Our Best Meatball Recipes

We love 'em with noodles, we love 'em in soups, we love 'em on skewers, too. We're taking the meatball to more delicious (and lighter!)  places than we ever have before.

Let's start out with a healthier take on a time-honored dish—Spaghetti and Meatballs. 

You can't go wrong with this classic family favorite. We amp up jarred marinara with charred onion, garlic, and plum tomatoes.

This Asian twist on an Italian-style favorite just plain works. The four sauce ingredients create an instant, incredibly balanced barbecue-type lacquer, full of vinegar and chile punch, caramel notes, and umami richness.

These juicy, tender bites can be served in soups, pastas, sandwiches, pizzas, or salads. Make them for dinner tonight and freeze the remaining morsels (if there are any left behind) for a quick meal on busy weeknights.

Fresh pasta takes only two to three minutes to cook. Bring your pot of water to a boil early, and drop the pasta in just before the meatballs are finished so that everything is done at the same time. Ricotta cheese makes the meatballs light and tender and not too dense; they're a bit too fragile to toss with the pasta, so they're scooped out of the sauce and then placed on top at the end. If you can't find fresh linguine, use fresh fettuccine.

Feed a crowd of 8 tonight, or cook 6 ounces pasta to serve 4 and freeze half the meatball mixture for later. Spoon into whole-wheat hoagie rolls instead of over pasta.

These subs with be a big hit with your family. The balsamic vinegar in the sauce really adds a whole level of flavor. Plus, these sandwiches make great leftovers!

Smoked chorizo gives this tortilla soup a deep, smoky flavor without overpowering. This soup is a perfect go-to for parties or quick get-togethers.

This recipe comes from Jessica Goldman Foung, whose low-sodium diet requires the use of a creative variety of spices to boost flavor. If your diet allows, seasoning the recipe with 1/2 teaspoon salt adds just 40mg sodium per meatball.

Friends will love the ingenuity of these appetizers—little meatballs cradled in Brussels sprout cups—cleverly seasonal.

Melted mozzarella and savory meatballs are nestled within a fluffy water roll. You might just have a new dinnertime favorite.

We lightened up a kid-friendly favorite that will still please your pint-sized diners.

Silky and sweet, the red currant pan sauce would be delicious served over pork chops or grilled poultry. Use leftover jam for anything from spreading over biscuits to creating a flavor base for barbecue sauce.

In our play on Italian wedding soup, cooked quinoa serves as a nutty, whole-grain binder for the meatballs. We like the tenderness of lacinato kale in this soup, but you easily can substitute other varieties.

Beefy sirloin draped in wine-spiked, creamy mushroom sauce: the comfort of stroganoff with a meatball twist. Serve sautéed Broccolini, spinach, or Brussels sprouts alongside this hearty entrée.

These meaty, saucy, two-napkin sandwiches are destined for heavy dinnertime rotation.

These meatballs make a terrific party snack. Look for flat skewers at Asian markets, or use two skewers for each group of meatballs so they'll turn easier.

Serve with simple mashed potatoes on the side to catch the sauce.

The recipes calls for the meatballs to be served with pita wedges, but you can serve them over couscous, over pasta, or even by themselves. Let your imagination run wild.

Skip the pasta and try these sliders instead. Best of all, you can make the meatballs ahead and freeze them for a quick meal on busy nights.

Inspired by his trip to Israel, renowned chef Hugh Acheson created this Middle Eastern-style recipe using staples from his Southern backyard. Handle the meatballs gently, and form them with as little handling as possible. This will keep them tender.

In about 30 minutes, you can have a bowl of this tasty pasta on your table—homemade meatballs included. Refrigerated fettuccine and commercial marinara sauce helps to hasten this quick and easy pasta dinner. Serve with Mixed Greens Salad.

These plump, moist turkey meatballs, surprisingly delicate in flavor, are guaranteed to banish any memory of dried-out turkey burgers.

If you can't find fresh corn on the cob, substitute 2 cups frozen corn kernels, and broil them with peppers. After making the soup, you can use a few leftover chipotle chiles to spice up a pot of beans, rice, stews, or canola mayonnaise.

Impress your party guests with this delectable Middle East-inspired appetizer. You can also try serving it with pita or bulgur.

These flavorful meatballs make fantastic appetizers, and they also add a great touch to your weeknight pasta.

Inspired by the traditional Mexican albondigas, a soup with meatballs and vegetables, this dish "hides" the veggies in the meatballs. Picky eaters will be none the wiser.

In the words of one of our readers, these subs are "ludicrously quick and easy." You'll definitely want to add them to your menu this week.

The hallmarks of Korean cuisine are garlicky, salty, and sweet flavors, so our essential ingredients here are garlic, lower-sodium soy sauce, and brown sugar. Serve the meatballs with store-bought kimchi and Quick Pickled Cucumbers to add characteristic heat and tang to the meal.

Wide rice noodles are available on the ethnic-foods aisle at most major supermarkets and at Asian grocers. If you can't find them, any rice noodle or even spaghetti will work in this dish. You can also use ground sirloin, if you can't find pork.

This riff on spaghetti and meatballs uses rice-shaped pasta, ground lamb, and feta cheese.

Serve these garlicky, spicy meatballs with steamed sugar snap peas and 2 cups of cooked rice tossed with 1 tablespoon chile paste—you'll find it on the ethnic aisle of most supermarkets or at Asian grocers.