Wagyu Meatballs

5 from 3 votes

These Wagyu Meatballs are soft and tender and made with Wagyu beef simmered in a simple, but high-quality marinara sauce which melds with the meatballs for a super savory dish.

Prep Time10

Cook Time40

Total Time50

Course: Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine: American, Italian

Servings:

Calories: 431kcal

Author: Lauren Skardal

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.

Nutrition