Decadent Weeknight Oven-Baked Meatballs with an Easy Homemade Sauce (Meal Prep and Gluten-Free Option)
Homemade meatballs that feel decadent, but are easy to make even on a busy weeknight. Pair the oven-baked meatballs with the simple homemade sauce for a from-scratch meal prepared in under 1 hour.
Add all the sauce ingredients to a medium saucepan and combine well.
Simmer the sauce over low heat while assembling and baking the meatballs (about 30 min). The sauce may be made ahead of time and reheated.
For the Meatballs:
Preheat the oven to 375F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper for easy clean up. You can also bake the meatballs without parchment paper.
Add all the ingredients except the meat to a large mixing bowl and combine well.
Add the meat and gently combine using your hands.
Divide the mixture into golf ball sized meatballs. I get about 24 meatballs. A cookie scooper works well to form the meatballs.
Place the meatballs on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until cooked through.
Serve the meatballs with the sauce over your favorite cooked pasta.
Notes
* I prefer to use 2 lbs of ground beef instead of 1 lb pork and 1 lb ground beef. This is up to you. Helen, who perfected this recipe, prefers a beef and pork combo.