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    Home » Recipes » Air Fryer Recipes » Air Fryer Meatballs Recipe

    Air Fryer Meatballs Recipe

    Published: Jun 2, 2022 Modified: Apr 3, 2023 by Isabel Laessig

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    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video

    Air Fryer Meatballs are crispy on the outside, perfectly juicy on the inside, and take just 15 minutes to make. This is your classic Italian meatball recipe at its best!

    Lifting a meatball out of meatball sauce recipe with a fork
    Jump to:
    • Best Air Fryer Meatball Recipe
    • How to Make Meatballs
    • How to Cook Meatballs in the Air Fryer
    • How to Cook Meatballs in the Oven
    • Meatball Internal Temperature
    • Air Fryer Meatball Sauce
    • How to Freeze Meatballs
    • How to Reheat Meatballs
    • How to Store Meatballs
    • Meatballs in Air Fryer Tools Needed
    • Air Fryer Recipes
    • 📋 Recipe
    • 💬 Reviews

    Best Air Fryer Meatball Recipe

    At our house, we are obsessed with meatballs! We love them with Sunday Gravy and honey sriracha sauce and in Italian Wedding Soup and Instant Pot Meatballs. But from the first I made them in the air fryer, they quickly became our favorite way to prepare them.

    I’ve been experimenting with making air fryer recipes, and I thought, “why not make meatballs in the air fryer?” It’s one of the best ideas I have ever had! I can’t believe how quickly they come together and how crispy but juicy they are.

    There is something about the crispy outside and the soft and juicy inside. This recipe truly resembles your grandmom’s old-fashioned fried meatballs without the guilt!

    Close up of air fryer meatballs with green onions in a white bowl

    Ground beef meatballs are easy to make in just minutes. Once you have them all rolled and ready to go, they cook in no time.

    The best part about air fryer meatballs is how quickly they cook and the results! Crispy outside, juicy inside… they are truly the best.

    Raw meatballs on an air fryer tray

    How to Make Meatballs

    1. Place 1 pound ground pork and 2 pounds 80/20 ground beef in a large mixing bowl.
    2. In a separate bowl, beat 4 eggs. Then, add them to the bowl with the meat.
    3. Mix in 1 cup Italian breadcrumbs, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, and 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning. Stir it all together.
    4. Add 1 cup Parmesan cheese to the mixture. Stir to combine completely.
    5. Divide the mixture into meatballs by rolling the meat into a ball shape using your hands.

    How to Cook Meatballs in the Air Fryer

    1. Add meatballs to your air fryer tray, evenly spaced apart so none of them are touching. I love my 10-Quart Air Fryer for this.
    2. Bake at 400°F for 5 minutes. Swap the trays: move the bottom tray to the top rack, and the top tray to the bottom rack. Cook for another 5 minutes. After taking it out of the air fryer, sprinkle with sea salt to taste.

    How to Cook Meatballs in the Oven

    1. After meatballs are rolled, add them to a baking sheet and bake in your oven at 425°F for 15-20 minutes. 
    2. Sprinkle with sea salt and add to your favorite sauce.

    Meatball Internal Temperature

    Always cook your meatballs until the meatballs reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer.

    I love to follow this beef temperature chart and use a meat thermometer to ensure the perfect meatball temperature.

    Air Fryer Meatball Sauce

    For the best meatball sauce ever, give my Easy Meatball Sauce Recipe a try! It’s the perfect complement to these crispy, juicy meatballs.

    I also love meatballs dipped in my Garlic Butter Sauce or with One Pot Spaghetti. So good!

    How to Freeze Meatballs

    This recipe makes enough for 3 dozen meatballs, which means it’s perfect for freezing!

    1. Mix the beef and roll out your meatballs. Place any you’re not intending to use on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Make sure they aren’t touching!
    2. Add to the freezer for about 1 hour until they’re frozen solid. Remove from the baking sheet and add to a freezer-safe bag or container. Label with the freezing date.

    When ready to enjoy, cook in the air fryer for 15 minutes instead of 10.

    Meatballs on an air fryer tray

    How to Reheat Meatballs

    Reheat leftover air fryer meatballs in the microwave in 1-minute intervals until heated through, or on a baking sheet under the oven broiler for about 3-5 minutes until crisp and heated through.

    Cooked Air fryer meatballs on air fryer tray

    How to Store Meatballs

    Store leftover meatballs in an airtight container or zip-lock bag for about 3-4 days in the refrigerator or frozen for up to 3-4 months.

