These easy to eat, light and bouncy meatballs are quickly put together and air fried. Pop them into a store bought pasta sauce and you have a kid-friendly favourite – spaghetti and meatballs!
I used to ever only use beef in my meatball mix but found that they almost always turned out dry. So mixing in pork to give it its fat content resulted in much juicier meatballs. Also cooking them in the air fryer instead of pan frying over the stove (be gone oily splatters!) or baking them in the oven is really much more convenient for me.
The ingredients to use are straightforward and includes egg, basil & coriander leaves, seasonings like dried herbs (all mixed with some water) then in go the meat, parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs. The best way to mix this up is using your hands then shaping them to the preferred size. I don’t make them too big and for this recipe get about 28 meatballs.
Don’t overmix them or else the meatballs won’t have a light texture to it. I love all the ingredients in this recipe (no onions!) and we really love the taste of these meatballs.
We love these on their own but of course love them even better dunked into a nice pasta sauce. I have never been a big fan of spaghetti bolognese so these are on rotation instead. You could get a store bought marinara sauce or sauce of choice and put in the meatballs while heating the sauce thru. Add in your spaghetti and serve with shaved parmesan on top!
I froze some of the leftover meatballs to air fry for another day. They are very much freezer friendly. Hope you try this and do let me know how it goes!
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Juicy Air Fryer Meatballs
Ingredients
- 200 g Minced Pork
- 300 g Minced Beef
Mix the below with 1/4 cup water in a large bowl:
- 1 egg
- Handful Basil & Coriander Leaves Sliced thinly
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp dried oregano or preferred herb of choice
Others:
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
Instructions
- Makes 28 meatballs, slightly smaller than a golf ball.
- Add meat into the large bowl with the ingredients that has been added with water. Add the parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs. Mix but be careful not to overmix. Roll into meatballs.
- Pre-heat Air Fryer for 5 mins at 200C. Lower temp to 180C and place meatballs inside. DO NOT overcrowd the tray. There must be space for air to circulate. For my Air Fryer size, I place around 12-15 meatballs at a time (depending on size). Air fry for 10 mins. Done. Let cool then remove.
Notes
- I find mixing pork & beef gives me the best results. If I keep to just beef, the meatballs may come out dry. Mixing it with pork ensures it stays moist after air frying.
- Use your hands to mix the meat with the ingredients, and then shape. Resist the urge to overmix.
- I brush some oil on the air fryer grill before placing the meatballs.
- Allow meatballs to cool then remove or you could use a grease proof paper at the bottom of the tray tho I don't usually do this.
- Different air fryers may work differently, do check on them after 8 mins or so to see for done-ness.
