These ricotta meatballs swimming in a classic arrabbiata sauce made with the finest San Marzano Tomatoes are everythiiiiing! The only Italian meatballs recipe you’ll ever need!
Ricotta Meatballs
Fluffy and moist, the absolute best Italian meatballs recipe ever and the only one you’ll ever need!
Served with spaghetti, linguine, rigatoni or bruschetta, the only question is: can you handle this?!
They are simply Italian beef meatballs with ricotta cheese inside the mix to make them extra magical. I honestly wouldn’t care to post another meatball recipe on the internet unless of course they are the very best Italian meatballs!
Simmered gently (no frying) in lots of homemade arrabbiata sauce, marinara or even a chianti sauce if you fancy that, real comfort food never tasted this good.
As a variation you could use a mix of Italian sausage and ground beef if you like. Just don’t overwork the meat mixture, it does nothing but toughen it up so try and do your best to resist the temptation to ruin perfection.
Since it’s the Holidays after all, I sprinkled a handful of insanely creamy delicious fontina cheese over the top and let it melt under the broiler for both Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner.
You could of course just serve them as appetizers in the sauce on the antipasto platter and call it a day. If you are after fluffy and saucy meatballs, these are for you!
Make Ahead + Storage
You can prepare everything the day before and refrigerate. Reheat on the stovetop, sprinkle with cheese and broil just before serving. The meatballs can also be frozen in airtight lidded containers up to 4 months. Thaw out in the refrigerator before reheating on the stovetop, oven or microwave.
Serving suggestions…
- Roasted Red Pepper Pasta
- Focaccia Bread
- Garlic Knots
- Thin Crust Pizza
- Ricotta Gnocchi
- Oven Roasted Broccoli
- Spaghetti Puttanesca.
Mangia Bene!
P.S. Since posting this recipe we’ve gone plant-based as a family, which turned out to be one of the best decisions of our life. We now thrive on these Chickpea Meatballs instead. Please join us on the VeggieSociety .
Ricotta Meatballs Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground chuck (organic grass fed)
- 3/4 cup ricotta cheese
- 2 tbsp Sicilian oregano dry or fresh
- 1.5 tsp sea salt + more to taste
- 1 tsp black pepper freshly ground
- 3 cloves garlic grated
- 3 tbsp grated onion
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 egg large
- 1/4 cup bread crumbs plain gluten free
- 1/4 cup Italian parsley chopped
- 1 batch this Arrabiata sauce
- 1/3 lb Fontina cheese shredded
Instructions
- Prepare the arrabiata sauce in advance according to the recipe.
- In a large mixing bowl combine the ground chuck, ricotta cheese, oregano, parsley, sea salt, garlic, onion, baking soda, bread crumbs and egg. Use your hand and mix well until everything is combined.1 lb ground chuck, 3/4 cup ricotta cheese, 2 tbsp Sicilian oregano, 1.5 tsp sea salt + more to taste, 1 tsp black pepper, 3 cloves garlic, 3 tbsp grated onion, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1 egg, 1/4 cup bread crumbs, 1/4 cup Italian parsley
- Pour a little olive oil in the palm of your hands and form 21 meatballs, the size of golf balls.
- Meanwhile bring the arrabiata sauce to a simmer and drop the meatballs in the simmering sauce. Cover with a tight lid and cook on low flame for 15 minutes. Remove from heat.1 batch this Arrabiata sauce
- Remove the lid and sprinkle the meatballs over the top with the fontina cheese.1/3 lb Fontina cheese
Broiler Method:
- Preheat your broiler and broil the meatball bake for a few minutes until the cheese has melted. Sprinkle with the parsley and serve on top of mashed potatoes.
Oven Method:
- Preheat your oven to 350"F.
- Follow all the above steps and after you sprinkle the meatballs with the cheese you loosely cover the pan with some aluminum foil. Bake for about 10 t0 15 minutes until the cheese has melted.
Notes
- Make Ahead + Storage - You can prepare everything the day before and refrigerate in the sauce. Reheat on the stovetop, sprinkle with cheese and broil just before serving. The meatballs can also be frozen in airtight lidded containers up to 4 months. Thaw out in the refrigerator before reheating on the stovetop, oven or microwave.
- Oven Method - If you don't have a broiler, simply heat up your oven to 350"F. Loosely cover the ricotta meatballs and sauce with aluminum foil and bake in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes until the cheese has melted.
