Easiest-Ever Meatballs
By America's Test Kitchen KidsPublished on February 16, 2023
Time
45 minutes
Yield
Serves 4 (Makes 12 meatballs)
What Kids Are Saying
“I liked getting to mix the meatballs and roll them out!” —Amelia, recipe tester, age 5
Ingredients
Before You Begin
Serve your meatballs with spaghetti or Italian sub rolls. This recipe makes enough sauce to coat 12 ounces of pasta. It's unnecessary to temp the meatballs because they will reach a food-safe temperature if cooked according to the recipe instructions. (For more information on food safety, check out this guide.)
Instructions
- In large bowl, use rubber spatula to stir together panko and milk. Let mixture sit for 5 minutes.
- In Dutch oven, use clean rubber spatula to stir tomatoes, oil, sugar, and ¼ teaspoon salt until combined.
- Add beef, Parmesan, garlic powder, oregano, and remaining ½ teaspoon salt to bowl with panko mixture. Use your hands to mix until combined.
- Divide beef mixture into 12 portions (about 3 tablespoons each) and place on large plate. Lightly wet your hands. Use your wet hands to roll each portion into ball.
- Add meatballs to sauce in pot. Wash your hands.
- Bring sauce to simmer over medium heat (small bubbles should break often across surface of sauce). Cover and cook until meatballs are cooked through, 15 to 18 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking. Turn off heat. Serve.
Time
45 minutesYield
Serves 4 (Makes 12 meatballs)What Kids Are Saying
“I liked getting to mix the meatballs and roll them out!” —Amelia, recipe tester, age 5Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
Need a quick and easy dinner idea the whole family will love—and the kids can help make? This kid-tested, kid-approved recipe has you covered. The meatballs simmer right in a simple homemade tomato sauce, which infuses the sauce with savory flavor (and means there’s no messy, splattery browning). We start with a supersimple panade made from panko bread crumbs and milk. Have kids observe the mixture right after they stir it together and after it’s sat for five minutes. What’s changed? (The panko likely absorbed much of the milk, becoming softer.) The panade helps keep these meatballs soft and tender as they cook, just the way we like them!
Want more? Read the whole storyBefore You Begin
Serve your meatballs with spaghetti or Italian sub rolls. This recipe makes enough sauce to coat 12 ounces of pasta. It's unnecessary to temp the meatballs because they will reach a food-safe temperature if cooked according to the recipe instructions. (For more information on food safety, check out this guide.)
Instructions
- In large bowl, use rubber spatula to stir together panko and milk. Let mixture sit for 5 minutes.
- In Dutch oven, use clean rubber spatula to stir tomatoes, oil, sugar, and ¼ teaspoon salt until combined.
- Add beef, Parmesan, garlic powder, oregano, and remaining ½ teaspoon salt to bowl with panko mixture. Use your hands to mix until combined.
- Divide beef mixture into 12 portions (about 3 tablespoons each) and place on large plate. Lightly wet your hands. Use your wet hands to roll each portion into ball.
- Add meatballs to sauce in pot. Wash your hands.
- Bring sauce to simmer over medium heat (small bubbles should break often across surface of sauce). Cover and cook until meatballs are cooked through, 15 to 18 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking. Turn off heat. Serve.
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