Tender meatballs are smothered in brown gravy with onions and served over creamy mashed potatoes. This is the ultimate comfort food that’s freezer-friendly and can be made ahead of time!
Be sure to serve this with my homemade Mashed Potatoes and Roasted Green Beans!
Meatballs and Gravy
Meatballs and gravy is definitely the ultimate comfort food, nothing hits the spot like meat and potatoes. Right!?
I’m always on the hunt for ground beef recipes that I know my family will love, and this one does the trick every time. I love that I can make the meatballs ahead of time, and that they’re also make-ahead and freezer-friendly!
How to Make It
See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
Set olive oil aside. Mix remaining meatball ingredients and roll into 1 +1/2 inch balls. Brown in batches in a skillet with olive oil.
Melt butter in the skillet and add the onions. Cook until softened and slightly caramelized.
Add the chicken broth, beef broth, onion powder, garlic powder, and Worcestershire sauce to the skillet.
Stir to combine. Bring to a boil and whisk in the cornstarch/water mixture. Reduce to a simmer. It will continue to thicken.
Add the meatballs back to the skillet and spoon with gravy heat for about 10 more minutes to allow the meatballs to cook through.
Top with fresh parsley and serve with mashed potatoes and roasted carrots.
Pro Tips For This Recipe
- Don’t overwork the meat when you mix it, it will make the meatballs tough instead of nice and tender.
- Refrigerate the meatballs for 15 minutes after rolling them to help them stay together during cooking.
- Searing the meatballs creates a nice color and texture around the outside of the meatball, which is ideal for this recipe.
- Don’t overcrowd the pan when you brown the meatballs, browning in batches makes it easy to rotate them so that they can brown on all sides.
- A nonstick skillet will help keep the meatballs from sticking to the pan and makes it easier to keep them intact when you flip them.
- This recipe is in The Cozy Cookbook on page 81!
Make Ahead Method
- The meatballs can be mixed up and rolled 1 day ahead of time. Store them in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to use.
- You can also freeze the raw meatballs and let them thaw in the fridge overnight before you want to cook them. For this reason, I like to make a double batch of meatballs and freeze them for another day.
Storage
Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.
Try These Next
Get My Free Meal Plan
I’ve got a Free Meal Plan with 7 of my super popular recipes (complete with grocery list)! Sign up for my email list and I’ll send it over now along with weekly dinner recipes!
And follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!
Tried This Recipe?
Leave a review, I love hearing your feedback! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Meatballs and Gravy
Ingredients
Meatball Ingredients
- 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 ½ lbs. Ground Beef, 85% lean
- ½ Yellow Onion, finely diced
- ¼ cup Breadcrumbs, Plain or Italian
- 2 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1 large Egg
- 1 Tablespoon Ketchup
- 1 teaspoon Yellow Mustard
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Pepper
- 2 teaspoons Fresh Parsley, roughly chopped
Gravy
- 1 medium Yellow Onion, sliced into ½ inch strings
- 1 Tablespoon Unsalted Butter
- 1 cup Chicken Broth
- 1 cup Beef Broth
- 1 Beef Bouillon Cube, or 1 tsp Better than Bouillon
- 1 teaspoon Onion Powder
- ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
- 2-3 drops Kitchen Bouquet browning and seasoning sauce, optional
- 1/4 cup cold water + 3 tablespoons Corn Starch
Instructions
Brown the Meatballs/Cook the Onions
- Set olive oil aside and gently mix remaining meatball ingredients in a large bowl until just combined, don’t overmix or the meat will become tough. Roll into 1+1/2 inch meatballs. Pro Tip: Refrigerate the meatballs for 15 minutes after rolling them to help them stay together during cooking.
- Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Brown 5-6 meatballs at a time for about 2 minutes on each side. (Leave extra room around each so that you can easily roll them over to cook on the reverse side.) Remove and set aside. Repeat for all meatballs.
- Reduce heat to medium and melt tablespoon of butter. Add the sliced onions and let them soften and even caramelize a bit, about 15 minutes. Stir often.
Make the Gravy
- Add the chicken broth, beef broth, beef bouillon, onion powder, garlic powder, and Worcestershire sauce to the skillet. Stir to combine.
