Beef Meatballs in Mushroom Gravy
Juicy tender beef meatballs are first pan-fried for deliciously crispy exterior and then smothered in hearty mushroom gravy! Plus, learn how to make ton of meatballs for your freezer, step by step.
Meatballs are amazing! They’re so versatile, convenient, and, most importantly, they’re mighty tasty. Plus, they are perfect to make ahead! Don’t you agree?
Homemade meatballs are so much better than store-bought ones too, because:
- You know exactly what goes in them. ✔️
- You can customize it to your taste. ✔️
- You can shape them into whatever size you want to. ✔️
- And probably it’ll cost you way less! ✔️
See? So many reasons to make bunch of meatballs for your freezer, and I’ll show you exactly how to freeze meatballs in just a bit. But first, imagine all the delicious comfort meals you can make with them! Spaghetti and meatballs, meatball subs, meatball soup, and many, many more.
When I was expecting my little one, I made sure to make a whole bunch of meatballs to freeze. It takes practically no time and effort to whip up a huge batch of meatballs.
I love using Panko, light and crispy japanese breadcrumbs, for juicy tender meatballs. And for perfectly uniform meatballs, I use this medium cookie scoop to shape the meatballs. Seriously, these were the easiest and fastest freezer meal I prepared during my pregnancy. And I’m telling ya, it paid off big time!
How to freeze meatballs?
I arrange them on baking sheets, lined with parchment paper, and freeze them just like that first. Then I divide them into small portions and vacuum seal for longer storage. That way meatballs won’t get freezer burn, and will store well for a long time.
Out of many easy meatball recipes, these meatballs in mushroom gravy were my favorite!
There is no better comfort food than a simple meat n’ potato, right? And this hearty meal hits the spot just right when you’re craving some comfort food.
It’s super simple to make, yet yields amazing flavors, all in just one skillet!
Serve it over fluffy mashed potatoes for a winning combination! Now does it look good or what?
Hope you’ll give this beef meatball recipe a try and add it in your menu rotation!
Tell me what’s your favorite meatball dish?
Beef Meatballs in Mushroom Gravy
Juicy tender meatballs are first pan-fried for deliciously crispy exterior and then smothered in hearty mushroom gravy! Plus, learn how to make ton of meatballs for your freezer, step by step.
Yield: 4.5lbs meatballs, +4 servings
Ingredients:
For make-ahead meatballs:
- 1 ½ cups (90gr) Panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
- 4lbs (2kg) ground beef
- 5-6 garlic cloves, pressed
- 3 eggs
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 4 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
For meatballs in mushroom gravy:
- 1lb (450gr) meatballs
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 6oz (170gr) mushrooms
- 2 garlic cloves, pressed
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3 cups (700ml) beef stock
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley, if desired
- Mashed potatoes for serving
Directions:
- To make the make-ahead meatballs, pulse the panko in a food processor until fine crumbs.
- In a large bowl, mix together Panko, beef, garlic, eggs, Worcestershire sauce, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. With clean hands, mix the beef mixture until well combined.
- Using a medium cookie scoop, shape the meatballs and arrange them on 2 baking sheets, lined with parchment paper. (I usually get about 125 1-inch meatballs.)
- Place the meatballs in freezer until completely frozen. Then divide into four 1-lb portions and place in freeze bags, or vacuum seal for longer storage.
- To make the meatballs in mushroom gravy, we’ll use only 1lb of meatballs.
- Slice the mushrooms.
- In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Place 1lb meatballs (frozen or fresh) in one layer and brown from all sides, turning each meatball using a tong. Meatballs don’t need to be cooked all the way, we’re just browning for now. Remove onto a plate.
- Pour the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil into the same skillet and add mushrooms along with garlic. Cook the mushrooms stirring frequently for about 3 minutes, or until they’re nice and brown. Remove onto a plate.