Nutrition
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These meatballs are so rich and sausy – look mouthwatering!
They were so fluffy and so saucy yeah hehe
I come from a wonderful italian fam, n have tweaked my balls a bit with ricotta. Thank u for sharing
Wow, I am literally drooling over your pictures. I can NOT wait to try those meatballs. NOM.
Thanks Robin, I really hope you try the meatballs, they are so good !
I love this magical noodle-less lasagna concoction! Seriously, this looks fantastic, and I cannot wait to make it. Yum!
Me too, I think I forever changed the way I make lasagna, so easy and extra cheesy 😉
This looks good! We are sick of everything tasting the same so I am going to have to try this for something new a different.
Yes I agree, it pays off to be different 😉
Those look so good! I’d love to make myself a sub out of these Yummo!
Great idea, and lots of melty cheese, yum !
We have pasta at least once a week. I would love to add these meatballs into the mix! They look incredible.
Please do, you won’t be disappointed !
I am so over turkey and ham. This meatball dish looks so good.
You and I think alike ! Holiday dinner makeover 😉
These look so delicious. My family would love these. Thanks for the recipe.
I have never made ricotta meatballs before. This looks like a delicious recipe to try. I think my family will love it.
I agree, must make soon Ann !
My kids love when i make meatballs. I will have to try this recipe next time. It looks so delicious.
yes please surprise them with this and report back to mama ha!
This looks like a fantastic recipe. I will have to get the ingredients so i can make this for dinner tomorrow.
Please report back Tammi, wanna hear all about it 🙂
Oh my goodness, I am drooling over here. I mean, honestly, this looks amazing. I have to try to make this recipe. It looks devine
Thanks Shauna, ope you give it a go !
Wow this just screams delicious. I need to try this. I’ve never had arrabiata sauce before, but this looks amazing.
You’ve gotta make this, I promise you’ll love it !
Those meatballs look so good with that sauce. I think my family would be pretty happy if I made this recipe!
I would have to agree 😉 Enjoy !
I just showed this recipe to my husband and he got a huge grin on his face. I guess I know what I am making for dinner tomorrow night!
Haha I love it ! I know that grin too 😉
We love meatballs in our house!! This sounds like a delicious recipe to make for dinner my kids would love it.
Gotta try the ricotta meatballs Vera, on the to do list they must go 😉
Oh my goodness I found it taste, this would be perfect for Christmas Eve. I’m sure my family would love it.
I’m sure they will be a hit, they always are in our home !
I think my husband would absolutely fall over if I made this for him. Sounds so delicious and filling!
Hope you make them foe him Jennifer 🙂
Oh my gosh this looks delicious! I can almost smell it through the screen – especially the sauce!
That sauce is everything Lisa, I’m crazy about the smell of simmering sauce.
That looks delicious!! I love ricotta in anything!
You and me both !
This looks amazing! I will be makin this at some point this week, Thank you for sharing.
So glad to hear ! Enjoy !
I love meatballs that are light and swimming in sauce. This dish is really lovely.
Thank you Maureen, as a vegetarian wanna be myself I have to say: that sauce is everything ! xo’s
These meatballs look yummy and your response is all positive. But come on people…. who has actually made these things? reviews are supposed to help us make them right and not browning the meatballs seems like poached meatballs to me? But i understand now after seeing the mix, it is so creamy it would likely be a mess frying or baking them first. Please post some people who have made these so it can help the average cook to make them right!! Reviews are supposed to give advice with experience making the food!! Your pictures make everything look awesome!
Hi Michele, I made these ricotta meatballs countless times. You are free to fry them If you insist, however that step is unnecessary and a waste of time since they end up in the sauce anyway. Make sure to roll them in some breadcrumbs first, they won’t fall apart. They are also great baked just like that if you prefer, it really is a very easy to execute recipe and hope you give it a go 🙂 Happy Cooking !
Oh my gosh, these were the most yummy meatballs ever and I have made lots of meatballs over the years! I followed the recipe exactly as directed and just put the meatballs in the sauce raw as instructed and they were the most beautiful round tender meatballs ever. Now I know I do NOT need to fry meatballs ever again! The ricotta cheese is a brilliant addition and the sauce was so rich it did not miss the sausage that i usually add! One of my sons told me it was the best sauce he ever had…(might be a little of a backhanded compliment for me, but that WAS a delish recipe; ) Thank you for your help! I pass your recipes and website to my best friends and family!
