Jumbo Meatballs
on Mar 26, 2023, Updated Apr 26, 2024
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These giant meatballs are little show-stoppers! Serve them with sauce over pasta, or any way you like to eat them.
Meatball lovers usually like meatballs of all sizes. Little ones in soup or a casserole, medium-sized ones tucked in a twirly plate of pasta. And, these big, fat giant meatballs, the kind that are so substantial that one or two might make a meal. Each of these meatballs is made with about 1/4 cup of the meatball mix, resulting in meatballs that are 2 inches in diameter. These are hardly one-bite meatballs, more like 4 or 5 bite-meatballs. And they look very impressive on a pile of spaghetti!
Meatballs will shrink a bit when cooked, so keep that in mind. To get 2-inch cooked meatballs, make sure they are a bit larger in diameter when you form the uncooked meat mixture into balls. Serve them with spaghetti and marinara sauce or spaghetti sauce, or see the directions for making a pan gravy for another variation.
Table of Contents
Jumbo Meatballs: These giant meatballs are big show-stoppers! Serve them with sauce over pasta, or any way you like to eat them.
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Giant Meatball Ingredients
Basically, the mix for jumbo meatballs is the same as “regular” size meatballs. And they are shaped the same way — the difference is just the size and the baking time!
- Meat – In general, the higher the percentage of fat in the meat, the juicier and more tender your meatballs will be. See below for meat options, or just go for your favorite ground beef!
- Minced garlic – Mince finely so it blends into the mix.
- Cayenne pepper
- Eggs – Prevents the meatballs from falling apart
- Parsley – Fresh, please!
- Milk or half-and-half – Adds moisture and helps bind the meatball mix.
- Breadcrumbs – Helps the meatballs keep their shape and structure.
How to Shape Jumbo Meatballs
You absolutely want to make sure your onions, carrots, garlic, herbs, and so on are chopped very finely or minced so that the meatball mix will hold together as you shape them into your jumbo (or whatever size) meatballs. This will also allow the meatballs to hold their shape during the cooking process.
Because these are jumbo meatballs, you want to start with 1/4 cup of the meatball mix for each meatball. Measuring the mixture as you form the meatballs will ensure that you get consistently sized meatballs that will all cook through at the same time. Plus, no one at the table will be jealously eyeing someone else’s bigger meatballs. In meatball-loving families, this can become an issue!
Handle the meatball mixture as lightly and swiftly as you can. Overworking the meat mix can cause the meatballs to become dense and heavy. You are not looking for a paste; you should still see little pieces of the meat and other ingredients after everything has been blended. You want to handle the meat as little as possible but still form it into big balls that are fairly smooth and evenly shaped.
Recipe Tip
When shaping meatballs, keep your hands slightly wet with frequent rinses under cold water as you go. This prevents the mixture from sticking to your hands and allows you to get a smoother round shape. You can also lightly oil your hands with olive or another cooking oil.
FAQs
Make sure everything is super finely chopped in the recipe before you start mixing everything together! Big chunks of ingredients like onions or other vegetables will cause the meatballs to fall apart. The inclusion of eggs and breadcrumbs also helps bind the meatballs together during the shaping and cooking process. And, baking the meatballs before they are added to the sauce allows them to firm up and hold their shape better.
This is a very subjective question! I think normal-sized meatballs are about 1 inch in diameter and usually eaten in 1 or 2 bites. These jumbo meatballs are definitely 4-bite meatballs at least!
While beef is the most typical meat used to make meatballs, you can sub in other meat, or create your own meatball mix. You can also find a packaged meatball or meatloaf mix in many supermarkets in the meat section, often fresh ground at the butcher counter. If you see a freshly made meatloaf mix, buy it! Often, this is a combo of beef, pork, and veal. Otherwise, you can make your own — I like to make a very simple blend of about 2 parts ground beef to 1 part ground pork.
You can also use ground pork on its own, ground lamb, ground turkey, or ground chicken. In general, the higher the percentage of fat in the meat, the juicier and more tender your meatballs will be.
As the meat cooks and the fat melts and renders, the meatballs will sometimes flatten a bit. Don’t worry about this in the slightest; they will still look and taste like meatballs. Meatballs with more filler added (like breadcrumbs) will hold their shape better, but they won’t be as tender and rich as meatballs with a higher ratio of meat to the other ingredients.
Baking Jumbo Meatballs
I like to bake my meatballs at around 375 degrees. Baking them allows them to hold their shape a bit better than pan frying (though you are welcome to do that! Just heat them in a bit of oil in a large skillet, and brown them until they are cooked through, about 12 to 15 minutes).
When they are finished cooking, the meatballs should be nicely browned on the outside. The internal temperature should be 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. The meatballs should feel fairly firm when you gently press them. The total cooking time for these giant meatballs baked at 375 degrees should be about 20 to 25 minutes.
How to Make Jumbo Meatballs
- Prep the oven and baking sheet: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper, if you have it. Either way, spray the baking sheet with nonstick spray.
- Mix the ingredients: In a large bowl, combine the onions, garlic, salt, pepper, cayenne, eggs, parsley, milk or half-and-half, and breadcrumbs. Add the meat to the bowl, and use your hands to gently but thoroughly combine the meatball mixture.
- Form the meatballs: Scoop out 1/4 cup of the meatball mixture. Form each into a generous 2-inch ball, and place them at least 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake and serve: Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the meatballs are browned and cooked through(an internal temperature of 160 on an instant-read thermometer).
What Goes With Meatballs?
The most common way to serve classic meatballs is with spaghetti or some other pasta and tomato sauce or marinara sauce. You can also make a pan sauce with the remaining fat from cooking the meatballs and some flour, plus the addition of some broth (see below).
I also tend to pair any meatball meal with a salad, such as:
- Crunchy Green Salad
- Broccoli Salad
- Winter Salad
- Cherry Tomato Antipasti Salad
- Kale Crunch Salad
- Brussels Sprouts, Apple, and Pecorino Salad
- Mixed Lettuce Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette
How to Make a Pan Sauce for Meatballs
If you want to make a gravy after the meatballs are done cooking, pour up to 2 tablespoons of the fat from the baking pan into a small skillet (discard any additional cooking fat).
Heat over medium-high heat and then whisk in a tablespoon of flour. Whisk over the heat for 1 minute, until the flour mixture, or roux, starts to become slightly golden. Whisk in 1 cup of beef, chicken, or vegetable broth, and continue whisking until the mixture is smooth and starting to thicken. You can whisk in 1/2 cup of cream at this point if you want a creamier gravy. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.
What to Serve With Jumbo Meatballs
More Meatball Recipes
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Jumbo Meatballs
Ingredients
- ½ cup minced onions
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt (or to taste)
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper (or to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 large eggs (beaten)
- ½ cup minced parsley
- ½ cup whole milk or half-and-half
- ½ cup dried plain breadcrumbs
- 2 pounds meatloaf or meatball mix (or 2 pounds mixed ground beef, pork, veal or lamb)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper, if you have it. Either way, spray the baking sheet with nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, combine the onions, garlic, salt, pepper, cayenne, eggs, parsley, milk or half-and-half, and breadcrumbs. Add the meat to the bowl and use your hands to gently but thoroughly combine the meatball mixture.
- Scoop out 1/4 cup of the meatball mixture. Form each into a 2-inch ball, and place them at least 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the meatballs are browned and cooked through (160 F internal temperature on an instant-read thermometer). Let the meatballs rest on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before serving. See Note if you want to make a pan sauce.
