Anyone else love Italian food?
I mean…LOVE it. The words too much pizza, spaghetti, lasagna and such are almost blasphemous to your ears kind of love. Me too. There is something about Italian food that is so darn comforting and is like a hug from the inside. Don’t think about that image too much though. There is nothing more iconically italian than the meatball. There is nothing more tasty to us than my Pesto Meatballs.
Ready for action for meatball subs, spaghetti and meatballs, meatball lasagna or just snitching a bite of delicious protein after a strength session. These babies are perfect for freezing in batches then separate them out with a Food Saver so you can thaw them at will. The video shows you how to bring it all together and what the recipe should look like in different stages.
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Pesto Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef (I used 85/15)
- 1 lb ground pork
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 tbsp basil pesto
- 1/4-1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 2 heads of roasted garlic (see tutorial)
Instructions
- Roast 2 heads of garlic. See my tutorial.
- Add the ground beef and ground pork to a large bowl.
- Add ½ cup of panko breadcrumbs, 1 egg, a little or a liberal shake of red pepper flakes depending on how much heat you like, ½ tsp of fresh ground black pepper, about 1 ½ tbsp of pesto.
- With your hands, incorporate all of the ingredients. Don’t over mix it.
- Cover the bowl and place in the fridge until the roasted garlic is finished and cooled for 15 minutes to cool before adding it to your meat mixture.
- Gently mix in the roasted garlic until it is just incorporated.
- With a cookie scoop, get a heaping scoop that weighs about 2 ounces per meatball and is roughly the same size for even cooking.
- Place the meatballs in a skillet or large pot over medium high heat at first to get a good sear. Then flip them over to brown on all sides and cover with a lid to make sure they cook all the way through.
- I cook mine in two batches and then depending on what you want to do from here, you can add them all back into the pot and top with your favorite spaghetti sauce and simmer for 30 minutes. Or you can portion them out and freeze them for later use.
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18 Comments
I had never thought of using pesto this way before, but love the idea. Thanks for sharing it with us at Fiesta Friday.
Once you try it, it’ll be hard to go back!
These meatballs look fantastic! We’re up to our ears in pesto this summer (thanks to a very ambitious basil plant), so we’re all set to give this a try sometime soon. Thanks for sharing this with Fiesta Friday!
Nothing better than an ambitious basil plant! The gift that keeps on giving!
These look AHMAZING. I might even be able to only substitute the Panko for low carb. Meatballs are the only reason I am still able to do low carb after almost a month.
Sub out 1/2 cup of crushed pork rinds for the panko to get that low carb goodness!
Wow, your meatball look so good, my kind of sub…I love pesto! Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful recipe with all of us at Weekend Potluck! In order for your recipes(s) to be featured, all you have to do is link back to our party within your post or in a link parties page. 🙂
We hope to see you again this Friday, sharing more of your wonderful recipes!
Have a great week,
Mary
Thanks so much Mary! I’ve linked up on the party page.
These meatballs sound delicious! Wish I had that sandwich for lunch today!
Thanks Michele! Batch cook these babies and freeze them and then you can have them when the craving strikes! 🙂
Wow, these sound so good! I am excited to make these and change up my usual meatballs.
They’re a nice change of pace and so full of flavor so if you’re looking to reduce sodium, these are perfect!
OH yes I LOVE Italian foods! These sound delicious. I love making up a large batch of meatballs and freezing them for when I need them. In fact, I was thinking of making a batch next week and we are going to have to try this yummy recipe. Pinned.
I hope you love it as much as we do! Italian food is SOOO yummy! I’ve got one serving left from this batch and I’m putting them in spaghetti for sure!
Your Pesto Meatballs look delicious, we will love them! Hope you are having a great week and thanks so much for sharing with us at Full Plate Thursday.
Miz Helen
Thanks so much, Helen! I know you’ll love them as much as we do.
This looks delicious! I love Pesto! Thank you for sharing with Home and Garden Thursday!
Kathy
Thanks so much! One of our faves!