Rising up subsequent door to an Italian-American family, Sunday dinners all the time centered round meatballs. However once I first tasted Olive Backyard’s model, I used to be immediately transported again to my next-door neighbor’s kitchen. After years of testing and perfecting, I’ve lastly cracked the code to recreate these beloved restaurant meatballs at house. The most effective half? You may make a whole family-sized batch for lower than the price of a single restaurant portion.


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What Makes the Olive Backyard Meatballs So Scrumptious?
Olive Backyard friends love the chain’s meatballs on spaghetti or served as Meatball Parmigiana. They’re juicy, tender, and flavorful. However they’re additionally costly.
With this easy meatball recipe, you may make sufficient Olive Backyard-style meatballs to feed a whole household for the price of a single meal on the restaurant.
Why You Ought to Strive This Recipe
Not like many copycat recipes floating across the web, this model stays true to Olive Backyard’s precise meatball recipe, which makes use of solely beef (no pork!). The key lies within the excellent ratio of breadcrumbs to meat and a fastidiously crafted mix of Italian seasonings that creates that signature Olive Backyard taste.
Elements For Olive Backyard MeatballsFor the Meatballs:
- Floor black pepper – Provides conventional Italian spice and depth
- Floor chuck (80/20 mix) – Supplies the bottom protein and important fats for juicy meatballs
- Plain bread crumbs – Acts as a binder and helps retain moisture
- Shole milk – Provides moisture and helps create a young texture
- Giant eggs – Binds elements collectively and provides richness
- Italian seasoning – Supplies the signature Italian herb mix taste
- Dried parsley – Provides coloration and contemporary, natural notes
- Purple pepper flakes – Contributes a delicate warmth and depth of taste
- Onion powder – Provides savory taste with out texture interference
- Granulated garlic – Supplies important garlic taste with out uncooked garlic’s chunk
- Salt – Enhances all flavors and helps proteins bind
For the meat, you need at the very least an 80/20 mix. Meaning a combination containing at the very least 20 p.c fats. For even juicer meatballs, you possibly can select to make use of floor beef with a fats content material of as much as 30 p.c because the bread crumbs will absorb any extra fats splendidly.


How To Make This Recipe For Olive Backyard Meatballs
Making the meatball combination for this copycat Olive Backyard meatballs recipe will be performed in certainly one of two methods, both all of sudden or in steps:
Every thing at As soon as Methodology:
- Place all of the meatball elements in a big bowl.


- Stir or combine gently along with your palms and don’t overwork the meat.
Steps Methodology
- Or place the bottom beef and bread crumbs in a big mixing bowl. Evenly toss along with your fingertips to evenly distribute the bread crumbs.
- Whisk collectively the entire milk, egg, Italian seasonings, dried parsley, onion powder, granulated garlic, purple pepper flakes, salt, and pepper in a measuring bowl with a spout.
- Slowly add the milk and egg combination to the meat combination in phases. Evenly mix the meatball combination along with your fingertips, however don’t overwork it, or the meatballs can prove robust.
After the meatball combination is ready:
- Cowl the meatball combination with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at the very least half-hour. Resting the meat will permit the flavors to meld and the bread crumbs to take in some additional moisture.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Grease a shallow baking dish with cooking spray or line a roasting tray with parchment paper.
- Moist your palms and type 1-1/2 inch diameter meatballs. Place the meatballs on the tray or within the baking dish.


- Bake for 10 to fifteen minutes. Flip the meatballs halfway via the cooking time. Use an instant-read thermometer to test that the meatball’s inside temperature has reached at the very least 165°F.
- If desired, serve the meatballs in heat marinara sauce and/or sprinkle contemporary parsley, oregano, or parmesan cheese on prime of the meatballs.


Recipe Variations
Baked is the popular technique for getting ready these meatballs. You too can make pan-fried meatballs by cooking them in a big skillet. First over medium-high warmth to sear them, then reducing to medium warmth to prepare dinner till performed.
What To Serve With Italian Meatballs
The basic option to serve Olive Backyard’s Italian meatballs is in a wealthy marinara sauce over spaghetti and topped with grated cheese. A backyard salad or steamed broccoli is nice for a facet dish. Breadsticks are the right addition to this meal together with a glass of purple wine, reminiscent of an Italian Chianti.
Olive Backyard Spaghetti and Meatballs often is the most meatball merchandise on the menu, however you should utilize these meatballs for extra than simply pasta. Listed here are just a few concepts:
- Meatball Sub – Brush a sub roll with melted butter and garlic powder. Toast and prime with meatballs, marinara sauce, and contemporary mozzarella. Place the sandwich again within the oven till the cheese melts.
- Meatballs and Sauteed Broccolini – Blanch the broccolini in salted water and drain. Saute the broccolini in a pan with butter, olive oil, minced garlic, and purple pepper flakes. Season the broccolini with salt and pepper. Serve the meatballs on prime of the broccolini with any additional pan drippings drizzled on prime.
- Meatballs and Mashed Potatoes – Make your favourite mashed potatoes or, higher but, Irish Champ and serve with the meatballs. Drizzle home made beef gravy on prime for much more deliciousness!
How To Retailer the Leftovers
Enable the meatballs to chill to room temperature. Place them in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as three to 4 days. For longer than that, strive freezing them:
- Place the meatballs on a baking tray and put them within the freezer till frozen stable, about three hours.
- Wrap the meatballs individually in plastic wrap and retailer them in a freezer-safe container or heavy-duty freezer bag for as much as three months.
What Is the Finest Method to Reheat Meatballs?
Let the meatballs thaw within the fridge in a single day. One of the best ways to reheat the meatballs is within the pasta sauce on the stovetop. However if you’re not serving them with sauce, strive the oven:
- Preheat the oven to 300 levels F.
- Place the thawed meatballs on a baking tray and sprinkle them with water or beef inventory.
- Cowl the baking tray with aluminum foil.
- Reheat the meatballs for 15 to twenty minutes or till heat.


