Baked Italian Meatballs with Alfredo Sauce

Baked Italian meatballs with Alfredo sauce are a perfect comfort food. This easy recipe combines melt-in-your-mouth beef and turkey meatballs with lots of Italian seasoning, Parmesan cheese and classic Alfredo sauce for a crowd-pleasing family dinner.

this recipe

My family is evenly divided between marinara lovers and Alfredo lovers. I am team Alfredo. I like tomato sauce, but there’s just something about a smooth and creamy Alfredo sauce that has me choosing that 90% of the time (perhaps it’s the butter). The result of our little family divide is that most pasta nights I make both sauces. Thankfully, these delicious baked Italian meatballs are perfect with either. I personally recommend Alfredo.

These tender meatballs are full of Parmesan cheese and Italian herbs for a great flavor complement to homemade Alfredo sauce. Serve these meatballs with hot pasta and a sauteed veggie for an easy weeknight meal your whole family will agree on. Leftover meatballs are perfect for meal prep!

For other great pasta night ideas, try my grilled chicken alfredo, instant pot turkey meatballs, or easy creamy ground chicken stroganoff.

You Will Love This

• These homemade meatballs are made with simple ingredients and only take 15 minutes in the oven, for a perfect comforting meal even on the busy weeknights.
• These versatile meatballs are perfect with Alfredo sauce, marinara sauce, and even pesto. They are sure to become a family favorite!
• This is a great recipe for meal prep. Fully bake the meatballs and freeze them without sauce for an easy way to get dinner on the table on the busy weeknights.

Ingredients

To make baked Italian meatballs with alfredo sauce, you need the following ingredients (exact measurements are in the recipe card below):

Meatball Ingredients:

• Ground turkey
• Ground beef: You could substitute ground chicken or use all ground turkey in this recipe.
• Onion: I like to grate the onion on a box grater, but you can also very finely mince it.
• Minced garlic
• Italian seasoning
• Kosher salt or sea salt
• Panko breadcrumbs: I used plain panko breadcrumbs in this recipe. If you use Italian seasoned breadcrumbs you will want to reduce the Italian seasoning the recipe calls for.
• Parmesan cheese: Freshly grated or pre-grated is fine for these meatballs, but for homemade alfredo sauce freshly grated is essential!
• Eggs
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Milk

Sauce Ingredients:

I’m including the recipe for my favorite easy Alfredo sauce in this post. The sauce is really quick and comes together in only a few minutes while the meatballs bake. If you prefer a store-bought option (like I used in my photo above), my family loves Rao’s Roasted Garlic Alfredo sauce. It’s the best store-bought Alfredo we have tried, and it goes really well with these meatballs (speaking from experience here…)!

• Salted butter: Unsalted butter is also totally fine! Just add a pinch more salt to your alfredo sauce at the end if it needs it.
• Italian seasoning
• Kosher salt or sea salt
• Heavy cream
• Freshly shredded Parmesan cheese: Freshly grated cheese is essential for creamy sauces. Pre-grated cheese has an anti-caking agent in it that prevents it from melting properly.
• Freshly ground black pepper

You will also want 1 box of your favorite pasta for this recipe – we used fettucine. 

Instructions

Step One: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Cook pasta according to package directions and set aside. While the pasta cooks, make the meatballs.

Step Two: Add the ground beef and ground turkey to a large mixing bowl. On top of the meat, add the grated onion, minced garlic, salt and Italian seasoning. With clean hands or a wooden spoon, mix everything together.

Step Three: Add the Panko breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, eggs, olive oil and milk to the seasoned meat mixture. Mix well until everything is combined.

Step Four: Form meatballs with a medium cookie scoop. Roll them into tight balls with clean hands. Place the meatballs in a single layer on a baking rack on top of a parchment lined baking sheet.

Step Five: Bake the meatballs for 12-15 minutes in the preheated oven. Meatballs are done when the outside is browned, and a meat thermometer inserted into the center reads 165 degrees.

Step Six: While the meatballs are baking, make the sauce. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the salt and Italian seasoning to the butter. Stir in the heavy whipping cream and bring it to a very low simmer. Add the freshly grated Parmesan cheese, and whisk with a wire whisk until the cheese is fully incorporated and the sauce is smooth. If you are using store-bought sauce, heat it up now!

Step Seven: Toss the alfredo sauce with hot pasta, and top with baked meatballs. Serve immediately!

Storage

Baked meatballs are perfect for meal prep! You can use these in all kinds of delicious recipes, on top of pasta, rice or mashed potatoes, or inside meatball subs. To store, allow baked meatballs to fully cool. Put them in an airtight container in the refrigerator with no sauce for up to 3-4 days. For longer storage, put the meatballs (again with no sauce) in a freezer-safe container and remove as much air as possible (I like ziploc freezer bags). Frozen meatballs can last for up to 2-3 months.