    Air fryer meatballs on the table in front of a bowl

    Meatballs in Air Fryer Tools Needed

    • Air Fryer Oven
    • Aluminum foil
    • Mixing bowl

    Air Fryer Recipes

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    • Air Fryer Chick-fil-A Nuggets
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    • Air Fryer Steak and Lobster
    • Air Frye Ham

    Try more of my Easy Vacation Meals for ideas of what you can make while on vacation.

    📋 Recipe

    Three rows of air fryer meatballs on the table

    Best Air Fryer Meatballs

    Isabel Laessig
    You just can’t go wrong with homemade meatballs! There is something about a classic meatball recipe everyone loves. These air fryer meatballs take a classic and make it even more delicious. All in just 10 minutes!
    5 from 7 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 5 minutes mins
    Cook Time 10 minutes mins
    Total Time 15 minutes mins
    Course Appetizer or main
    Cuisine American/Italian
    Servings 36 meatballs
    Calories 129 kcal

    Equipment

    • Air fryer OR oven

    Ingredients
      

    • 1 pound ground pork
    • 2 pounds ground beef 80/20
    • 4 eggs
    • 1 cup Italian breadcrumbs
    • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
    • 1 teaspoon onion powder
    • 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
    • 1 cup Parmesan cheese
    • Sea salt to taste
    Cooking Conversions

    See our Cooking Conversions Chart for help converting measurements!

    Instructions
     

    How to Make Meatballs

    • Place 1 pound ground pork and 2 pounds 80/20 ground beef in a large mixing bowl.
      Ground beef and pork in a bowl
    • In a separate bowl, beat 4 eggs. Then, add them to the bowl with the meat.
      Mixing eggs for air fryer meatball mixture
    • Mix in 1 cup Italian breadcrumbs, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, and 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning. Stir it all together.
      Dry spices on top of meatball mixture in bowl
    • Add 1 cup Parmesan cheese to the mixture. Stir to combine completely.
      Mixing Parmesan into beef and pork meatballs
    • Divide the mixture into meatballs by rolling the meat into a ball shape using your hands.
      Rolling a meatball into a ball

    How to Cook Meatballs in the Air Fryer

    • Add meatballs to your air fryer tray, evenly spaced apart so none of them are touching.
      Raw meatballs on an air fryer tray
    • Bake at 400°F for 5 minutes. Swap the trays: move the bottom tray to the top rack, and the top tray to the bottom rack. Cook for another 5 minutes. After taking out of the air fryer, sprinkle with sea salt to taste.
      Two trays of air fryer meatballs in the air fryer to cook

    Video

    Notes

    • This meatball mixture makes about 3 dozen medium-size meatballs.
    • Serve with best ever meatball sauce recipe for a delicious combination of flavors!
    • How to Cook Meatballs in the Oven: Add meatballs to a baking sheet and bake in your oven at 425°F for 15-20 minutes. Sprinkle with sea salt.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 129kcalCarbohydrates: 3gProtein: 9gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 47mgSodium: 120mgPotassium: 124mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 57IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 50mgIron: 1mg
    Keyword air fry meatballs, air fryer meatballs, best meatball recipe, meatballs in air fryer
    Did you try this recipe?Tag #SundaySupper on social and leave a comment below!
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    Isabel, AKA Family Foodie

    About Isabel Laessig

    Hi! I’m Isabel Laessig, also known as Family Foodie, creator of Sunday Supper Movement and author of the Boujee Steak Cookbook. Sunday Supper is my mission to bring family back around the dinner table. Join me in making family meal-time a tradition to celebrate!

    » About Me

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Debbie Chambers says

      May 05, 2020 at 10:35 pm

      Hi, your nutrition label shows the calories as being 579 – is that per meatball? Or per serving? How many in a serving are there to equal 579 calories? Thank you, they do sound very good! Debbie

      Reply
      • Em Beitel says

        May 06, 2020 at 11:47 am

        Hi Debbie! Thank you so much for your question! We’ve updated the recipe for accuracy. This recipe will make about 3 dozen medium-sized meatballs, so that’s about 129 calories per meatball. For the 579 that would’ve been about 4 to 5 meatballs per person.
        We hope you love them! Please let us know what you think!

        Reply
    2. Donna says

      January 14, 2023 at 3:17 pm

      Do you spray the tin foil with any kind of spray?

      Reply
      • Em Beitel says

        January 23, 2023 at 4:15 pm

        Hi Donna! No, no need. Thank you and enjoy!

        Reply
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