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10 Unexpected Meatball Recipes You Need to Make for Dinner

Meatballs: We love ’em, but we’ve been eating them the same way our entire life (drenched in red sauce with a pound of spaghetti). There’s nothing wrong with that classic pairing, but there’s a whole universe of other possibilities just waiting to be devoured. Ready thy forks, knives and toothpicks.

One Pan-Spaghetti and Meatballs


sticky asian meatballs with udon noodles hero
Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell

Sticky Asian Meatballs With Udon Noodles

A fun twist on spaghetti and meatballs. 

slow cooker chicken tikka masala meatballs recipe
Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell

Slow-cooker Chicken Tikka Masala Meatballs

We love meatballs. We love chicken tikka masala. So we combined them into the greatest dish ever.

cheater s italian wedding soup recipe
Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell

Cheater's Italian Wedding Soup

We won't tell anyone you cheated with Italian sausage .

meal prep meatballs with zucchini noodles recipes
Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell

Meal-prep Turkey Meatballs With Zucchini Noodles

They’ll last you the whole workweek. 

whole 30 meatballs creamy herb sauce recipe
Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell

Whole30 Chicken Meatballs And Cauliflower Rice With Coconut-herb Sauce

We can’t get enough of the rich and creamy sauce.

vegan sriracha meatballs with noodles and grilled vegetables recipe
SIMON SMITH/VEGAN 100

Vegan Sriracha ‘meatballs’ With Noodles And Grilled Vegetables

You’d never guess these were made from tofu.

buffalo chicken meatballs recipe
Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

Wings: Who needs ’em?

polenta and meatballs recipe
Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell

Polenta And Meatballs

PsstIt costs only $15 to whip up four whole servings.

spicy glazed meatballs recipe
Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell

Spicy Glazed Meatballs

It’s impossible to have just one.

swedish meatballs recipe
Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell

Swedish Meatballs

We’re never going back to the frozen kind again.



heathgoldmanheadshot 1

Food Editor

From 2017 to 2019 Heath Goldman held the role of Food Editor covering food, booze and some recipe development, too. Tough job, eh?