When we think of the ultimate comfort food, our Meatballs and Mashed Potatoes recipe comes to mind. Tender and juicy meatballs sit atop fluffy, buttery mashed potatoes, and are topped with savory gravy and fresh herbs. Your search for tonight's simple, family-friendly dinner recipe ends here!
Meatballs are our go-to when we want to make a cozy dinner. There are so many side dish options when it comes to meatballs, but our favorite has to be Yukon gold mashed potatoes, smothered in a velvety gravy. To be able to enjoy these meatballs another night, we also love to double this recipe to keep in the freezer.
Jump to:
- Why You Will Love This Meatballs and Mashed Potatoes Recipe
- Ingredients
- Substitutions and Variations
- How to Make Meatballs and Mashed Potatoes
- Meatballs:
- MASHED POTATOES:
- More Recipes You Will Love
- How to Store Meatballs and Mashed Potatoes
- What to Serve with Meatballs and Mashed Potatoes
- Top Tip
- Frequently Asked Questions About Meatballs with Mashed Potatoes
- More Recipes You Will Love
- Meatballs and Mashed Potatoes Recipe
This recipe was inspired by my Cooked Perfect Meatballs, and pairs well with our Idahoan Mashed Potatoes, Sautéed Green Beans with Shallots.
Why You Will Love This Meatballs and Mashed Potatoes Recipe
- Comfort Food: The combination of meatballs, mashed potatoes, and gravy feels like a warm hug in a bowl.
- Flavorful: Fresh herbs and garlic make for a mouthwatering, tender meatball.
- Versatile: Our meatball recipe can be served with a variety of sides like your favorite pasta, vegetables, rice, or even on a bun or a wrap.
- Family Friendly: This dish is kid-approved!
- Meal Prep: Make a double batch (or more), to save for another busy weeknight.
- Meat Variety: You can use ground beef, pork, and veal (or a combination of all) for additional versatility and flavor.
Ingredients
See below for everything you will need to make this delicious dinner recipe.
See the recipe card below for the exact quantities of each ingredient.
- Ground Meat: The ground meat(s) of your choice acts as the base of this recipe.
- Garlic: We prefer fresh garlic, but jarred or powdered work just as well.
- Eggs: Acts as a binding agent.
- Parmesan Cheese: We love adding parmesan for a cheesy flavor.
- Parsley: Adds a fresh, herbaceous flavor.
- Oregano: Gives meatballs an additional depth of flavor.
- Salt: Enhances all the flavors in these meatballs.
- Pepper: Adds a subtle hint of spice.
- Breadcrumbs: Helps to hold the meatball's shape.
- Milk: Adds moisture to your ground meat mixture.
- Yukon Gold Potatoes: We love the golden color and smooth texture of Yukon Gold.
- Butter: Adds so much flavour. Use salted or unsalted.
- Whipping Cream: Gives your mashed potatoes a velvety texture.
- Gravy: The finishing touch that adds delicious savory flavor.
For this recipe, you'll want to have on hand a large baking sheet, a large mixing bowl, measuring cups, measuring spoons, a 2 ½ tablespoon cookie scoop, a potato peeler, large pot, a strainer, and a potato masher.
Substitutions and Variations
Love this recipe but want to make it your own? Here are some helpful ideas for you to change these Meatballs and Mashed Potatoes.
- Meat: Use your choice of ground meat(s) to make these meatballs your own.
- Herbs: We love fresh, but you can use dried as well for a result that's just as delicious. Any combination of your favorite fresh or dried herbs will be tasty, so feel free to really customize this aspect. Just keep in mind that you need to use less of a dried herb than it's fresh counterpart.
- Garlic: If you don't have fresh garlic on hand, using garlic powder works great.
- Dairy-Free: Skip parmesan cheese and use non-dairy milk for a dairy-free alternative to these meatballs.
- Spice: If you like some spice in your meatballs, feel free to add crushed red pepper flakes or dried cayenne pepper to your mixture.