- In the same skillet, melt the butter and stir in the flour. Cook the flour mixture for at least 2 minutes, whisking constantly. (That’s how we make roux to thicken the gravy. If you don’t cook the roux long enough, you will taste raw flour in your gravy, so don’t rush this step.)
- Slowly pour in the stock and Worcestershire sauce and bring it to a boil, whisking frequently.
- Add browned meatballs and mushrooms and cook for additional 8-10 minutes. If the gravy thickens too much, add a little bit of water, or stock. Salt and pepper to taste. If desired, add chopped parsley before serving. Serve over mashed potatoes for a complete meal.
For step-by-step photos and additional notes, read the post above.
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My family LOVED This! It’s on my rotation for the month.I used red capped mushrooms. YUMMY!!
I’m so glad you and your family loved it! Thank you for your feedback, Mary!
Delicious! Whole family enjoyed. Stick to your ribs dish.
Yay, so happy you tried and enjoyed it, Vera. Thank you for your feedback!
I made this recipe for a pot luck! It was fantastic! I added a little onion to the meatballs, and since I didn’t have panko I used equal weight of bread crumbs. I used a scoop to make the meatballs (great idea!) and cooked them on foil lined baking sheets, 400 F x 15-20 minutes, until browned. I made the gravy separately, and warmed everything up in a crock pot for the pot luck. Served over mashed potatoes and it was a hit with everyone! I would suggest cooking the meatballs and freezing them cooked. Make the gravy when you need it!
Thank you so much, Leslie, for your feedback and sharing your changes. I recently started cooking the meatballs before freezing too, and I agree it saves a lot of time.
Could I make up my meatballs and brown, do the mushrooms gravy etc and bake in oven?
Hi, Trudy. I’ve never tried it that way, but I don’t see why you couldn’t. Let me know if you try that way. Thanks!
I made the meatballs and froze them. I am alone so didn`t want huge meatballs cooked. Cooked about 8 at a time and used them in Italian Wedding Soup and the Instant Spaghetti Recipe with Penne. Marvelous. WIll do it again many times in future. Great idea and lovely meatballs. I left out the Worcesteshire sauce but will try when not using for Italian recipes in future maybe half and half. Thanks.
Yay, so happy you loved these meatballs. I love having some frozen ones in the freezer for a quick meal too. Thank you for your feedback, Leah!
I made this when my wife was at work at Hallmark. She doesn’t eat red meat, so I used ground turkey. I didn’t have Panko, so I used regular, and eliminated most of the salt. Made my own Italian seasoning. Your meatballs were out of this world!! New at cooking, Pinterest healthy recipes are inspiring me, and already becoming an addiction!
Hey, Karl. So glad to hear your healthy eating habits. And I’m so glad this recipe works well with ground turkey and regular breadcrumbs. Thank you so much for your feedback and sharing your tweaks!
I just finished making and eating my first Meatball with mushrooms and gravy. Since first discovering Pinterest I have thrown away dozens of meals. I wrongly thought if someone wrote out a recipe that so many people would be trying it had to be good. WRONG! When I came across your recipe it ¨looked¨ wonderful. I was still skeptical. I read and re-read the recipe over and over. Some of the most prolific contributors have sent in some real losers. I have learned to read carefully and be careful whose recipes that I chose.This time I got a blue ribbon winner! (with a freezer full to follow) Your directions were clear and precise and your recipe was terrific. This was a real pleasure for me. Young lady, you delivered exactly what you promised. Take pride in what you do! You do it well! I have learned that some on Pinterest are better cooks than others. You are one of those better cooks. I signed up for future recipes and will be looking forward to more recipes from you. Thank you tor the recipe and great meal. I expect to be hearing more good things from you. You put the gourmet back in every day cooking. That is matter of pride women have shared for years. You do it well. Thank you. B Karr.
Hi, Barbara! I’m so glad you tried and loved these meatballs. It’s our family’s favorite for sure. Thank you so much for your feedback! Your comment made my day. Thanks again!
Just finished making and eating this recipe …kids loved it and so did my wife and I. thank you
So glad you all loved the recipe. Thank you for your feedback, Cory!
