These Wagyu Meatballs are soft and tender and made with Wagyu beef, a type of beef with a high degree of fine marbling of fat originating in Japan. The meatballs are simmered in a simple, but high-quality marinara sauce which melds with the meatballs for a super savory dish.
Wagyu beef refers to beef from a select breed of cows in Japan, of which the largest breed raised has fine marbling of fat throughout the red meat. The specific fat found in Wagyu beef melts at a lower temperature than other meat, which enables it to literally melt in your mouth.
This type of beef is also available in the US, though sometimes as a cross-breed between Japanese Wagyu cattle and American Angus cattle. Though more expensive, it is available at many grocery stores in the US, including Costco.
Jump to:
🤫 The Secret Ingredient
This Wagyu Meatball Recipe is fairly light on added spices and flavors, allowing the flavor of the meat to shine. It also incorporates a full cup of milk (the secret ingredient), which keeps the meatballs lighter and softer than a typical Italian meatball. Combined with the fat in the Wagyu beef, these meatballs are super soft and tender.
To top it off the fat in the meatballs melds with the sauce to create a super savory sauce that is great over pasta, polenta, sopped up with bread, or just on its own.
🌟 Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Wagyu Beef: This recipe calls for super tender and flavorful wagyu beef, which while more expensive can be found at many grocery stores, including Costco.
Melt-in-your-Mouth: I use a secret ingredient, a full cup of milk, to make these meatballs extra soft such that they will melt in your mouth.
Easy and Leftovers: This dish comes together fairly quickly and makes lots of leftovers. It's a great easy way to get food on the table for several days.
🍽️ Serving Variations:
- Pasta: My absolute favorite way to serve these meatballs is over angel hair pasta or a thin spaghetti. I love the combination of textures of the meatballs and the thin pasta noodles in the ultra-savory sauce.
- Polenta: When we’re trying to cut back on pasta, we often will serve this over a quick stovetop polenta.
- With Salad or Bread: Another option when trying to cut back on pasta is to serve the meatballs on their own after a hefty green salad. Then we’ll also warm up a few pieces of crusty bread for the kids to eat with the meatballs.
- Sandwich: It’s a bit indulgent, but I love to make a meatball wedge (NY for on a long roll, like a sub, or hoagie), layering the meatballs in a hefty sub with melted mozzarella cheese.
🛒 Ingredients:
Below are the ingredients needed to make Wagyu Meatballs.
- Wagyu ground beef: It is more expensive, but can be found at many grocery stores as well as Costco. You can also use a combination of beef and pork, as I do in this Italian Meatballs recipe.
- Garlic: I recommend using fresh garlic and mincing it as small as possible so that it tends to disappear into the mixture.
- Onion: Use either half of a medium yellow onion or just 2-3 slices of a larger onion. Like the garlic, I find it helpful to mince the onion as small as possible so that it disappears into the meat and you’re not left with large chunks of onion when you bite into a meatball.
- Breadcrumbs: I use either Italian bread crumbs or panko breadcrumbs, either works well.
- Parmesan Cheese: I recommend a mild parmesan (Trader Joe’s has a great one that’s inexpensive) and grate it yourself on a fine grate. Pregrated store-bought parmesan tends to have anti-caking agents, so it's best to buy a good quality parmesan and grate it yourself. I use this in all sorts of dishes like Crispy Oven Baked Chicken and Lasagna Without Ricotta.
- Milk: Use whole milk if possible, but otherwise 1% or 2% is just fine. The milk softens the meatball mixture which creates ultra-soft, melt-in-your-mouth meatballs.
- Egg: Use a large egg, pasture-raised if possible.
- Salt: Brings out flavor.
- Black Pepper, Basil, Garlic Powder: Spices that add subtle flavor to the meatballs.
- Olive Oil: If possible, use extra virgin olive oil. You’ll just need enough to ensure the bottom of the pan is coated in olive oil or fat from the meatballs at all times.
- Rao’s marinara sauce: This ingredient is very important. If at all possible, try not to substitute for a different tomato sauce unless you are making your sauce from scratch. Rao’s has the best quality sauce with all simple ingredients (no added sugar, etc.). It is far better than any other store-bought tomato sauce on the market. While it is more expensive, it is well worth it. For a spicy marinara, try the Rao's Arrabbiata sauce.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
📝 How to Make Wagyu Meatballs
Below are the step-by-step instructions for how to make Wagyu Meatballs. The recipe calls for a sauté pan and a large pot or Dutch oven, but I also include how to use a Crock Pot if desired.
*Note: The recipe card with instructions, ingredient list, and quantities is included further below these step-by-step photos.
Step 1. Combine Ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, combine the Wagyu ground beef, minced garlic, onion, breadcrumbs, freshly grated parmesan cheese, milk, egg, salt, black pepper, basil, and garlic powder. Ensure that the meat mixture is well combined, but do not overmix.
Tip: Mince both the garlic and the onion as finely as possible so that they disappear into the mixture. That way when you bite into a meatball you don't bite into a piece of onion. In fact, you do not notice them at all in terms of texture, rather they just add flavor to the meatballs.
Step 2. Saute the Meatballs: Bring a large skillet or sauté pan to medium heat. This should be a setting of "4 out of 10" on an electric stovetop or the equivalent of a gas burner. I find that medium-high heat is too hot and will more often burn the meatballs. Add the olive oil and allow to warm through for 1 minute.
Shape each meatball into a round ball using 2 tablespoons of the Wagyu ground beef mixture. I prefer doing this by scooping with a spoon and shaping by hand, but you can also use a cookie scoop.