- Size: If you want smaller meatballs, or if you're serving them as an appetizer, you can roll your meatballs out smaller. Keep in mind that this will change their bake time, and keep an eye on them in the oven to make sure they don't overcook and become dry.
- Russet Potatoes: We personally prefer Yukon Gold, but we know a lot of people swear by Russets - another very popular choice for mashed potatoes. You can also try our Idahoan Mashed Potatoes, made with Russets.
- Salted Butter: You can use salted butter instead of unsalted if you'd like, just save the additional salt to taste at the end for more control over how salty your end result will be.
- Milk: Milk with a different fat percentage can be used, but we find they are not as lusciously creamy and smooth with whole milk (2%). We truly believe the whipping cream makes this recipe!
- Cauliflower Mash: For a lighter side option, you can substitute mashed potatoes with cauliflower mash.
How to Make Meatballs and Mashed Potatoes
Check out how quick and easy it was to make these Meatballs and Mashed Potatoes in just a few simple steps.
Meatballs:
Preheat oven to 350F and lightly grease a large baking sheet.
In a large bowl, combine all ingredients, keeping your breadcrumbs and milk until last. By hand, mix until well combined.
Using a 2 ½ tablespoon cookie scoop, make medium sized meatballs and lightly shape into a tighter ball, then place on a prepared baking sheet.
Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until a thermometer reads 160F.
Cool on the baking sheet until ready to serve.
MASHED POTATOES:
Add peeled and cubed potatoes to a large pot and cover with water at least 2 inches over.
Boil on high for 20-25 minutes or until very fork tender (the more tender, the easier to mash).
Strain and set back in the pot.
Add butter and start to mash.
Add whipping cream, salt and pepper and continue to mash to desired texture.
Cook gravy according to package directions and serve over meatballs and mashed potatoes.
Hint: When rolling out your meatballs, try to seal any cracks in the uncooked meat before baking to seal in moisture. You can do this by pinching the meat together then lightly re-rolling into a ball shape.
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How to Store Meatballs and Mashed Potatoes
This is a recipe that's so versatile that we love making multiple batches of the meatballs at the same time, to store for later.
- Refrigerator: Once cooled, place in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
- Freezer: For your meatballs, whether they are cooked or uncooked, you can line them on a baking sheet and pop them in the freezer. Once fully frozen (about 2-4 hours), place them into a freezer bag and pop them back in the freezer for up to 6 months. I like to double bag them, and remove as much air out of the first bag as I can. Alternatively, you can vacuum-seal them as well. I love this FoodSaver, that I got on Amazon. Mashed potatoes can also be frozen. Let them cool fully, and store in a freezer bag or freezer-safe container for up to 1 month.
- Reheating: Thaw in the fridge and reheat in the microwave or stovetop until warmed through.
- Make Ahead: To make your meatballs ahead, follow the instructions 1-3 and then pop them in the fridge or freezer until you are ready to bake. To make your mashed potatoes ahead, follow all steps above. Let them cool, and pack into an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, until needed.
What to Serve with Meatballs and Mashed Potatoes
- Maple Brussels Sprouts: We can't resist the sweet and savory flavors in our Maple Brussel Sprouts.
- Sautéed Green Beans with Shallots: For a simple side dish that comes together quickly with a blend of sweetness from the shallots, earthy, slight heat from the garlic and the snap of the green beans, try our Sautéed Green Beans with Shallots.
- Honey and Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots: Add subtle, caramelized sweetness to your plate with Honey and Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots.
- Roasted Broccoli: Roast broccoli florets with some olive oil, garlic, and parmesan for a deliciously crispy side.
- Cranberry Sauce: Add a hint of sweetness to balance the savory flavors of this dish with our Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce.
- Fresh Herbs: Sprinkle on your favorite herb (like parsley, chives, or thyme) to garnish your plate with a pop of fresh color.
