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Quick and Easy Air Fryer Meatballs Recipe

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These Air Fryer Meatballs are full of flavor and a perfect addition to your weeknight meals. Make them from fresh or frozen in your Air Fryer in less than 15 minutes. 

cooked air fryer meatballs in the air fryer basket

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Full Recipe/Instructions are available in the 
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Meatballs have quickly become a favorite in our household. Not only because they are cute little balls full of flavor, but because they are so versatile when it comes to getting a quick dinner on the table. 

I first developed this recipe on a weeknight where I had less than 30 minutes to get dinner on the table before heading out for a night of fun with friends. I was stumped on what to make and lucky for me, all the ingredients were in the fridge. 

This recipe makes a good bit of meatballs, so I recommend using the amounts as recommended and freezing the rest for later. That’s what I do. Then, when you’re in need of meatballs, you can just grab a bunch and cook them from frozen right in you Air Fryer. 

Try my turkey air fryer meatballs too.

How to Make Air Fryer Meatballs

First, place onion, garlic cloves, and parsley in a mini food processor and process until finely chopped. I highly recommend this step to avoid huge chunks of onion, garlic, or parsley in your meatballs. If you don’t have a food processor, feel free to use your knife skills and finely chop these ingredients. 

chopped onions and garlic and parsley in mini food processor

Then grab a big bowl and add your ground beef, ground pork, beaten egg, the chopped onion mixture, breadcrumbs, Worcestershire  sauce, and feta cheese. Use your hands and mix the ingredients until combined.

I recommend using your hands to mix the meat. It helps so that you don’t overmix the meat. Rumor is that overmixing the meat can lead to tough meatballs. 

Once combined, take about 2 Tbsp of meat and roll it into balls.

Place meatballs in your Air Fryer basket, making sure there is space in between each meatball. I’m able to fit 16 meatballs in my 5.3 qt air fryer. 

raw meatballs in air fryer

Cook on 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 10-12 minutes or until a meat thermometer registers at 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

thermometer poked in meatball

And that’s it. Delicious meatballs that are nice and juicy on the inside with the perfect crisp on the outside. 

What about frozen meatballs?

This recipe makes a ton of meatballs, which I like so we can freeze the leftovers for another meal. 

In order to freeze the extra meatballs, after rolling them, place the raw meatballs on a parchment lined baking sheet, making sure that they aren’t touching. Place in freezer and allow to freeze until they are frozen, about 1 hour. Then remove and place them in a ziplock bag and place them back in the freezer.

When you’re ready to cook the meatballs from frozen, just place them directly in the Air Fryer basket. You’ll need to increase the cook time by a few minutes. I cook frozen meatballs for 14-15 minutes on 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  

For this meatball recipe, I like to either eat the meatballs as is for a nice appetizer or try this instant pot spaghetti recipe.

meatballs in basket

Pro Tips

  • It’s best to have the meatballs separated in the Air Fryer for the best results. If they are on top of each other, they won’t get that nice crisp on the outside. If you need to make a ton of meatballs at once, I recommend cooking in batches or placing the meatballs in the oven instead.
  • Have fun with these meatballs! I welcome and love when my readers adapt my recipes to suit their taste. Some recommend changes are:
    • Turkey rather than beef or pork
    • Parmesan cheese rather than feta
    • Surround the meatball around a small piece of mozzarella cheese to get that oozy cheese once you bite in.

Looking for more easy meat recipes to try for dinner? Try these out:

Print Pin Save
5 from 9 votes

Quick and Easy Air Fryer Meatballs

Quick and Easy Air Fried meatballs that are crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. They’re full of amazing flavor and can be made in the Air Fryer in less than 15 minutes.
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Keyword air fryer meatballs
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Servings 8 people
Calories 373kcal
Author Tanya

Ingredients

  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1 lb ground pork
  • 1 medium onion peeled and roughly chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves peeled
  • 1/4 cup parsley roughly chopped
  • 2 eggs lightly beaten
  • 1/2 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
  • 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
  • 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

  • Combine onion, garlic cloves, and parsley in a mini food processor. Process until finely chopped. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl, place ground beef, ground pork, onion mixture, eggs, italian seasoned breadcrumbs, feta cheese, Worcestershire sauce, salt and black pepper. Use hands to mix until combined.
  • Grab 2 Tbsp of meat mixture and roll each into a ball. Repeat with the meat mixture to all meatballs are rolled.
  • Place meatballs in Air fryer basket in single layer making sure the meatballs don’t touch. Place basket in Air Fryer and cook on 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 10-12 minutes or until a internal temperature reaches a temperature of 165 degrees.

Video

Notes

  • Feel free to modify the ingredients to your favorite meatball recipe. The ease and short cook time of the meatballs is most important. 
  • Invest in a quick read meat thermometer to ensure your meatballs are cooked to the right temperature. 

Nutrition

Calories: 373kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 130mg | Sodium: 604mg | Potassium: 408mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 270IU | Vitamin C: 4.9mg | Calcium: 95mg | Iron: 2.5mg
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Although myforkinglife.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Under no circumstances will myforkinglife.com be responsible for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information.

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Recipe Rating




Kali

Saturday 10th of September 2022

Can I cook the meatballs and then freeze them?

Tanya

Sunday 11th of September 2022

Hi Kali, yes you can. They can stay in the freezer up to 2 months.

David Watts

Saturday 29th of May 2021

Spelling: WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE

Christian

Saturday 21st of November 2020

Lovely app and the air fryer recipes which y looking to try soon! THANKS you for sharing

Heather

Saturday 14th of November 2020

This recipe was perfect! The airfryer did a really great job cooking this up in 10 minutes per batch.

Kyle

Saturday 13th of June 2020

Best meatball recipe They freeze so well!

Tanya

Saturday 13th of June 2020

Thank you Kyle, I agree! Love freezing these for later.