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close up of one bitten air fryer meatball showing the texture and juicy meatballs

Air Fryer Meatballs

Air Fryer Meatballs will be your new favorite meatballs recipe! Juicy, tasty, easy and quick meatballs! Serve them as is, or over your favorite spaghetti and meatballs. We went with the classic flavors of Italian meatballs today and they were absolutely a HIT with family and friends! Be sure to watch the video for TIPS and how to.

Course Air Fryer, Appetizer, Main Course, Main Dish
Cuisine American, Italian, Mediterranean
Keyword air fryer meatballs, how to cook meatballs, how to make meatballs, meatballs, meatballs recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Servings 6
Calories 451 kcal
Author Mahy

Ingredients

Beef

  • 2 lbs ground beef

Meatballs

  • 1 onion grated and squeezed from excess liquid`
  • 3 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese grated
  • 1/3 cup bread crumbs we use panko
  • 1/4 cup bell peppers grated
  • 2 Tablespoons parsley minced
  • 2 Tabelspoons oregano fresh, minced
  • 1 teasooons each salt and pepper
  • 2 teaspoons oregano
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl you'll add all the ingredients over the ground beef.
    All the ingredients that were in small bowls are added to the bowl of minced beef
  2. We love using gloves to mix all the meatballs ingredients together. You want to break down the egg, blend the meat with the flavors so that the mixture looks evenly mixed.
    A hand wearing a plastic glove mixing the meat and ingredients together
  3. Once the meatballs mixture is ready, you can either pop it in the fridge until ready to shape, or you may proceed right away. This is a great prep in advance step that you can make the day before for dinner the next day 💛
    The air fryer meatballs mixture in a bowl ready
  4. Our favorite tool and secret to evenly shaped meatballs is using an ICE CREAM SCOOP! YES you read that. Just like you would with cookie dough, the scoop created evenly shaped and perfectly portioned meatballs.
    A hand holding an ice cream scoop to start portioning the matballs recipe
  5. When you have evenly sized meatballs, then your cooking time is easy to control. You also ensure juicy meatballs every time you make them.
    A scoop filled with the air fryer meatballs mixture
  6. This step is optional. I take every scoop of meatballs and roll it between my hands for just a 5-8 seconds to make sure it's an even round shape. This is purely aesthetic, but we LOVE it.
    A hand holding the scoop of meat mixture and rolling it into a perfect shape
  7. Repeat the same process with all the mixture and arrange the meatballs on a lined baking sheet as shown above.
    scooped up meatballs shaped into perfect meatball shape on a sheet pan
  8. Now it's time for the magic. Place the meatballs in the basket of your air fryer. I have a large air fryer here which is about 8 quart. You don't need that size as you can see it's nearly half empty.
    The meatballs are added into an air fryer basket
  9. As with all our Air Fryer Recipes, we love a spray of avocado oil right before cooking. This helps the meatballs not stick to the air fryer basket, and furthermore, it helps with a nice delicate crisp crust on the meat.
    A hand spraying some oil spray over the meatballs in the air fryer
  10. Another crucial step is shaking the air fryer halfway. Remember the main source of heat comes from the top coil and it circulates in the basket area, so shaking ensures even exposure to heat.
    Shaking the air fryer halfway showing the progress of air frying the meatballs
  11. A final sprinkle of parsley and your recipe is ready! Have a look at how perfect these are!! If you have a meat thermometer, you should aim for 165 degrees F.
    The air fryer meatballs ready and cooked, and a tong holding one meatballs close enough to show the details of the cooked air fryer meatballs

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

Air Fryer Meatballs TIP and FAQ

  1. Choose your favorite type of meat to start with, you can make it with chicken too!
  2. You have a choice to make them as lean as you want to.
  3. Make sure to mix the ingredients well into the ground beef, also make sure to squeeze out any extra liquid from the onions and bell peppers. Watery meatballs will fall apart when cooking.
  4. The meatball mixture can be made two days in advance and stored in the fridge, and shape them on the day you're cooing them.
  5. Use an ice cream scoop for even meatballs.
  6. Even meatballs will cook evenly which is ideal for meatballs to remain juicy and not dry out.
  7. Preheating your air fryer for 3 minutes will save you some time, but it's NOT a must.
  8. We love shaping the meatballs for a few second extra into perfect round shape, but this is optional.
  9. Spraying your air fryer with avocado oil will ensure the meat doesn't stick to the basket. 
  10. Avoid overcrowding the basket for the meatballs to cook evenly. 
  11. Make sure to shake halfway because that way the heat distributes evenly among the meatballs
  12. The meatballs are ready when the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F, or when golden brown.

How to Store and Reheat Leftover Meatballs/Make in Advance

Store the leftover meatballs:

Store the cooked meatballs in air tight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Alternatively you may place them in a single layer in a ziploc bag and freeze them for a month.

Reheat

To Reheat the meatballs, air fry them at 350 degrees for 5 minutes, shaking halfway. If frozen, thaw the meatballs and reheat the same way. You can likewise reheat in the microwave or oven if you prefer, but we recommend not.

Make in Advance

You can premix the beef and all the ingredients and keep that in the fridge for two days max in your fridge. Scoop and air fry the day you're serving it. On busy days, we blend the mixture the night before, so after a long of work, dinner would be ready in minutes.

Nutrition Facts
Air Fryer Meatballs
Amount Per Serving
Calories 451 Calories from Fat 297
% Daily Value*
Fat 33g51%
Saturated Fat 13g81%
Trans Fat 2g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Monounsaturated Fat 14g
Cholesterol 137mg46%
Sodium 290mg13%
Potassium 512mg15%
Carbohydrates 8g3%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 2g2%
Protein 30g60%
Vitamin A 643IU13%
Vitamin C 12mg15%
Calcium 118mg12%
Iron 4mg22%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.