With Italian-style meatballs, sliced baby potatoes, and a few fresh vegetables, this Sheet Pan Baked Meatballs is a complete meal in one. And you'll love the big flavors in this easy dinner! Tips and prepare ahead instructions included.
Once a week, I make a point of doing a quick fridge inventory. I try pull out any veggies or fresh ingredients that may be forgotten in the back of my drawers, then I might pair them with some protein to make a quick skillet or a sheet pan dinner.
This simple exercise is how things like my sheet pan chicken, foil baked salmon, and today's baked meatballs dinner came together.
Italian oven baked meatballs + vegetables
This sheet pan dinner is a great way to use your veggies while stretching one pound of ground beef to feed a family! But the big draw for me here is in the Italian flavors.
The baked meatballs are made from scratch and seasoned with onions, garlic, fresh parsley, dried oregano, mint, and a little grated Parmesan. Bread crumbs and an egg help bind the mixture together. (You can make the meatball mixture one night in advance and keep it refrigerated until you're ready to put your dinner together the next day).
Once you have your meatballs, you'll simply arrange them on a sheet pan with well-seasoned fresh veggies, top them with canned tomatoes, and bake to tender perfection.
Meatball seasoning!
The secret to a tasty meatball is in how you season your meat mixture. Here is what's in my baked meatballs:
- 1 pound ground beef (lean ground beef is fine to use, but don't go too lean or you'll have some tough meatballs)
- Yellow onion (grated or very finely chopped)
- Fresh garlic (minced)
- Fresh parsley (a good 1 cup, chopped)
- Dried oregano
- Dried mint
- Kosher salt and black pepper (as a rule, about 1 teaspoon of salt per pound will ensure well-seasoned meatballs)
- Grated Parmesan (½ cup)
- Bead crumbs (only ¼ cup)
- 1 egg to (to bind the mixture together)
- Extra virgin olive oil (try our Italian Nocellara EVOO in this recipe!)
3 Tips for juicy meatballs
This easy meatball recipe is hard to mess up, just keep these small tips to make sure the meatballs are juicy and delicious:
- Use ground beef with some fat. Regular ground beef is about 70% to 77% percent lean. For these meatballs, it is okay to use something leaner like 85% lean ground beef, but I don't recommend using 96% lean ground beef in this case (unless your health demands it). A little bit of fat is helpful for taste and for texture.
- Do not use too much bread crumbs. You do need some bread crumbs to help bind the meat mixture together, but too much bread crumbs will dry up the meatballs and cause them to fall apart. For this recipe, I used ¼ cup bread crumbs. You can replace the breadcrumbs with 1 small piece of toasted bread that's been soaked in water or milk and rung out dry (this is a trick I use in my Soutzoukakia Greek meatballs and produces juicy meatballs every time).
- Use some extra virgin olive oil. Yes, this little bit of good fat (about 1 to 2 tablespoons) will help add moisture to your meatballs, especially if you went with a leaner ground beef.
How long to bake meatballs?
In a 400 degrees F heated oven, your meatballs will cook in about 15 to 20 minutes or so, depending on their size and your oven. For these sheet pan meatballs with vegetables, I like to cover the pan with foil for about 15 minutes to trap the steam and to help the meatballs and veggies to cook on the inside without drying out. The foil is removed for the last 5 minutes of baking to allowing the meat and vegetables to gain some color.
What to serve with meatballs?
In most cases, I love to serve meatballs with pasta, especially if I've kept some homemade spaghetti sauce in the fridge. But the beauty of baking your meatballs with veggies all on one sheet pan is that you really don't need much else to serve along. Maybe a slice of your favorite crusty bread and a big salad to start the meal.
Can I make this recipe with chicken meatballs instead?
You sure can! Ground turkey or ground chicken can be used similarly in this recipe. Keep in mind that turkey and chicken will be leaner and give you a different flavor profile, and the cooking time might also vary. Check out my earlier chicken meatballs recipe for baking instructions.
How to store leftovers
These baked meatballs make great leftovers--just store in an airtight container in the fridge and reheat in a medium-heated oven. I like to store leftovers in individual containers for a grab-and-go lunch that's healthy and easy to reheat anywhere!
More meatball recipes to try:
Browse more Italian recipes. Browse all Mediterranean recipes.
Sheet Pan Baked Meatballs and Vegetables (Italian-Style)
Ingredients
For the Vegetables
- 1 red onion (large, halved and thinly sliced (¼-inch) )
- ½ pound baby potatoes (quartered or sliced small to cook quickly)
- 6 baby bell peppers (any color, cut into ¼ inch thick batons)
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- extra virgin olive oil
- 28 ounces canned San Marzano tomatoes (whole, peeled with their juices)
- Kosher salt and black pepper
For the Meatballs
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 yellow onion (small, very finely chopped)
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 cup fresh parsley (chopped)
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried mint
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- ½ cup grated Parmesan
- ¼ cup bread crumbs
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 400 degrees F and position a rack in the center.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the vegetables, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper. Drizzle 2 extra virgin olive oil and toss to combine. Transfer the vegetables to a large lightly oiled sheet pan and spread them out.
- In the same large bowl, combine the meat, onions, garlic, parsley, oregano, mint, Parmesan, bread crumbs and egg. Season with a big pinch of kosher salt and black pepper. Drizzle with a little olive oil (about 1 tbsp). Mix until everything is well-combined. Form the meat mixture into 1-inch meatballs and lightly press the center of the meatballs with your thumb (do not completely flatten).