Place meatballs in the sauté pan cooking for 2-3 minutes until browned. Ensure they are arranged in a single layer so that the frying pan is not overcrowded. Use tongs to flip the meatballs over and cook for 1-2 more minutes until lightly browned. Work in batches as needed.
Tip: Do not add too many meatballs to the pan at one time. If you overcrowd the pan the meatballs will steam, rather than turn a nice golden brown.
Step 3. Layer the Meatballs in a Large Pot or Dutch Oven: In a large pot or Dutch oven, add a thin layer of Rao's marinara sauce. Then add a layer of the cooked meatballs. Alternate layers of sauce and meatballs until all the meatballs are covered in sauce. Add any remaining sauce to the pot.
Crock Pot Tip: You can also do this step in a Crock Pot. Layer the meatballs and sauce in the crockpot. Then set the crock pot to low for 30 minutes.
Step 4. Simmer: Bring the pot or Dutch oven to a simmer. Allow the sauce to simmer for 20 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through. Along with finishing cooking the meatballs, this allows the fat in the meatballs to meld with the tomato sauce creating an extra savory sauce.
🍴 How to Serve, Store, Reheat, and Freeze
- To Serve: Serve the meatballs on their own with extra freshly grated parmesan cheese, or sprinkled with parsley if you have it (perhaps alongside a salad), with crusty bread, over pasta or polenta, with a side of Loaf Pan Cornbread, or in a sub with melted mozzarella cheese.
- To Store: Store covered in an airtight container in the fridge. These meatballs will last about a week in the fridge.
- To Reheat: The easiest way to reheat the meatballs is to reheat them in the microwave on individual plates. You could also add them to a pot or sauté pan and bring to a slight simmer.
- To Freeze: These meatballs are excellent to freeze and reheat well. Freeze in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge or on a low-power setting in the microwave.
✏️ Wagyu Meatball FAQs
Wagyu beef can be found in many grocery stores. Look for the section where organic meat is sold. It's also sold in packs at Costco.
Yes, feel free to use regular ground beef instead of Wagyu beef, especially if it's hard to find or prohibitively expensive. If you want to replicate the richness of Wagyu beef, you may want to choose a higher fat percentage of beef such as 80/20.
Yes, this is a great dish to make 1-2 days ahead of time. It keeps well in the fridge. It can also be frozen, and it reheats well.
If You're Interested in More Dinner Recipes, You May Love These:
If you've tried these Wagyu Meatballs or any other recipe on my site, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. I'd love to hear from you!
Wagyu Meatballs
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Wagyu ground beef
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ medium onion, minced
- ¼ cup Italian breadcrumbs or panko
- 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1 cup milk
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon basil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil plus extra as needed
- 2 24-28oz jars Rao's Marinara sauce
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl combine the Wagyu ground beef, garlic, onion, breadcrumbs, freshly grated parmesan, milk, egg, salt, black pepper, basil, and garlic powder. Ensure that everything is well incorporated, but do not overmix.
- Bring a large sauté pan to medium heat. Use a heat setting of “4 out of 10” on an electric stove, or the equivalent on a gas stove.
- Add the olive oil and allow to warm through for 1 minute. Use 2 tablespoons worth of the ground beef mixture to shape into a ball per meatball. Add the meatballs to the sauté pan and brown for 2-3 minutes on one side.
- Flip the meatballs over and cook for another 1-2 minutes until lightly browned. Add additional olive oil as needed. The fat from the meat may release and coat the bottom of the pan. If the bottom of the pan is coated in fat from the meat, no additional olive oil is needed.
- In a large pot or Dutch oven, add a thin layer of Rao’s marinara sauce. Transfer the meatballs from the sauté pan to the large pot or Dutch oven. Alternate layers of marinara sauce and meatballs such that all of the meatballs are covered in sauce. If there is any sauce remaining you can add it to the pot. Bring to a simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through.
Notes
- Mince Garlic and Onion: Mince both the garlic and the onion as finely as possible so that they disappear into the mixture. That way when you bite into a meatball you don't bite into a piece of onion. In fact, you do not notice them at all in terms of texture, rather they just add flavor to the meatballs.
- Parmesan Cheese: I recommend a mild parmesan (Trader Joe’s has a great one that’s inexpensive) and grate it yourself on a fine grate. Pregrated store-bought parmesan tends to have anti-caking agents, so it's best to buy a good quality parmesan and grate it yourself.
- Milk: Use whole milk if possible, but otherwise 1% or 2% is just fine. The milk softens the meatball mixture which creates ultra-soft, melt-in-your-mouth meatballs.
- Rao’s marinara sauce: This ingredient is very important. If at all possible, try not to substitute for a different tomato sauce unless you are making your sauce from scratch. Rao’s has the best quality sauce with all simple ingredients (no added sugar, etc.). It is far better than any other store-bought tomato sauce on the market. While it is more expensive, it is well worth it.
- Overcrowding: Do not add too many meatballs to the pan at one time. If you overcrowd the pan the meatballs will steam, rather than turn a nice golden brown.
- Crockpot: You can also make these meatballs in a crockpot. Layer the meatballs and sauce in the crockpot the same as you would in a large pot or Dutch oven. Then set the crock pot to low for 30 minutes.
loaded cafe says
The meatballs looks so tasty, Since I am someone who doesnt know professional cooking, but I do get by, this is definitely an easy to follow recipe! I might just try making this over the weekend instead of just searching restaurants near me for a good dinner. Hope mine turns out as delicious as yours!!
Lauren says
Hi, Thanks for the note! Yes, its a fairly straight forward dish to put together and a great (and tastier) alternative to eating out. Good luck, and I hope to hear how it goes!