- Steamed Vegetables: For a more simple and light option, to make a well-rounded meal.
- Salad: We love putting together a quick garden salad as a fresh side to contrast the rich flavors of this dish.
- Corn: Whether you opt for creamed corn or corn on the cob, it's a great side option.
- Asparagus: Roasted asparagus adds delicious earthy flavor to these meatballs and mashed potatoes.
- Zucchini Fritters: When they're in season, for a crispy and satisfying side, we love making Zucchini Fritters using fresh zucchini from our garden.
Top Tip
When you are making your mashed potatoes, we highly recommend not skipping the whipping cream! Of course milk with a different fat percentage can be used depending on what you have on hand, but whipping cream will yield the richest, creamiest mash.
Frequently Asked Questions About Meatballs with Mashed Potatoes
Do you have questions about making Meatballs and Mashed Potatoes?
There a couple of key things to do when making meatballs: using a binder like eggs and breadcrumbs or both, and making sure your mixture has an appropriate level of moisture.
By using a cookie scoop, you will ensure an even size across every meatball. This makes for a consistent flavor and bake time. We like using a 2.5 tablespoon cookie scoop.
We suggest a combination of beef and pork, or even veal for the best flavor. With that being said, meatballs are very versatile and can be made with any meat of your choice. If you are looking to make a leaner meatball, you can try ground turkey or ground chicken.
Your meatballs are fully cooked when their internal temperature reaches 160F (for a beef meatball) or 165F (for a chicken meatball). We recommend investing in a meat thermometer to make checking on this as easy as possible.
Yukon Gold and Russet potatoes are the most popular choices for making a mash. Due to their starch content, they will produce a more fluffy texture.
Packaged gravy is a great shortcut in a pinch, but you can absolutely make your favorite homemade gravy recipe to top your meatballs and mashed potatoes.
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Meatballs and Mashed Potatoes Recipe
Equipment
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
- Large Bowl
- Baking Sheet
- Potato Peeler
- Large Pot
- Strainer
- Potato Masher
Ingredients
MeatBalls
- 2 pounds ground beef, pork and veal
- 1 cup parmesan cheese, grated
- 4 tablespoon garlic, fresh minced
- 2 eggs, large
- 2 tablespoon parsley, fresh
- 2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground pepper
- 1 cup Italian breadcrumbs
- ¼ - ½ cup whole milk as needed
Mashed Potatoes
- 3 pounds Yukon gold potatoes peeled and cubed
- 1 ½ sticks butter, unsalted
- 1 cup whipping cream
- ½ tablespoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
- packaged gravy
Instructions
Meatballs
- Preheat oven to 350F and lightly grease a large baking sheet.
- In a large bowl, combine all ingredients, keeping your breadcrumbs and milk for last. By hand, mix until well combined.
- Using a 2.5 tablespoon cookie scoop, make medium-sized meatballs and lightly shape into a tighter ball, then place on a prepared baking sheet.
- Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until a meat thermometer reads 160F.
- Cool on the baking sheet until ready to serve.
Mashed Potatoes
- Add peeled and cubed potatoes to a large pot and cover with water at least 2 inches over.
- Boil on high for 20-25 minutes or until very fork tender (the more tender, the easier to mash).
- Strain and set back in the pot.
- Add butter and start to mash.
- Add whipping cream, salt and pepper and continue to mash to desired texture.
- Cook gravy according to package directions and serve over meatballs and mashed potatoes.
Notes
- Try to seal any cracks in the uncooked meat before baking to seal in moisture. You can do this by pinching the meat together then lightly re-roll into a ball shape.
- Using whipping cream in your mashed potatoes is highly recommended — it will give them the creamiest, smoothest texture.
- If you don't have Yukon Golds on hand, you can make your mashed potatoes with Russets.
Nutrition
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Eva Filer says
We love making this as a lighter meal in the colder months. It is such a warm and comforting dish.