- Arrange the meatballs (or patties) in the same sheet pan with the vegetables. Pour the canned tomatoes all over. Season with kosher salt and drizzle the top of the tomatoes generously with extra virgin olive oil.
- Cover the sheet pan with foil and bake in the heated oven for about 15 minutes, then uncover and bake for another 4 to 5 minutes or until the meatballs are fully cooked through.
Video
Notes
- Prepare Ahead Notes: You can prepare the meatballs one night in advance. Line a tray with parchment paper and arrange the meatballs on top, then cover tightly and refrigerate until you're ready to put your dinner together. Similarly, you can chop your vegetables and keep them in the fridge for the next day (potatoes tend to get dark, so it's best to slice them before cooking).
- Leftovers will keep in the fridge for a good 4 days or so. If you like, store leftovers in separate containers for lunch.
- This recipe will serve 4 to 5 people for dinner with a side of crusty bread and your favorite salad to start the meal.
- Review the full post for additional tips on keeping your meatballs juicy.
- Visit Our Shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients, including extra virgin olive oils and spices.
This was delicious however the cooking time was way off. I checked after 15 minutes and the meatballs were just warm and the potatoes hard. I put the foil back on and cooked for 25 minutes. I took the foil and broiled for another 5 minutes which resulted in a perfectly cooked meal. I wish I had read the comments before cooking as many confirm the timing problem.
Suzy, maybe its time to edit the directions to reflect a more realistic cooking time.
Hi, Martin. Thanks for the feedback. We will take a look!
This is amazing! We paired it with a Greek salad and some rosemary olive oil bread. So filling and so tasty on a cold winter’s evening. The cooking time must be off though. It took about 45 minutes to bake and then another 5 with the foil off.
Thanks for the feedback, Andrea. Ovens can vary a bit, which might account for the increased cooking time you had.
This looks good, but there is no way 15 minutes is enough time to cook it thoroughly.
Loving the smell coming from my kitchen, loved the ease of prep…not loving the cooking time.
I came to look at the comments and re-read the recipe just to make sure I read it right, and I did. I put it in at 400 for 25 minutes. When I checked, the meatballs were not cooked and my potatoes were still hard. But I’m sure the taste will be worth the wait…
Cook time in this recipe. Needs work.
These are literally the best meatballs I've ever tried! They're unbelievable. We loved the sauce - just everything.
Wonderful to hear! Thanks, Diane!
Pretty good, but I had to bake it three times as long. My oven registered a little over 400 degrees, but I had to keep adding another 15 min & everyone was "starving"! You don't really need pasta or any other starch because of the potatoes. It's not quick, but was pretty good.
Can I leave out the Parmesan to make this dairy free?
Yes, Charlotte. That would probably work just fine. Enjoy!
Turned out amazing, had to increase cooking time quite a bit tho. Not sure if it’s just me, even 35 minutes was not enough. Might put it in for 45 minutes next time, def on repeat!!
Once again a great idea and recipe, thank you Suzy. Of course I couldn't stick to the recipe a 100% and used up the veggies I had at hand but I guess that's the idea for this dish. A nice glass of red wine on our front porch, a perfect supper for a warm summer day!
Sounds heavenly!! 🙂
This came out well, I'll make it again. A few issues, though, Instruction No. 2 said "Drizzle 2 extra virgin olive oil" I assume you meant 2 tablespoons. You say to use a can of whole plum tomatoes, and to pour it onto the mixture before baking. I believe the whole tomatoes need to be broken up before doing that. Also you say to cook for 4-5 minutes after removing the aluminum foil tent, I found that the peppers and potatoes as well as the meatballs were not cooked through after the suggested 5 minutes. I left them in for 20 minutes after taking the foil off, though results will vary.
Suzy—this recipe is a weekly or bi-weekly go-to meal for us! I use veg. meatballs and switch up the veggies depending on the season. It’s so versatile and I love many of your other recipes! Thank you for sharing healthy, scrumptious meals!
Thank you, Virginia! I appreciate your review.
Love your recipes. Have made quite a few of them and they are delicious!
Thank you so much, Agnes!
This was very good. The potatoes weren't quite cooked so I sautéed them in a skillet at the end to finish. Next time I will put them in the oven early to give them a little extra baking time.
Thanks for the feedback, Michal!
Today I prepared the potatoes, I still need to cook them over time, I left them for 10 more minutes, my kitchen smells delicious. They will be for dinner today, I already want to eat them... once again I mention that I really like your recipes, because they have a lot of vegetables... Thank you very much. to share..
My pleasure, Vicky! Glad your enjoying the recipes you find here.
This recipe looks delicious, has great reviews, I like the fact that you can put in whatever veggies u have on hand. Found the mint was a interesting ingredient to add!! Will keep you posted 😊
These were just the best meatballs ever. So flavorful and juicy. These will be a regular on our dinner table. Thanks, another fantastic meal.
Thanks so much!
I just saw this recipe in your weekly meal plan. Made it tonight but used ground turkey meat because I had already defrosted it to use with something else. Next time I will use hamburger meat because they turned out a little dry. But, everything else was perfect. I did add broccoli and mushrooms. Another great recipe! Thanks!
Connie
Thanks so much, Connie!