Family Meatball Recipe That Kids Will Love Too

A week ago, I shared a picture of homemade Italian meatballs on Instagram that I had made for my kids. I see pictures of peoples food all the time on Instagram, so I thought I'd share one of my family favorites - Italian homemade meatballs that my mom taught me to make. 

After I shared it, someone asked for my recipe!  I was really surprised. I've always loved cooking, especially if someone enjoys eating what I've made. But I never thought of sharing my families recipes until now. 

So, here goes!

My Family Meatball Recipe:

Ingredients for meatballs:

• 2 lbs of 93% lean ground beef. I've used 80% lean beef in the past, but have found that I'm constantly scooping out the fat oils that accumulate at the top of my homemade sauce, so now I usually buy 93% lean beef.
• 1 2/3 cup of Progresso Italian Style Bread Crumbs. 
• 2 eggs (1 egg per 1 lb of beef)
• 1/4 cup of milk (1/8 cup per pound of beef)

Ingredients for my delicious easy homemade Italian sauce:

• 3 jars of Traditional Tomato and Basil Pasta Sauce. I usually buy what is on sale. 
• 4 cans of Diced Tomatoes with Basil, Oregano and Garlic. Hunts or Del Monte are my preferred brands.
• 3 tablespoons of Olive Oil

Steps for preparing meatballs:

• In a large bowl, mix the 2 lbs of beef, eggs, milk and bread crumbs using your hands. 
• Make sure everything is mixed in well.

Steps for preparing the sauce:

• In a large pot, pour in the 3 jars of Traditional Tomato and Basil Pasta Sauce and 4 cans of Diced Tomatoes with Basil, Oregano and Garlic. 
• Turn stove burner on high, stirring every so often. 

Final steps in making my families favorite Italian meatballs and pasta sauce:

• Using your hands, begin making 1 1/2 - 2 " sized meatballs, rolling them in your hands into a ball shape. My kids like them bigger than smaller. I usually bring the bowl over to the pot on the stove, making the meatballs and then putting each into the pot.
• As sauce is slowly coming to a boil, begin adding meatballs. Make sure your hands do not touch the sauce. 
• Cook the meatballs in the sauce on high for 30 minutes, stirring carefully so meatballs don't break up. Sauce should be boiling.
• After 30 minutes, lower sauce to a simmer and cook for another 2 - 3 hours, again stirring every so often so the sauce doesn't burn at the bottom of the pot.

I'm sure you could easily make this homemade meatball recipe in a Crock Pot. I've never tried, but I have cooked them by mistake for 3 - 4 hours on simmer and they still taste amazing.