Do you have a favorite Beef Meatball Recipe? My best meatball recipe is one I make in the microwave. This post contains affiliate links.
One of my guilty pleasures is meatballs. I love meatball sandwiches and pasta and meatballs and meatballs on pizza — especially deep dish pizza. My middle daughter is the same way. The two of us could happily live on meatballs.
Frozen meatballs are ok in a pinch, but I love to make them from scratch. Truthfully, it takes just minutes to make them and “hand roll” the meatballs with a trusty ice cream scooper with a trigger release. I actually have a set of 3 different sizes of scoopers with the trigger release and I love using them for all kinds of things, including making different sized meatballs.
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Beef Meatball Recipe in the Microwave
Over the years I’ve perfected my beef meatball recipe so that I can quickly whip up a batch in minutes for a meal. When we have spaghetti, my kids always beg for homemade meatballs. Most of the time, I do oblige them since I can make a batch of meatballs in the microwave quicker than the cook time for the spaghetti.
One of my secret ingredients is using Ritz crackers instead of bread crumbs. I soak them in milk while I gather the rest of the ingredients. Then, I add the rest of the ingredients and quickly knead it all together.
Spray a casserole dish with nonstick spray and quickly scoop out the meatballs. Once I’ve used up all the meat, I pop them in the microwave for 3 minutes a time. Each time I check and look for pinkness. After 6 minutes, I insert a meat thermometer in one of the larger meatballs. Once the internal temperature is 165 F degrees, I take them out of the microwave and spoon them into a sauce pan full of bubbling spaghetti sauce. As soon as the noodles are done, dinner is served!
You can have dinner ready and on the table in less than 15 minutes. Plus, everyone in my family loves leftover spaghetti and meatballs for lunch the next day.
Egg Allergy Note
In the past few months we found out my youngest daughter is allergic to eggs. Now that she eats table food, and spaghetti is one of her favorites, I totally skip the egg in the meatballs and they still come out just perfect.
More Italian Recipes
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- Fresh Tomato Pasta Sauce You can Freeze
- Bucatini with Roasted Garlic Tomato Sauce
- How to Roast Garlic
- How to make Cheesy Garlic Pull Apart Bread
- Easy Garlic Bread with English Muffins
Meatballs in the Microwave
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs ground beef - 85/15
- 1/2 sleeve of Ritz crackers
- 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
Instructions
- Spray a 9 x 13 dish with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, crush the crackers and add milk. Let it sit and soak for a minute while gathering the rest of the ingredients.
- Add the beef and the rest of the ingredients. Mix thoroughly with your hands.
- Form whatever size meatballs you'd like. I usually go with ones that are about 1 3/4 inches in size.
- Once you have filled the dish, place in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes.
- Rotate the dish and cook for an additional 3 minutes.
- Check internal temperature of a larger meatball and look for pinkness of meat. Internal temperature should be at least 165 F degrees. If it's lower and you still see pinkness cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.
- Once they are done, spoon the meatballs into sauce that's been simmering on the stove.
- Serve over pasta or on sub sandwich rolls.
This beef meatball recipe is also perfect for making meatball subs. I like to simmer some crushed tomatoes on the stove, and once the meatballs are done, I simmer them in that tomato sauce for an additional 7-8 minutes before making the sub sandwiches. This is a great make ahead lunch meal.
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7 comments
I never thought of cooing meatballs in the microwave. What a good idea! Pinned for later.
Ooooh yum! My husband LOVES meatballs! I’ll have to pin it and try it!
this just changed my life!
I’ve never heard of cooking meatballs this way. Thank you so much!
What a good idea! Pinning! 🙂
I tried it, I love it. Thank you
Wow. I was sceptical, but great. I did make a lot of tweaks. But only flavor profile. Base recipe was same. Thank you for sharing this recipe. ❤️