13 Ways To Elevate Meatballs

Meat comes in all forms, shapes, and sizes, but it may just be at its best when it's formed into a ball. Maybe you prefer your meatballs over a bed of spaghetti, or perhaps you like them served as an appetizer served alongside a slew of other snackable items. But regardless of your meatball preferences, knowing how to cook them well (whether from scratch or just heating up the frozen variety) is essential to ensuring that you have the best meatball experience possible.

Sure, you can stick with the plain old meatballs you've always made, but what if you want something better than the same old, same old? We've compiled a list of some of our favorite ways to elevate meatballs from so-so to something extraordinary — and we've included tips for both from-scratch meatballs as well as those that come frozen in a bag.

Once you upgrade your meatball game to a whole new level, you may never be able to go back to boring old meatballs again.

On some nights, getting dinner on the table can feel like a huge struggle. But before you decide to grab takeout once again, consider this easy meatball hack. Instead of standing over the stove, waiting for them to slowly cook, or leaving them in the oven only for them to turn out dry and unappetizing, try cooking meatballs on a sheet pan with sauce. Now, hear us out. Cooking your meatballs this way ensures that they cook through without doing too much work. At the same time, that sauce ensures that they get nice and moist, negating any dry meatball concerns you may have.

You can use basically any kind of meatball for this, whether you've made beef and pork meatballs from scratch or you're just using the frozen vegan meatballs from the back of your freezer. Arrange them on a baking sheet, then pour some sort of sauce, like marinara sauce, over them. Then, cover the whole sheet with aluminum foil to make sure you trap all that moisture in. After about 25 to 30 minutes, your meatballs should reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit, which means they're ready to come out of the oven to enjoy. Who said making meatballs had to be a challenge?

For some people, meatballs are strictly a savory food. They should not even appear on the same plate with a sweet ingredient, and that's that. But others view meatballs in a more versatile fashion and welcome a nice sweet and savory pairing. That's where grape jelly comes into play. Meatballs cooked in a grape jelly sauce yield an incredibly delicious appetizer (or just a particularly indulgent-tasting main course). That's because the savory and sweet components of the dish balance each other out, offering a rich and satisfying flavor profile that's neither too salty nor too sweet.

If you want to make this dish the easiest way possible, start with frozen meatballs. Throw them in your slow cooker along with a mixture of 1 cup of grape jelly and 1½ cup of chili sauce. (Plain grape jelly all on its own, after all, would result in a flavor profile that's perhaps too sweet.) If you don't want to use chili sauce, you can also opt for barbecue sauce instead, although you'll ideally want to choose one that's not too sweet on its own (since you already have that sweetness from the grape jelly). This classic app deserves a spot at your next canape party.

You may assume that good meatballs are, well, all about the meat. And although it may seem like a safe assumption, you can't discount the role that bread plays in a seriously delicious meatball recipe. In fact, in some ways, it might even be more important than the meat itself. That's why you'll want to think carefully about the kind of bread you're using in the mixture. Although many people will choose to use bread crumbs, you may want to consider using panna in your meatball mixture instead.

What is panna, you ask? It's essentially just bread that's been soaked in milk or cream. This gives an added layer of richness to your meatballs, and it also helps all the ingredients stick together in one coherent ball. Sure, soaking that bread requires an extra step, but you'll realize it's all worth it when you taste just how decadent your meatballs are.

One of the most difficult parts about making meatballs is ensuring they have enough flavor. After all, you can roll some meat, eggs, and bread crumbs (or panna) together in a bowl and technically create meatballs, but they're not going to have much flavor to them. Of course, you can always use a seasoning blend if you're trying to save time, or you can mix your own blend of spices for a more personalized flavor. But why just stick to dry spices when there are so many other ways to add flavor to your meatball mixture?

There's one way to add more flavor to homemade meatballs that we love to use when we're pinched for time but still trying to create a layered, complex flavor profile: adding some dissolved bouillon into the meatball mixture. Store-bought bouillon is one of those ingredients you should always have on hand because it can be useful in many different ways, and adding flavor to your meatballs is just one of them. You'll only need a small amount of the ingredient to completely transform the flavor profile of homemade meatballs. Just make sure you take a close look at the ingredients and balance them with the other spices and seasonings you're adding. After all, it's easy to make your meatballs a bit too salty using this method.

Do you ever mix up a batch of homemade meatballs only to realize that the finished product comes out way too dry, with a flavor profile that's boring at best and downright unappealing at worst? We've been there, and it can be a huge bummer. But one unexpected ingredient may be able to fix all of your meatball woes. We're talking about applesauce, and it makes an incredible addition to your meatballs. Perhaps the most important role this ingredient plays is ensuring that your meatballs come out as moist as possible. It's an easy way to work more moisture into the recipe without using super-fatty meat, which can affect the flavor of the recipe.

But applesauce isn't just there for moisture. It can also add a layer of sweetness to the dish. And don't worry — we're not suggesting that you turn your favorite meatball recipe into a dessert. However, a slight touch of sweetness can help balance out more savory flavors, like umami and saltiness, giving you a more complex and interesting flavor once you've finished cooking the meat. Give it a try the next time you want to transform that same old recipe you always use.

Whether you've gotten your hands on some frozen meatballs or leftover homemade meatballs and trying to figure out what to do with them, this is a super simple way to elevate meatballs that you may not have thought of before. You can cut open a bell pepper, then take those meatballs and place them inside the pepper. Add in rice, flavorful veggies, and any other ingredients you want to enhance the flavor of the recipe, then bake, and you have easy stuffed peppers that come together in no time at all.