Extra Olive Backyard Copycat Recipes
Make certainly one of these Olive Backyard drinks to go along with your meal.
Favourite Italian Recipes
Try extra of my straightforward Italian recipes and one of the best copycat Olive Backyard dishes on CopyKat!
Olive Backyard Meatballs
You may make scrumptious Olive Backyard Italian meatballs with this copycat recipe.
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Price
Add to Assortment
Servings:4
Energy:370kcal
Elements
- 1poundfloor chuck
- 1/2cupplain breadcrumbs
- 1/4cupmilk
- 1eggcrushed
- 1teaspoonItalian seasoning
- 1/2teaspoondried parsley
- 1/4teaspoonpurple pepper flakes
- 1/2teaspoononion powder
- 1/4teaspoongranulated garlic
- 1teaspoonsalt
- 1/2teaspoonfloor black pepper
Directions
Mix all of the elements in a medium bowl,and gently combine till all is mixed.
Cowl and refrigerate for at the very least half-hour.
Preheat the oven to 425°F and line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Spray the foil with non-stick spray.
Kind the meat into 1 1/2–inch balls and place them on the ready baking sheet.
Bake for 10 to fifteen minutes or till the meatballs are browned and cooked via.
Notes
Professional Suggestions for Excellent Meatballs
Meat Choice and Dealing with
- Hold your floor beef chilly till prepared to combine. This helps keep the fats construction and leads to juicier meatballs.
- Don’t use super-lean beef – the fats is essential for taste and texture. 80/20 is good,however as much as 70/30 works nicely too.
- Combine the meat combination along with your fingers unfold aside like a fork,quite than kneading it like bread. This prevents overworking.
Forming and Shaping
- Hold a small bowl of chilly water close by to moist your palms between forming meatballs. This prevents sticking and offers the meatballs a smoother floor.
- Use a cookie scoop or ice cream scoop for constant sizing – this ensures even cooking.
- Don’t pack the meatballs too tightly when rolling. A delicate contact creates extra tender outcomes.
- In the event you discover the combination getting sticky or heat whereas forming,pop it again within the fridge for 10 minutes.
Cooking Success
- Prepare your oven rack within the center place for even warmth distribution.
- For additional browning,brush the meatballs frivolously with olive oil earlier than baking.
- Don’t skip turning the meatballs midway via cooking – this ensures even browning.
- Let the meatballs relaxation for five minutes after cooking earlier than including them to sauce or serving.
Taste Enhancements
- For additional depth,strive toasting your breadcrumbs in a dry pan till golden earlier than including them to the combination.
- In the event you like additional garlic taste,let the garlic powder and onion powder bloom within the milk for five minutes earlier than mixing.
- For a extra advanced taste,add 1/4 cup of finely grated Parmesan cheese to the combination.
- Contemporary herbs will be substituted for dried – simply triple the quantity since dried herbs are extra concentrated.
Vitamin
Energy:370kcal| Carbohydrates:11g| Protein:23g| Fats:25g| Saturated Fats:10g| Polyunsaturated Fats:1g| Monounsaturated Fats:11g| Trans Fats:1g| Ldl cholesterol:123mg| Sodium:780mg| Potassium:388mg| Fiber:1g| Sugar:2g| Vitamin A:131IU| Vitamin C:0.1mg| Calcium:81mg| Iron:3mg
Widespread Questions &Troubleshooting
Why are my meatballs robust?
- Overmixing the meat combination
- Utilizing lean floor beef (stick with 80/20 or increased fats content material)
- Overbaking
Can I make these forward of time?
Sure! You possibly can:
- Combine and form as much as 24 hours upfront
- Freeze uncooked meatballs for as much as 3 months
- Freeze cooked meatballs for as much as 3 months
Dietary Modifications
- Gluten-free:Use gluten-free breadcrumbs
- Dairy-free:Substitute milk with unsweetened almond milk
- Low-carb:Substitute breadcrumbs with crushed pork rinds
- Egg-free:Use 2 tablespoons floor flaxseed combined with 6 tablespoons water
Scaling the Recipe
- Half batch:Divide all elements by 2,preserving cooking time the identical
- Double batch:Double all elements,prepare dinner in batches to keep away from overcrowding
- Per particular person:Plan on 3-4 meatballs per serving