Our Air Fryer Meatballs are the perfect last-minute dinner for those busy weeknights.
When the long winters have you yearning for sunny days, cookouts, and grilling burgers again, but the forecast isn't cooperating, it can be hard to find a meal that you're in the mood for.
Thankfully, at Ground Beef Recipes, you'll find lots of comforting favorites like our Chopped Steaks and Gravy or Slow Cooker Goulash that can keep you warm.
Hearty meals like those make winter just a little more bearable, and these Air Fryer Meatballs are no exception.
Whip up some of these tasty meatballs when you need something quick, simple, and versatile for dinner.
Why You'll Love These Air Fryer Meatballs
- Simple ingredients. Nothing too fancy going on here! You probably have most of these ingredients on hand already. And anything you don’t have, you can easily pick up during your next trip to the store.
- They're filling. We love this recipe for wintertime especially because it is hearty! The combination of meat and cheese will have you and your loved ones satisfied and ready to hibernate for as long as you need to.
- Versatility. Like any of our meatball recipes, these are easy to customize with your favorite flavors and spices. Plus once they're made, meatballs can be served by themselves or in spaghetti, a casserole, or on a tasty meatball sub!
Key Ingredients for Air Fryer Meatballs
- Ground beef. This recipe calls for a pound of ground beef. It’s the perfect foundation for our meatball mixture.
- Ground pork or Italian sausage. We love mixing ground beef with either ground pork or Italian sausage. You can choose which one you prefer to use. Maybe whatever is on sale at the time you go shopping!
- Seasoning. Garlic powder, salt, and pepper. We’re keeping it simple here, folks.
- CHEESE. Do we even need to say more? We used both Parmesan and ricotta cheese for these meatballs.
- Egg. This binds all the other ingredients together so your meatballs won’t fall apart while they cook.
How to Make Our Air Fryer Meatballs
- Saute onions. Add olive oil to a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook the grated onion in the oil for about 5 minutes until it just begins to brown and the liquid evaporates. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
- In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, ground pork, garlic powder, salt, pepper, Parmesan cheese, ricotta, egg and cooked onions. Mix together until the ingredients are well combined.
- Scoop the beef mixture into 1 ½” balls (about the size of a golf ball). It will make about 25 meatballs.
- Place meatballs in a single layer in the air fryer basket and cook at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes, until browned and cooked through. Repeat with remaining meatballs, working in batches as necessary.
Storage and Freezing Instructions
- Storage - Leftover meatballs can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat on the stove top or in the air fryer.
- Freezing - Once the meatballs are cooked and cooled, place them on a baking sheet and flash freeze for 1 hour, then transfer to a freezer bag. Meatballs will keep for up to 4 months. Depending on the recipe, you may or may not need to thaw the meatballs first. Always thaw meatballs in the fridge, not the countertop. For more tips, check out my guide to Making, Cooking, and Freezing Meatballs.
You can use frozen meatballs in all sorts of recipes! Toss them into Slow Cooker Meatball Minestrone, add them to a Meatball Grilled Cheese, or make a delicious Meatball Casserole!
How to Air Fry Frozen Meatballs
Whether you’re using store bought or frozen meatballs, the meatballs can go directly from the freezer to the air fryer. Note: this is for meatballs that were fully cooked before being frozen.
- Spray your air fryer with a propellant free non-stick spray or brush with oil.
- Add the meatballs in a single layer. Air fry at 375 degrees for 12-13 minutes, or until they reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
FAQs
Are Frozen Meatballs Good in the Air Fryer?
Frozen meatballs turn out really well when you cook them in the air fryer. See our tips above for how to air fry frozen meatballs.
Is it Better to Bake or Fry Meatballs?
Baking meatballs results in less fat than frying, and uses less intense circulating heat rather than direct immersion in hot oil. This ensures that the meatball is consistently cooked evenly through (albeit without that nicely crisp fried exterior).
The great thing about Air Frying is that you get the best of both worlds. A nice fried sear on the outside, but the circulating convection heat makes sure that you get an even cook throughout.
What to Serve with Our Air Fryer Meatballs
To round out your cozy, hearty meal, try serving our Air Fryer Meatballs with Corn Souffle, Creamy Mashed Potatoes, or Gluten Free Cornbread.
More Meatball Recipes
We’re big fans of meatballs around here. They’re just so good. Don't miss our other favorite meatball recipes like these Italian Meatballs with Homemade Sauce, Crock Pot Swedish Meatballs, Crock Pot BBQ Meatballs, and Spicy Meatballs with Chipotle Sauce.
Air Fryer Meatballs Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- ½ cup yellow onion (grated (about ½ a medium sized onion))
- 1 pound ground beef
- ½ pound ground pork or Italian sausage
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup ricotta cheese
- 1 large egg (lightly beaten)
Instructions
- Saute onions. Add olive oil to a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook the grated onion in the oil for about 5 minutes until it just begins to brown and the liquid evaporates. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
- In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, ground pork, garlic powder, salt, pepper, Parmesan cheese, ricotta, egg and cooked onions. Mix together until the ingredients are well combined.
- Scoop the beef mixture into 1 ½” balls (about the size of a golf ball). It will make about 25 meatballs.
- Place meatballs in a single layer in the air fryer basket and cook at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes, until browned and cooked through. Repeat with remaining meatballs, working in batches as necessary.
Notes
- We started our air fryer journey with this 4 qt Ninja Air Fryer. We LOVED this thing, but the size was a little small when we wanted to make enough Air Fryer Chicken Thighs or Air Fryer Hamburgers for our whole family.
- We recently upgraded to this Cuisinart Convection Toaster Oven and we are loving the extra space. We can cook 20 meatballs at a time in this thing, which is just right for our family.
- You can use any meatball recipe in the air fryer. We used Gluten Free Meatballs without Breadcrumbs. If you’re making larger meatballs, like our Italian Meatballs with Homemade Sauce, add a minute or two to the cooking time.