But what if your meatballs aren't the right size, and you either have too much room in your peppers or you can't fit in an entire meatball? No worries. You can cut them to size to ensure you have a perfectly packed pepper every time. The next time you need to get a fresh-tasting dinner on the table quickly, this is a great meatball hack.

There are so many different ways to cook meatballs. Some of those ways, like cooking them on the stove in a rich sauce, yield a softer texture but won't give you much browning. On the other hand, you may want to bake your meatballs, which can give you more flavor but might result in a drier texture. And, of course, frying meatballs is always an option, although that can make for a messy clean-up job. If you're looking for an alternative method, consider cooking your meatballs in an air fryer. It may not be the way your Italian grandma did it back in the day, but it'll give you a crispy texture while preventing too much drying.

Just make sure that you preheat your air fryer ahead of time and spread the meatballs out in a single layer over the bottom of the basket. If you stack them on top of each other, they'll start to steam, and you probably won't get that crispy texture you're going for. Make sure to check on them when they're in the air fryer to ensure you don't overcook them, and use a meat thermometer for raw meatballs to ensure they reach a safe internal temperature. Once you try making your meatballs this way, you may never want to prepare them a different way again.

There are so many different ways to elevate meatballs themselves, but at some point, it's not just about the meatball. Rather, it matters what you're eating those meatballs with. That's why one of the easiest ways to elevate meatballs is by making a meatball sub. Luckily, this isn't too hard to pull off if you know what you're doing. The first step, of course, is to make your meatballs. You can either use the frozen variety or make them from scratch yourself.

Then, you need to seek out some good bread. We prefer a baguette loaf, as it's soft enough to make for an easy-to-eat sandwich while strong enough to hold onto those juicy meatballs. Douse said meatballs in some sauce — marinara sauce is the classic choice — and then top them with cheese. Toast the whole sandwich before adding fresh ingredients, like fresh herbs or raw onions. Then, indulge in your deeply delicious and surprisingly easy meal.

When the idea of making any kind of coherent meal from scratch sounds like the last thing you want to do, grabbing some takeout or ordering from a food delivery app may seem like your best bet. But if you're trying to save money and avoid ordering out again, you can always just throw together an easy sheet pan dinner. We love sheet pan dinners because they usually come together in just a few minutes and rarely require much prep work. And if you have some frozen or pre-made meatballs already on hand, it'll be even simpler to throw this kind of meal together. Just chop up some veggies, arrange them on a sheet pan, and add the meatballs to the mix before throwing it all in the oven.

Not only does this result in an incredibly easy meal, but it can also enhance the meatballs. They'll take on the flavors of the veggies and other aromatics you add to the mix, taking them from a random ingredient in your fridge to the centerpiece of your entire dinner.

If you want a moister, more delicious homemade meatball situation, cottage cheese is the key. Yes, you can add this high-protein, creamy favorite to your meatball mixture. Not only will it provide nutrition, but it'll also enhance the flavor of your recipe with tang and saltines and provide an added layer of creaminess and richness. Doesn't that sound delicious?

Don't love cottage cheese on its own? No worries. It's a rather mild kind of cheese, so when you combine it with meat, spices, and other ingredients, you won't be able to taste it much at all, apart from its more subtle aspects of flavor. Plus, it can provide your meatballs with some added moisture, which can come in handy if you find yourself suffering from overly dry meatballs.

Out of all the problems people have when they make meatballs, dry meatballs may be among the worst. After all, the last thing you want to experience after an hour or more of mixing the ingredients, forming the balls, and then cooking them is biting into a dry, not-so-flavorful chunk of meat. If you continually suffer from Dry Meatball Syndrome and you're looking for a solution the next time you make them, consider adding some gelatinized stock to your meatball recipe.

Basically, you're going to mix gelatin with the flavored stock of your choice, then allow that mixture to chill in the fridge until it takes on a wobbly, jelly-like consistency. You can then sieve that gelatinized stock through a mesh strainer into your meatball mixture to enhance its texture and ensure your meatballs don't dry out, no matter how you cook them. Not only does this improve the texture of the finished product, but it also infuses the meatballs with an extra layer of flavor. Yes, it requires some forethought and planning, but we think those extra steps are absolutely worth it when you realize just how delicious your homemade meatballs can truly be.

If you're watching your fat intake, you may tend to choose leaner cuts of meat when you go to the grocery store. In the case of some dishes, this lower fat content isn't a problem and might even yield a more delicious dish. But in other contexts — like when it comes to meatballs — meat that's too lean will not give you the results you're looking for. According to chef Marcus Samuelsson, the key to perfect meatballs really comes down to the fat content — generally around 20%. Using enough fat is crucial to ensuring that the meatballs stick together instead of falling apart in the pan.

But fat doesn't just play a role in the texture of your meatballs. That extra bit of fat also infuses the meatballs with a significant amount of flavor you can't get from dried spices alone. Therefore, make sure that whatever meat you're using — whether it's lamb, beef, and/or pork — contains enough fat to give you the luscious meatballs you're craving.

You've just made a batch of meatballs, and you're dying to dig in. But if you're trying to achieve the most delicious meatballs possible, eating them straight off the stove or out of the oven may not be your best bet. In reality, it may be better to let your meatballs rest overnight. Yes, this idea might sound wild to those prioritizing freshness above all else. But hear us out: Letting those meatballs hang out in the fridge overnight may help make them taste even better. That's because the ingredients and the sauce you use have time to combine and meld overnight, creating a more cohesive flavor the next day.

Of course, you don't have to save your whole batch of meatballs to enjoy the next day if you're hungry and want to get your grub on. But if you can hold yourself back from eating the whole batch, save some in the fridge and give them a taste tomorrow. You may be surprised at just how good they taste.