Looking for a delicious and quick weeknight dinner? These Easy Pork Meatballs are perfect! With simple ingredients, minimal prep time, and a burst of flavorful spices, these baked pork meatballs are a fantastic addition to your dinner rotation.
Why You’ll Love This Easy Meatball Recipe:
- Simple ingredients: With ground pork as the star, these meatballs are made with pantry staples. Odds are, you have everything you need to whip up these juicy pork meatballs.
- Easy: Preparing these easy meatballs only takes 5-10 minutes and there's no need to mess with them once they're in the oven.
- Flavorful: Packed with a blend of onion powder, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, sea salt, and black pepper, these meatballs deliver a burst of savory goodness.
- Versatile: Italian style pork meatballs go with so many sides, or make a great appetizer!
Let's Get Started! Here's What You'll Need:
Ingredients:
- Lean Ground Pork: Also known as pork mince in some areas, it forms the hearty base of these meatballs.
- Bread crumbs: I'm using plain breadcrumbs, if you use seasoned ones you may want to reduce the amount of seasoning you add.
- Egg: This is our binding agent. I used a large egg, but one size up or down should work fine too.
- Spices: We're using onion powder, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning, in addition to sea salt and black pepper. You could mince up fresh garlic or fresh herbs if you prefer, dried are just easiest.
Equipment:
We really just need a large bowl, and a baking sheet or cookie sheet. If yours isn't nonstick you might want some cooking spray too, or line the pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper for easy clean up. I use a fork to start mixing so my hands don't have to do all the work, but always end up using my hands to get everything fully incorporated.
How to Make These Ground Pork Meatballs:
Step 1: Mix Ingredients
Start by preheating your oven to 400°F. In a large bowl, combine all your meatball ingredients: the ground meat, breadcrumbs, egg, and seasonings. Mix until just well-combined. Overmixing can lead to the meat getting dense and dry, and we want tender, juicy meatballs!
Step 2: Roll Meatballs
Take your meatball mixture and divide it in half, then in half again so you have 4 giant meatballs.
Now do the same to each quarter ball, which will give you 16 pretty even chunks of pork mixture. Roll each into a nice ball with wet hands and place on your baking sheet.
Step 3: Bake
Pop those beautiful meatballs into the oven for 15-20 minutes, until lightly golden brown and they have an internal temperature of at least 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer.
Step 4: Serve and Enjoy
If you have any leftover meatballs, be sure to store them in an airtight container in the fridge. You can also freeze your cooked meatballs for longer storage.
Side Dish Ideas
Pork goes really well with sweet potatoes, so I tend to serve these with mashed sweet potatoes or roast sweet potato slices alongside them. They're also great with some pasta, warm marinara sauce, and parmesan cheese instead of ground beef meatballs. A nice bagged salad is a convienient option if you're wanting to keep it as simple as possible on a busy weeknight.
FAQs:
Yes, but be sure they reach 165°F. 20 minutes should still be enough cook time, but poultry does require a slightly higher finished temperature than ground pork.
Yes, to freeze them raw place them on a cookie sheet so they aren't touching and freeze for at least 30 minutes so they won't stick together. Then place them in a freezer-safe container or freezer bags, and defrost when you're ready to cook them. If you want to cook them without defrosting they'll take about 10 minutes longer to bake, and will be more at risk for drying out. Alternatively you can cook the frozen meatballs by simmering them in your favorite sauce until they're cooked through instead. For leftover cooked meatballs they can go straight into a freezer safe bag or container and just defrost when you're ready to eat them again.
Yes, these meatballs are great for meal prep. Once baked and cooled, store them in an airtight container so they're ready to go. You can enjoy them a variety of ways- alongside a salad, topping a rice bowl, or served with potatoes and a vegetable!
Looking for more easy recipes?
For another great pork option, try sous vide for pork tenderloin!
Need another low prep baked dinner? Try these lemon pepper chicken legs, or this shortcut bruschetta pizza.
A homemade meatball recipe doesn't need to be complicated or take a long time. I hope you love these baked pork meatballs, if you do be sure to come back and leave a star rating or review.
📖 Recipe
Easy Baked Pork Meatballs Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean ground pork 12%
- ¼ cup breadcrumbs unseasoned/plain
- 1 ea large egg
- 1 teaspoon italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and combine until just well-mixed.
- Portion the meat mixture into 16 segments by dividing it in half repeatedly. Roll each of the 16 portions into a ball with wet hands and place on a greased or nonstick baking sheet.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the meatballs are lightly golden brown and reach an internal temperature of at least 160°F.
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Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. It is recommended to use your preferred calculator with the actual ingredients you use for optimal accuracy.
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