Meatball Recipe

These meatballs bake right in tomato sauce, making the meatballs AND the sauce extra flavorful!

No breadcrumbs? I hardly ever have breadcrumbs on hand. Here’s how I use bread instead! (it’s so easy!)

Instead of using breadcrumbs, I just crumble up bread.

No getting out a food processor, no toasting them in the oven, just crumble your bread with clean hands and move along.

They’re very simple to make, and very flavorful!

Get the recipe below, then keep reading for all of your questions answered!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 2 slices of bread, crumbled
• 1 egg
• 3 TBSP milk
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 2 cans tomato sauce (15 oz cans)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees farenheit.
2. Crumble up 2 slices of bread into tiny pieces. You will want to get your bread as finely crumbled as you can.
3. Mix together your spices, egg, milk, and ground beef into your breadcrumbs.
4. Roll into 12 meatballs, placing them into a baking dish. (9×9 or larger)
5. Top the raw meatballs with 2 cans of tomato sauce.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes, or until the center meatballs reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Carefully stir the meatballs about halfway through baking.

Can I substitute the bread for breadcrumbs?

Yep!

You can substitute the 2 slices of bread for 1 cup of plain breadcrumbs.

How finely should I crumble my bread?

Crumble your bread as finely as you can.

It won’t look quite as small as store bought breadcrumbs unless you use a food processor, but if you’re crumbling by hand, it’s okay not to get it quite that small.

Baking the meatballs in sauce helps to break down and soften any bits of bread that you may have missed getting too tiny.

This is a great way to use up stale bread you may have!

It’s also a great use for the heels of the bread!

What sized baking dish should I use?

You should use a baking dish with high sides that’s at least 9×9 in size.

I prefer to use a glass baking dish for these meatballs.

Can I use a baking sheet?

Don’t use a baking sheet, or it won’t hold the sauce over the meatballs properly!

Do I really need to stir my meatballs halfway through?

This isn’t a required step, but if you want to keep you meatballs as tender as possible, it’s really helpful to stir them halfway through!

Stirring halfway through also helps your meatballs all cook evenly.

What should I serve my meatballs with?

Eat them as-is, serve them with noodles, or make meatball sandwiches!