Make Your Own Meatballs for Italian Pasta Night!

Suitable for VitaClay VF7700 and VM7900 models. Image Courtesy of Budget Bytes

I periodically make a big batch of meatballs to freeze and have on hand for all kinds of dishes: Italian pasta, Asian soup noodles, or to throw in a stir-fry in a pinch. Italian meatballs are very hearty, filling and have a great flavor that is hard to beat.

Make these meatballs and cook them up in sauce in VitaClay—they’re great with teriyaki sauce as an appetizer at a pot luck or served in red sauce over spaghetti. No matter what you use them for, meatballs are always a go-to solution for a quick-easy meal!

Ingredients for Homemade Italian Meatballs

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 lb ground pork
• 2 T coconut oil or bacon grease
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 eggs
• 1 onion, diced
• ¼ bunch fresh chopped parsley
• 3 cloves crushed garlic
• 2 t real salt
• 1 t ground black pepper
• 1 t dried Italian herb seasoning
• ½ t red pepper flakes
• 2 T Parmesan cheese, grated
• ½ c milk
• 1/3 c bread crumbs
• 1 c Red (tomato-based) pasta sauce
• ½ c broth

Directions for Homemade Italian Meatballs

1. Soak the bread crumbs in the milk for 20 minutes
2. Using the oil, cook onions in a hot skillet until translucent, about 4-5 minutes
3. In a large bowl, mix the beef and pork together thoroughly
4. Fold onions, soaked bread crumb mixture and all of the other ingredients into the meat and mix well
5. Cover and refrigerate to combine flavors (about 1 hour)
6. Form the meat into balls using your hands. Meatballs can be large or small, but larger meatballs will require longer cooking times.
7. Add meatballs to VitaClay pot with Italian red pasta sauce and broth.
8. Close, seal and cook on “stew” for about 30 minutes.
9. During cooking, stir meatballs a couple of times to ensure even cooking.
10. Serve over cooked pasta.
11. If you’d like to cook the past with the meatballs, add uncooked pasta and an additional cup of broth or water to the meatballs, stirring, about 20 minutes before cooking is completed.