Easy Meatball Recipe
on Nov 06, 2021, Updated Jun 17, 2024
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Looking for the secret to the juiciest meatballs ever? Look no further than this Easy Meatball Recipe. This is my mom’s secret recipe that she’s been making since I was a little girl 👧. I didn’t fully appreciate how good her meatballs were until I had overcooked, dry af meatballs, which made me crave my mom’s homemade meatballs immediately 🥹. The secret? She uses grated potatoes 🥔 instead of breadcrumbs. Not only does this make them gluten-free, but it also makes them super tender and juicy. Once you try them, you won’t want to make meatballs any other way!
Why You’ll Love Easy Meatball Recipe
Nothing beats my mom’s homemade 🇧🇬 Bulgarian Potato Meatballs! The meat is so tender, and by using grated potatoes instead of breadcrumbs, they’re light, super juicy and naturally gluten-free! I love scaling up this recipe to make a huge batch. They freeze 🧊 perfectly for a quick weeknight meal, and they’re great for packing up for lunch, too. Simply the best!
How to Prepare
🥔 Peel and grate the potato.
💧 Next, squeeze out all of the water with your hands or in a cheesecloth.
🥣 Add the grated potato to a bowl with the ground pork.
🧅 Now, grate the onion, mince the garlic, and add both to the mixing bowl.
🥚 Add in the egg, salt, pepper, paprika and oregano, mix everything really well with clean hands.
🧑🍳 Form the meatballs as big or as small as you like using your hands or an ice-cream scoop.
🔥 Lastly, heat up the oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Shallow fry them for about 4 to 5 minutes on each side and enjoy!
Nonna’s Tip 💧
Wetting my hands to form the meatballs (or burgers) helps prevents sticky meatball hands! Instead of water, you can also use a little bit of oil too!
Easy Meatball Recipe Variations and Substitutions
- We use ground pork but you can use any ground meat of choice and even make these turkey meatballs if you want to make them healthier.
- Use whatever herbs and spices you love: 🌿 parsley or dill would be delicious as well.
- Instead of pan-frying these Bulgarian Potato Meatballs, you can absolutely bake them in the oven on a baking sheet, or place them in the air-fryer. I would spray them with a bit of avocado or olive oil before cooking.
Similar Recipes
Baked Meatballs With Potatoes
1 hr 20 mins
Meatball Soup Recipe
50 mins
Hidden Veggie Meatball Soup
55 mins
Best Served With
- Serve these Bulgarian Potato Meatballs with my delicious 🥗 Bulgarian Salad as a complete meal.
- You can also serve these as a lovely appetizer with a simple tomato dipping sauce.
- Serve these alongside my traditional Bulgarian 🥒 Cold Cucumber Soup for a light meal idea.
Common Questions
Yes, you can use any ground meat you prefer, such as beef, chicken, turkey or your favorite combo.
Yes, you can bake the meatballs as well. I like to place them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and brush each with avocado oil or another oil of your choice. The cooking time will depend on the size of the meatballs and your desired level of browning.
The frying time will depend on how big or small you made them but you can always cut a little piece off the end to see if they’re cooked or use a meat thermometer if you want to be safe.
Absolutely, you definitely can! I would brush them or spray them with some avocado oil. Be sure to look at the air-fryer manual for recommended cooking time and temperature.
Easy Meatball Recipe
Ingredients
- 450 grams ground pork, 1 small pack, or any ground meat you prefer
- 1 small onion, grated
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 medium potato, grated
- 1 medium egg
- 1 teaspoon salt, to taste
- ¼ teaspoon pepper, to taste
- ¼ teaspoon paprika, to taste
- ¼ teaspoon oregano, to taste
- ¼ cup avocado oil, any oil
Instructions
- Note: you can grate the onion if you have picky eaters or dice it very finely if you don't mind the texture. Feel free to pass the onion through a food processor as well.
- Peel and grate the potatoes, squeeze out all of the water with your hands or in a cheese cloth. Add them to a bowl with the rest of the ingredients and mix everything really well with clean hands.
- Form the meatballs as big or as small as you like. If you want to be precise, you can use a large or small ice-cream scoop to form each one into equal balls.
- We like to shape each one into a ball, and flatten it slightly as Bulgarian tradition.
- Now, add the oil to a large pan. Turn the heat on medium-high and let the oil get hot. Once it shimmers, Add the meatballs in one at a time making sure to leave some room between each one.
- Fry each one for 4-5 minutes on each side or until golden. You can also use a meat thermometer if you need to check if the meat is fully cooked.
- Enjoy them with my homemade Bulgarian Salad, Mashed Potatoes, or my crusty No-Knead Bread! Traditionally, we always have a side of Cold Cucumber Soup too.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
My entire family totally loved these potato meatballs – easy to make and absolutely delicious. Served them with green salad and garlic bread.
Thank you, Sneji. for the great recipe. Next on the list for me to try – meatball soup
Thank YOU, Broni! Makes me so happy to hear.
Is there a way to bake this since I rarely have much oil at home?
Hi Andrew! You can bake these in the oven or grill them on the BBQ at 400F for about 10 to 20 minutes, depending on the size of your meatballs, or until the juices run clear.
bulgarian meatball drilla j wys mama
👍 great tasty recipes good job, 😊 thanks God bless have a great day 🌄
Hello.
How small to grate the potatoes?
Thank you
Hi Jolanta, we usually grate them on the shred side of the grater which is the one with the bigger holes