more!

Course Main

Cuisine American, Italian

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 20

Cooling time 1

Total Time 1 35

Servings servings

Calories 260kcal

Author Renee

Equipment

1 meatball pan or parchment lined rimmed baking tray
1 Mixing Bowl

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork
1 pound ground chicken or ground turkey
3 cloves garlic minced; about a tablespoon
⅔ cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cup panko bread crumbs
2 large eggs well beaten
1½-2 teaspoons kosher salt
1-2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
½-1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 handful fresh parsley chopped

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment, or prepare a meatball pan by placing it over a rimmed baking sheet.
Place all ingredients except the ground meats in a large mixing bowl. Use a wooden spoon to thoroughly combine.
Add the ground meat to the ricotta mixture and mix together by hand just until everything is evenly combined.
Chill the ground meat mixture for at least 15 minutes, and up to an hour.
Form the mixture into uniform balls, from 1 ounce to 4 ounces, depending on your use and preferences.
Place the formed meatballs on the parchment lined pan or in a meatball pan. (If you use a meatball pan, you will need to bake the meatballs in batches.)
Bake at 375°F (190°C) oven for:
• 1 ounce meatballs: 12 minutes
• 2 ounce meatballs: 18 minutes
• 3 ounce meatballs: 20 minutes
• 4 ounce meatballs: 24 minutes
Turn meatballs halfway through the cooking time if desired.
Meatballs are fully cooked when the internal temperature registers 165°F (75°C) on an instant read thermometer.
Optionally, you can broil the cooked meatballs for 90 seconds to further brown them.

Notes

On the Spicy Scale (1-5), we rate these meatballs about a 1½ to 2, which is to say that they have a little heat, but they aren't really spicy (except to people who don't like anything spicy).

Milder Meatballs: Omit the red pepper flakes, and reduce the ground pepper to 1 teaspoon.
Spicier Meatballs: Add an extra teaspoon of red pepper flakes. (Don't go crazy, though.)

Recipe yield:

1 ounce meatballs (~1¼ inch diameter) = 60-64 meatballs
2 ounce meatballs (~1½ - 1¾ inch diameter) = 30-32 meatballs
3 ounce meatballs (~2 - 2¼ inch diameter) = 20-22 meatballs
4 ounce meatballs (~2¼ - 2½ inch diameter) = 15-16 meatballs

Baked meatballs can be stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

You can also pre-bake ricotta meatballs well ahead of time, and freeze them for later use. Once they are baked and fully cooled, freeze them on a parchment lined tray for 1 hour, then place them in an airtight, freezer safe container and freeze for up to 4 months in the freezer. (For maximum flavor retention, we recommend using a vacuum sealer.)

Nutrition