The Cozy Cookbook is here! 
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
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- Swedish Meatballs
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- Chicken Spaghetti
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- Salisbury Steak
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- Baked Meatballs
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- Slow Cooker Beef Stew
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- Chicken Meatballs
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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.
Is the yellow mustard the wet refrigerated mustard (and not the dry spice mustard)? I am making these tonight and am going to assume it’s wet mustard. Thank you,
Hi Bridget! You are correct, it’s wet yellow mustard! But either can be used in a pinch!
Is it possible to instead, bake the meatballs and if so, what temperature and for how long?
Hi Tee! Here are 2 baking methods that I use for my baked meatballs. Just note I haven’t tried baking this exact recipe with the gravy before. But here are some instructions that you can use if you want to try. (If you do it, I would love to know how it comes out!)
Method 1: Bake with gravy- Once the meatballs are browned, add ¾ of the gravy to a 9×13-inch casserole dish. Add the meatballs and top with remaining gravy. Cover and bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes.
Method 2: Bake without gravy- Line a light 18 x 13 baking sheet with parchment paper or with a silicone baking sheet. If you don’t have either, you can lightly spray it with nonstick spray. Note that dark baking sheets attract more heat which could burn the bottom of the meatballs. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes, the internal temperature needs to reach 160°.
Thank you so much Stephanie! I’ll let you know!
I made this yesterday for lunch and it came out so good. The gravy is so delicious too. Just right. The recipe was easy to follow inclusive of pics and liked the pro tops too. Had it today also and froze the balance yesterday for later enjoyment. I had to come and let you know. Thanks.
Thanks so much for the great review David!😍 Glad to hear you were able to freeze the extras, you’ll have a yummy meal in the near future!
You’re welcome. So glad I found this recipe. It’s a keeper and I’m gonna make it more in the future also. You know something? It even tasted better the next day with the meatballs soaking into the sauce even more. And I know the frozen leftovers will keep good and be great too.
BTW, I prepared the seasoned rolled meatballs the evening before and stored in the fridge overnight so they held even better and was perfect for cooking the next day plus was one less thing to do then. Win-Win.
How would I instruct someone to warm in the oven if I made as a gift casserole ?
Thank you
Hi Lori! I haven’t done this myself so it’s hard to know how the results would be, but I’m thinking it should be safe to let it sit out at room temperature for 30 minutes and then cover and bake it at 350 for about 25 minutes! 🙂
My 5 year old and partner really loved the smells of this one cooking, and devoured it with pleasure. Both asked for seconds!! Ultimate comfort food. We served it over rice as we had left over Jasmine rice. I was out of Worcestershire so I used soy sauce, and we added a fair amount more garlic because we realllllly like garlic. Thank you so much for this one! I actually sent it to a few friends we enjoyed it so much. Meatballs were cooked through and so tender.
I’m so happy to hear this was such a success Bunny! Thanks so much for the great comments and review!❤️
Made this for supper. It was delicious. Thank you for the recipe.
You’re very welcome Nadia, I’m so happy you enjoyed the meal! Thanks so much for the great review!😍
This recipe is absolutely delicious! The gravy is so flavorful and every time I make this dish the house smells amazing. One of my husband’s favorite meals!
That’s so great to hear Gisele! I’m so happy it’s one of your husbands favorite meals! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!❤️
Thank you for sharing this easy and delicious recipe. My husband wanted to lick his plate, and is already asking me to make them again. Definite keeper!
Excellent! When the hubby licks the plate clean you know you got a winner! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review Sharon!😍
I made these meatballs for dinner the other night.
I usually am not happy with recipes I try through Pinterest.
However, THIS recipe is super good!! I liked the flavor of the meatballs, and the gravy was excellent! This one is a keeper!! I know you show it served with mashed potatoes, which I am sure is delicious too; but I served it over gently seasoned buttered egg noodles. We both loved it!
Thank you! 😋
Serving over buttered noodles is so great, I actually do that too if I’m not serving over mashed potatoes or rice! I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe Conne, thanks so much for the great comments and review!😍
Mine were raw in the middle and all the balls completely broke apart?!?
Hi Ellie! Did you refrigerate them for 15 minutes prior to cooking to prevent them from falling apart? These meatballs cook for about 16 minutes total, (after browning and cooking in the sauce). A burger takes 10 minutes at the most. So I’m not quite sure why they fall apart and were raw, as the instructions includes a few measures to prevent this. It also instructs not to overcrowd the pan when browning so that they can be easily rolled around without over-handling to flip.