These baked Pesto Meatballs are made of ground veal, basil pesto, onion and garlic. They are very flavorful, seasoned to perfection and it takes only 30 minutes to make them. They are always a big hit during potluck parties or friends gatherings. Serve them over pasta of your choice.
If you are a meatball lover, try our family favorites-Swedish meatballs, Chicken meatballs or Creamy Cheesy Chicken meatballs.
Reasons to like these pesto meatballs
- You will need just a few ingredients to make them.
- Preparation time is 5 minutes only.
- They are kid-friendly.
- Very flavorful and healthy.
Ingredients for Pesto Meatballs
You will need just a few ingredients to make these amazing meatballs.
- Ground veal/beef- The recipe calls for beef or veal. I quite often combine beef and chicken for the better taste (50: 50). Turkey, chicken, beef, and lamb will work well.
- Onion helps to make these meatballs juicy and flavorful.
- A large egg binds the meat mixture and makes meatballs spongy and airy.
- Garlic cloves add flavor.
- Basil pesto. It is so easy just to throw a bottle of basil pesto in your shopping cart, but believe me, store bought stuff taste worse and more expensive. I highly recommend to make basil pesto at home. It is a low-effort delicious pesto for a fraction of cost. And best of all it tastes so much better and fresher! Even if you are allergic to pine nuts, you can substitute them for cashew or almond nuts. You can control saltiness as well.
- Black pepper
- Salt
How to make Pesto Meatballs
The method at glance:
- Preheat your oven to 400 F/200 C.
- Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl.
- Use a meat baller to form uniformly sized meatballs. You can form meatballs by hands, but meat mixture is messy and sometimes gets stuck under the nails. This is the main reason I prefer to use a meat baller or an ice cream scoop.
- Bake meatballs 25-30 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165.
Serve meatballs over pasta with some additional basil pesto and fresh grated Parmesan cheese.
Can I freeze meatballs?
Yes, these pesto meatballs freeze really well. Form the balls out of the meat mixture, transfer onto the board, leaving space between them. Put in the freezer. Once they are completely frozen, transfer them into a zip log bag and freeze up to 2 months.
Serving Suggestions
If you make these Pesto Meatballs be sure to leave a comment or give this recipe a rating! I will be happy to hear from you!
HOW TO MAKE PESTO MEATBALLS
PESTO MEATBALLS
Ingredients
- Ground veal/beef- 1 kg / 2.2 lbs
- Onion finely chopped-1
- Large egg- 1
- Garlic cloves minced- 3
- Basil pesto homemade or store-bought- ½ cup
- Black pepper- ½ tsp. or to taste
- Salt- to taste
- Unsalted butter - 1 tbsp.
Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 F/200 C with the rack in the middle of the oven.
- In a large bowl combine all the ingredients ( ground meat, chopped onion,basil pesto, minced garlic, black pepper, egg and salt). If you have a meat grinder , you can grind meat, onion and garlic and then add the remaining ingredients).
- Using your hands, mix until well combined.
- Form small balls using a meat baller or ice cream scoop.
- In a large skillet (25 cm/9 inch) melt 1 tbsp. of butter on the stove, put the meatballs into the skillet and bake for 20 minutes or until their internal temperature reaches 165.
- Remove the skillet from the oven.
- Serve over pesto pasta.
Nutrition
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