Michelle, this comment makes me so happy ! I make that sauce all the time as well, and I’ve never had anyone say no to an extra ricotta meatball. So happy your family loved them, enjoy ! Xo’s
I have made these and they are so light and fluffy and delicious. This is my new go to recipe. I have always preferred cooking my meatballs in the sauce. I JOKed with my husband that they are like meatball dumplings. Very delicious!!
Haha that is too funny! So happy you loved them! I’m about to make a batch for hubby even tough we are looking at 110″F these next few days. Yikes, wish me luck! Xo’s ~ Florentina
I am Italian and had never made meatballs without frying them. But I have to say these are so light and after floating in the sauce they almost melt in your mouth. The sauce recipe is delish too! So easy to make that is why I tried it to begin with and happy I did. i have made it two times now. I did cut down on the oregano to 1 1/2 TBS.
I never post on any site but it was really bothering me too how everyone posted about how it looked but had not made it.
Try it, It is great!
I’m only going to make ricotta meatballs from now on. They were absolutely perfect.
I don’t see where the breadcrumbs come in to play in the recipe directions?
They go together with the meatball ingredients to your liking 🙂
If I cant. Find grass fed beef can I use regular ground beef?
Made these last night. These are now my go-to Ricotta Meatballs!! They were AMAZING!! I didn’t even cook them in the sauce……I just baked them on a cookie sheet in the oven. Can’t wait to try cooking them in the sauce!! Very yummy and light. Recommended highly!!
Tonight I made these for my family, and we all loved this recipe ! ♡
I followed the exact recipe, for the meatballs. Then I cooked the meatballs in arrabiata sauce and added the fontina cheese for the finish yummy !!
The meatballs were very moist, just the way my family and I prefer them ..
I will also look at your veggie site since we do enjoy meatless mondays at our house ..
Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe ♡
Very delicious!!! I didn’t have ricotta but I did have cottage cheese on hand, so what I did was put the cottage cheese, onion, garlic, herbs, egg, salt and pepper and baking soda all into my food processor (which made making these so much easier!!) Until everything was smooth, then I mixed in the breadcrumbs and meat. I then rolled the balls, after forming them, into more breadcrumbs and baked them in the oven. Delicious!!! I made meatball subs with these and they were just divine, light and fluffy, so so so delicious!! Thank you so much for sharing!
Does the parsley go in with the meat mixture before forming into meatballs??
yes it does!
Made these again !! I realised I forgot to rate the last time I commented , so here’s all the stars ☆☆☆☆☆ delish will continue to keep this recipe thank you Florentina !!
I don’t love meatballs, (I grew up in a Dutch family, and never ate pasta as a kid, weird right?!) but my farm family sure does. I stumbled across this recipe while looking for something else, and thought they looked SO Good. Man, do they look appetizing. Size I had all the ingredients in the house I made them.
AH-MAZ-ing!!!
Thank you! I have stopped making meat sauce and now only make meatballs. The boys (all adults, but I still call them boys) LOVE them. I make this for every family gathering as a delicious appetizer too. With some crusty bread?! A HUGE hit.
I made these today for a friend who is coming for dinner! I ate 3 meatballs before she arrived! Thank you! These are fabulous! I had a little extra beef so I added more fresh ricotta than stated! I used a shallot instead of an onion!
Will be my go to recipe! Delish
Make the meatballs!! These were amazing. I actually used ground sirloin and reduced fat ricotta and they were still so moist after simmering in the sauce. Cannot recommend highly enough.
Best meatballs ever! 🙂 This is a go-to recipe in our household, so good!
I just have to say this: I am a professional cook (never went to chef school) of over 40 years. I primarily focus on seafood but have always dabbled in cultural recipes. I had never heard of ricotta meatballs until this past weekend and decided to try them and this is the recipe I decided on. I was pretty blown away. NEVER had such light and… FLUFFY… if you can use that term with a meatball… meatballs. I was interested in seeing what the baking soda did, and it added to the process. Of course, I tweaked things, it’s what we do. I did simmer meatballs in the sauce and did not add fontina. But not anything that affected the real outcome so not going there. This meatball recipe is a game changer.