In this Meatballs and Gravy Recipe super flavorful and tender beef meatballs are browned to perfection and then simmered in a flavorful homemade brown gravy with caramelized onions. Serve the meatballs and gravy over mashed potatoes, Instant Pot mashed potatoes, buttered noodles, or creamy polenta. Add a green veggie, like roasted broccoli or green beans, for a great comfort food dinner.
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These meatballs with gravy are similar to a Swedish Meatball but they are made with horseradish, giving them a punch of flavor. The gravy is a true beef gravy rather than a creamy gravy like with Swedish Meatballs.
We take our meatball recipes seriously around here… next up try these Baked BBQ Meatballs, Ham Balls or Italian Meatballs.
Ingredients
The meatballs and gravy are made with really simple ingredients. Below are a few tips on the ingredients you need.
Meatball Ingredients
Beef: use an 85/15 lean ground beef for maximum flavor and juiciness, without having greasy meatballs and sauce. Save the 80/20 ground beef for your hamburgers.
Prepared Horseradish: make sure you use prepared horseradish and not raw or fresh horseradish. Prepared horseradish is actually pickled in vinegar and is not as strong as raw or fresh horseradish. If you only have fresh horseradish, use half the amount.
Bread Crumbs: use traditional unseasoned breadcrumbs for this meatball recipe. They are combined with egg, horseradish and Worcestershire to make a panade.
Dry Minced Onion: for this recipe you will want to use dry minced onions from the spice aisle. We tested the recipe with fresh minced onion but they tended to make the meatballs too moist and they fell apart during cooking. The dry onions work perfect!
Seasonings: a mix of onion powder, kosher salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes, added to the other flavors make these meatballs stand out!
Flour: dredging the meatballs in flour helps brown and lightly crisp up the outside of the meatballs. This also prevents the meatballs from falling apart when they simmer in the gravy.
Fresh Parsley: adds a nice fresh verdant flavor to the meatballs.
Gravy Ingredients
Beef Broth: choose a quality, flavorful beef broth or stock for your gravy.
Onion: slice the onions thin and they caramelize in the butter beautifully, adding a ton of flavor to your gravy. This trick is also used in Gravy Recipe Without Drippings.
Beef Base: this is the perfect time to use beef base! It is a huge flavor booster! You can find beef base in the soup aisle at the grocery store, near the bouillon. It is in a jar or tub and comes in a paste form. We love the “Better Than Bouillon” Brand.
Seasonings: Worcestershire, garlic powder, onion powder and black pepper add layers of flavor to this brown gravy.
Cornstarch: mixed with a little beef broth into a slurry, makes the perfect thickener for the gravy.
Tender Meatballs
The secret to making super tender meatballs is starting with a panade which is a starch and a liquid mixed together to make a ground meat recipe tender and juicy.
For this recipe we are using plain breadcrumbs, egg, Worcestershire and horseradish. It is not the common mix of breadcrumbs with milk or broth, but it works perfectly! Your meatballs will cook up tender, AND they will stay together while they cook in the skillet.
Savory Gravy
This recipe does not skimp on flavor when it comes to the gravy! It starts with onions being caramelized in butter and then after the broth is added it gets seasoned with beef base (huge flavor!), Worcestershire, onion and garlic powder.
It is thickened perfectly with a slurry of cornstarch and beef broth. It is thick enough to stand up to the mashed potatoes, but not so thick it feels like a cream sauce. Basically it’s just right ❤️
Step by Step
- Make The Meatball Mixture
- Form The Meatballs
- Brown The Meatballs
- Caramelize The Onions
- Make The Gravy
- Thicken The Gravy
- Simmer Meatballs In The Gravy
- Serving
Whisk together the egg, minced onion, garlic, Worcestershire Sauce, prepared horseradish, onion powder, kosher salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.
Add the breadcrumbs and chopped parsley.
Finally add the ground beef and lightly mix all of the ingredients until thoroughly combined.
Portion the meatball mixture into about 25 meatballs and roll. A cookie scoop can make quick work of this process.
Sprinkle the meatballs with flour and dredge them on all sides, this helps hold the meatballs together during browning.
In a large skillet add the oil and brown half the meatballs, on all sides, for about 6 minutes. Repeat with the other half of the meatballs.
Add the butter to the now empty skillet, when melted add the onion slices. Caramelize for about 10 minutes.
Stir in the beef broth, scraping up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan (this is called deglazing and you are picking up all the flavors cooked to the bottom of the pan).
Add in the Worcestershire sauce, Better Than Bouillon, onion powder, garlic powder and pepper. Bring to a boil.
Mix together ¼ cup beef broth and the cornstarch. Stir/whisk it into the gravy while simmering. It should thicken up almost immediately.