- Use a silicone spatula to work any brown bits on the bottom of the pan into the sauce. Optional: add 2-3 drops of Kitchen Bouquet browning and seasoning sauce if a darker color is desired.
- Combine the corn starch and cold water in a small Tupperware with a lid. Shake to combine.
- Bring gravy to a boil. Slowly whisk in cornstarch mixture until desired thickness is obtained. Decrease to medium low. Continue to whisk to ensure that it blends in smoothly.
Add the Meatballs
- Add the meatballs back to the skillet and spoon the sauce on top. Heat for about 10 minutes to allow the meatballs to finish cooking through. Garnish with parsley and serve over mashed potatoes.
Notes
- Don't overwork the meat when you mix it, it will make the meatballs tough instead of nice and tender.
- Refrigerate the meatballs for 15 minutes after rolling them to help them stay together during cooking.
- Searing the meatballs creates a nice color and texture around the outside of the meatball, which is ideal for this recipe.
- Don't overcrowd the pan when you brown the meatballs, browning in batches makes it easy to rotate them so that they can brown on all sides.
- A nonstick skillet will help keep the meatballs from sticking to the pan and makes it easier to keep them intact when you flip them.
- This recipe is in The Cozy Cookbook on page 81!
- This recipe makes about 24-27 meatballs and 6 servings. Nutrition information is per serving.
- The internal temp of meatballs should be 160 degrees F.
So delicious and easy to make.
I’m so happy to hear that Janice, thank you so much! -Stephanie
Huge compliments on this recipe! Seconds for everyone. This recipe was complete comfort food. It’s a permanent one in our dinner rotation now. I made the recipe as is with the exception of using 1/2 lb of ground turkey and 1 lb of ground beef. It was SO good.
Hi Gayle! I am so happy that you enjoyed this recipe, thank you SO much for taking the time to leave this wonderful review, I really appreciate it! I love that you add turkey to the meatballs! I just came out with a really good turkey meatball recipe that you might to try with this meal sometime! 🙂 Have a great weekend and thank you again!! -Stephanie
The comfort food that I’ve been craving, this recipe is delicious! No changes, I made exactly as the recipe stated. My husband gives this recipe 5 stars for flavor and I agree. Thank you!
Great to hear you and the husband give it 5 stars!😃 I agree, meatballs and gravy are the ultimate comfort food!
Easy and delicious
Great to hear! Thanks so much for the review!❤️ This is one of my dad’s favorite recipes!
Can I use frozen meatballs?
Hey Barbara! You could, yes! If preferred, you can follow the instructions for my Brown Gravy Recipe and it in a saucepan and prepare the frozen meatballs separately, then serve them together! Whatever is easier for you!
This was a wonderful recipe! I cooked the meatballs in the oven at 400 for about 15 minutes and skipped the onion in the gravy! Absolutely delicious!
Thanks so much for the review Crissy!😃 I’m happy this was a success! I make this one a lot as a fun party snack or during game days!
My family loves this recipe…even my really, really, really picky eater!
I’m so happy to hear that Sue! I love when the picky eaters are satisfied!😃 Thanks so much for the review!
Thank you for the gravy recipe with exact measurements that work. Hey, if it gets thicker than you want, add a little water. Gravy is a challenge for vegetarians. I made the gravy with frozen vege meatballs — quick meal — delicious!
I’m so happy to hear you liked this!😃 Thanks so much for the review!
Will be making these today with ground chicken meat. Can I make these in the slow cooker?
Sure! I would prepare the gravy on the stove top and sear the meatballs as well, if preferred, but the searing is optional if cooking in the Crock Pot. Transfer the gravy and meatballs to the slow cooker and cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 6-7. 😁
This was very tasty thank you! Can I just check the corn starch amount though as three tablespoons would have turned mine into a solid sauce….. is it meant to say teaspoons?
Hey Ellie! Tablespoons is correct! I make this all the time and it works, but you don’t have to add all of the cornstarch mixture if it gets too thick (is your gravy at a super rapid boil?)- Best to just add a little bit at a time and mix constantly until the desired level of thickness is obtained.