Oh man. If you do try to serve this to guests don’t forget to tell them you put FISH in this! I’m swelling up just looking at the name Worcestershire sauce. I’ve stopped breathing so many times in my life due to this condiment being hidden in dishes you don’t expect to contain fish. Scary stuff! I do recommend if trying to use this recipe with guests or for a potluck or something that you don’t know their allergies, to omit.
Remember kids, if you want to use Worcestershire sauce as your “secret ingredient” it better be the vegan one. Because it can literally kill people.
Oh, wow, Jasmine, you brought up a great point here! For those of us who doesn’t suffer from any allergies, it’s hard to keep that in mind. When hosting a party, I always try to remember to ask my guests if they have any allergies, especially if I’m cooking for them for the first time. Thanks so much for leaving a comment and bringing an awareness.
This recipe looks awesome! But I was wondering if I could do the same thing going but put it in the slow cooker to help save time when making a larger holiday dinner?
Thanks a bunch! ☺
Hi, Niki! Unfortunately I’ve never made this in a slow cooker, so can’t advise much about it. Let me know if you try it though.
Hi what would the ingredient amounts for just 1 meal of the meat balls. As your receipe seems to be for all 4 pounds. What would we use just for 1 lb
Hi, Susan. For 1 lb ground beef:
1lb ground beef
3/4 cup panko
1-2 garlic cloves, pressed
1 egg
1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
Hope this helps. Let me know how it turns out. Thanks!
I’d seggest adding asparagus as a side. It adds alot of flavor when you mix it all together. Also, this is a wonderful dish Shinee! Keep doing well!
Hi, Ashilee. Love asparagus, and I’ll definitely add it as a side next time. Thanks!!
Can you thaw ground beef to make the meatballs and then rmfreeze them? Or should they be cooked since the meat was already frozen?
Yes, you can, Nick. That’s what I do all the time, since we do our own ground beef. Hope you enjoy the meatballs. Let me know your thoughts if you make these.
sorry to say but you should not refreeze raw meat, especially ground meat! It’s against food safety regulations. At least in EU it is. But you can freeze them cooked if you want.
Hi, Crt. Thanks for chiming in. As we process out own ground beef, we prepare lots of it and we always refreeze it in smaller packages. We’ve been doing this for years, and haven’t had any problems. But please note it’s for our personal use only, and nothing is for sale.
How much meat is used to make 1 lb meatballs? I would love to try this.
I’d say 1lb of ground beef will be enough. I hope you like it, Cassandra. 🙂
This looks so good! I love mushrooms and mushroom sauce. Can’t wait to try it.
Thank you!!
I love meatballs! And mushroom gravy…YUM! The best thing? My youngest son and I are the only ones that like mushrooms, so we get them all! 🙂
Lucky you two! Haha Thanks, Michelle, for visiting!
Meatballs may well be my weakness, and these look particularly amazing! That mushroom gravy – swoon! And I’m all about making some extra to stash away in the freezer for a busy night 🙂
Frozen meatballs are life-saver! Hope you get to making this dish, Kathryn! Thanks for stopping by!
Hi Shinee,
Just did the beef meatballs today with your mashed potatoes for dinner. Everyone was quietly focusing on the meal. The only words they said were “Hmm, Good!” (Forgot to mention on your Bacon Chicken Meatballs that the food processor is such a good idea to make this kind of food.) The beef meatballs were full of flavour. The mushroom gravy made the mashed potatoes just even smoother. It was a wonderful dinner. Thank you again for the recipe! Looking forward to your new dish.
Karen
Awesome, so glad you tried the recipe and your family enjoyed it! My husband loves that gravy with mashed potatoes! And yeah, food processor is super for making meatballs! 🙂
These look delicious! I make meatballs about once or twice a month for spaghetti, so I will try these soon.
Thanks, Joanne! Hope you enjoy this recipe for a change. I love spaghetti and meatballs too! Let me know.