Add the meatballs back to the gravy and simmer over medium-low heat for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Serve the meatballs over mashed potatoes, Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes, buttered noodles, or polenta, with gravy and caramelized onions drizzled over top.
Storing
If you make this recipe ahead of time, or you have leftovers, simply store the meatballs and gravy together in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Reheat portions in the microwave or on the stove top over medium low heat.
Side Dishes To Pair
Since you will already be serving these meatballs and gravy over a starch; mashed potatoes, polenta, or buttered noodles, you just need to add a veggie or salad on the side.
Here are some great side dish options for Meatballs and Gravy:
Make Ahead and Freezing
The meatballs can definitely be made a day or two ahead and stored in the fridge. When it is time to make dinner, dredge them in flour and follow the recipe.
You can also make the meatballs and freeze them, raw or cooked.
RAW MEATBALLS: freeze the raw meatballs, without the flour, for up to 3 months. To cook, thaw in the fridge overnight and follow the instructions below from the dredging in flour.
COOKED MEATBALLS: freeze the cooked meatballs, without the gravy, for up to 3 months. To cook, thaw in the fridge overnight and follow the instructions below from the gravy on.
More Meatball Favorites
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Beef Meatballs and Gravy Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
Beef Meatballs
- 2 lbs. 85% lean ground beef
- 1 eggs - lightly beaten
- 1 tablespoon dry minced onion
- 3 cloves garlic cloves - – minced
- 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 ½ Tbsp. Prepared horseradish
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 1 ½ tsp. kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ¼ cup + 1 Tbsp. plain bread crumbs
- 1 ½ tablespoon fresh parsley - finely minced
- 3 Tbsp. flour
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
Gravy
- 2 Tbsp. butter
- 1 large onion - – halved and cut into ¼ inch slices
- 2 ¼ cup beef broth - DIVIDED
- 1 ½ Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 1 ½ tsp. Beef Base - Better Than Bouillon
- ½ tsp. onion powder
- ½ tsp. garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 2 Tbsp. corn starch
- Minced parsley for garnish
Serve gravy and meatballs over one of the following items
- Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes
- Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
- Buttered Noodles
- Creamy Polenta
Instructions
Meatballs
- To make the meatballs, in a large bowl lightly whisk the egg and add the dry minced onion, garlic, Worcestershire Sauce, horseradish, onion powder, kosher salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Stir to combine1 eggs, 1 tablespoon dry minced onion, 3 cloves garlic cloves, 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce, 1 ½ Tbsp. Prepared horseradish, 1 tsp. onion powder, 1 ½ tsp. kosher salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Mix in the breadcrumbs and parsley. Add in the ground beef and lightly mix all of the ingredients until thoroughly combined.¼ cup + 1 Tbsp. plain bread crumbs, 1 ½ tablespoon fresh parsley, 2 lbs. 85% lean ground beef
- Roll the mixture into 1 ½ inch meatballs and place on a rimmed baking sheet (you should have approximately 25 meatballs).
- Sprinkle the flour over the meatballs and gently roll/dredge each side of the meatballs in the flour (this helps the meatballs brown nicely with a crisp exterior and a moist interior. The flour also helps the meatballs from falling apart while cooking)3 Tbsp. flour
- Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Place ½ of the meatballs into the hot oil and brown on all sides – this will take approximately 6-7 minutes.2 tablespoon olive oil
- Remove the browned meatballs to a plate and set aside. Repeat the process with the remaining meatballs and set aside.
Gravy
- If there is a lot of oil/grease left in the skillet lightly drain the excess, but leave all of the browned bits – that is flavor country.
- Melt the butter in the skillet and add in the sliced onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, over medium-low heat until the onions are soft and starting to caramelize (this will take about 10 minutes)2 Tbsp. butter, 1 large onion
- Pour in 2 cups of beef broth and add the Worcestershire sauce, beef base, onion powder, garlic powder and pepper.1 ½ Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce, 1 ½ tsp. Beef Base, ½ tsp. onion powder, ½ tsp. garlic powder, ½ teaspoon pepper
- Stir and bring to a boil.
- Mix the cornstarch with the remaining ¼ cup beef broth. Slowly pour the mixture into the boiling liquid while stirring/whisking.2 Tbsp. corn starch
- When the mixture has thickened to a gravy consistency add the meatballs back into the gravy and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes until the meatballs are warm and cooked through. (165℉ Internal temp is considered fully cooked)
Serving
- Serve the meatballs over mashed potatoes (recipes linked above), creamy polenta, or hot buttered egg noodles. Garnish with chopped parsley.
Judy Cox
So delicious. We really enjoyed your recipe. Thank you
Jodi Webb
This was so flavorful! We are gravy people so I would probably double the gravy ingredients. Thanks so much for sharing!