Easy homemade meatballs are baked in a glossy, rich BBQ sauce and served over creamy mashed potatoes. This BBQ Meatballs and Mashed Potatoes recipe is a super satisfying meal on a chilly day.
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These BBQ Meatballs may just be one of the coziest meals in my collection. When we get that first chill in the air in the fall season all the way through the end of winter, these yummy meatballs are a delicious way to warm up.
It’s just a natural thing to serve these saucy meatballs over a mound of mashed potatoes but they’re also delicious with rice or all their own. This is warm, comforting, stick-to-your-ribs food!
Table of contents
Ingredient Notes
For the Meatballs
- Ground beef – I like to use 90% to 93% lean ground beef for meatballs. They will shrink less while baking and you’ll have less grease to deal with than fattier ground beef.
- Panko breadcrumbs – Unseasoned plain panko breadcrumbs.
- Milk
- Egg
- White onion – Use a cheese grater to grate your onion for a finer consistency. Grated onion practically melts into the meatballs as they bake and you won’t have any unsightly chunks of onion sticking out the sides.
- Parsley – Fresh is best but you can substitute dried parsley if you’d like.
- Minced garlic
- Chili powder
- Salt/pepper
For the BBQ Meatball Sauce
- Ketchup
- BBQ sauce – Your favorite brand.
- Brown sugar
- Worcestershire sauce
- Minced garlic
- Onion powder
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Red pepper flakes – For a little zip. These are not spicy meatballs but you can add additional red pepper flakes, if you’d like.
How to Make BBQ Meatballs
Make and Bake the Meatballs
- Combine all the meatball ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
- Mix well to combine.
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with heavy-duty foil and coat it well with nonstick cooking spray. reheat oven to 425 degrees F. Shape into balls and place the on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake the meatballs for 15 to 16 minutes, or until nicely browned. You don’t need to cook them completely through at this point. Remove from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
While the meatballs are on their first round of cooking, start the mashed potatoes. See the recipe card below for a simple mashed potato recipe or try my Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes, Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes, or Broccoli Cheese Mashed Potatoes.
The BBQ Meatball Sauce
- Add all the sauce ingredients to a small bowl.
- Whisk until well combined.
- Transfer the partially baked meatballs to a baking dish.
- Pour the sauce over the meatballs and bake at 350 degrees F for an additional 15 to 18 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through and the sauce is heated through.
BBQ Meatball Storage Tips
- Refrigerate – Transfer leftover BBQ Meatballs to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 to 4 days. Reheat the meatballs gently on the stove or in the microwave until warmed through.
- Freeze – Transfer cooled meatballs and sauce to a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw safely in the refrigerator overnight before reheating.
More Meatballs Recipes You’ll Love
- Turkey Parmesan Meatballs
- Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Meatballs
- Tex-Mex Meatballs in Red Chile Sauce
- Slow Cooker Chicken Parmesan Meatballs
BBQ Meatballs and Mashed Potatoes
Easy homemade meatballs are baked in a glossy, rich BBQ sauce and served over creamy mashed potatoes. This BBQ Meatballs and Mashed Potatoes recipe is a super satisfying meal on a chilly day.
Ingredients
For the Meatballs
- ½ cup plain panko breadcrumbs
- ½ cup milk
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup grated white onion
- ¼ cup fresh chopped parsley, or 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- 1 ½ pounds ground beef, 90% to 93% lean
For the Sauce
- ¾ cup ketchup
- ½ cup prepared BBQ sauce, your favorite brand
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper, optional
For the Mashed Potatoes
- 2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and quartered
- ½ cup milk, warmed in microwave for about 25 seconds
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 teaspoons salt, divided
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
BBQ Meatballs
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with heavy duty foil and coat it well with nonstick cooking spray. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, combine all the meatball ingredients through the pepper. Add the ground beef and mix until well combined. Shape the mixture into 1 ½ to 2-inch meatballs (about 20) and place them on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 15 to 16 minutes, or until nicely browned. You don't need to cook them completely through at this point. Remove the pan from the oven and transfer the meatballs to a large baking dish.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Whisk together the sauce ingredients and pour the mixture over the cooked meatballs in the baking dish. Place the dish in the oven for 15 to 18 minutes or until the meatballs have reached an internal temperature of at least 160 degrees F and the sauce is heated through.
Mashed Potatoes
- While the meatballs are on their first round of cooking, add the potatoes to a large pot and add cold water until potatoes are covered by about 1-inch. Add 2 teaspoons salt and bring the water to a boil over HIGH heat. Reduce the heat to LOW, cover, and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, or until very tender all the way through when pierced with a fork or the tip of a sharp knife. Drain well Return the well-drained potatoes to the warm, empty pot.
- Set the heat under the pot to LOW, tossing the potatoes, for a minute or two to evaporate any remaining moisture and let the potatoes dry a bit. Remove from the heat.
- Add warmed milk, butter, salt and a little pepper. Use an electric hand mixer to mix just until creamy and smooth, being careful not to overmix. Taste and add additional salt and pepper, if needed.
- Serve the BBQ meatballs over mashed potatoes.
Nutrition
Calories: 520kcal | Carbohydrates: 58g | Protein: 30g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 119mg | Sodium: 2116mg | Potassium: 1289mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 803IU | Vitamin C: 36mg | Calcium: 126mg | Iron: 5mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.
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This post was originally published on September 7, 2015. It has been updated with new text and images.
Does this recipe double well?
Omg! Valerie this meal is insanely good!! Wow! I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out fantastic- obviously!! Definitely a keeper! I give it 5/5!!
Hi Leanne! So glad you enjoyed the recipe. Thanks so much for letting me know 🙂
This is the dinner my 6 year old requests most often now. Delicious! Thanks for the great recipe.
Oh, that is so sweet, Tonia! I’m so happy your little one loves it. Thanks for taking the time to leave your feedback 🙂
I made these for dinner last night and they were fantastic.!!!
That’s wonderful, Sheryl! I’m so happy the recipe worked out well for you and really appreciate you taking the time to let me know 🙂
Mincing the onion is genius! I love to do that for my burgers too! And I am getting ready to meal prep some meatballs to freeze for when our baby arrives next month and thinking I need to keep this recipe handy!
Come to mama, you gorgeous little meatballs!
This would be one recipe that I know would be LOVED in our house! It looks delicious Valerie!
My kids would gobble this up in a hurry!
Oh my goodness, my kids would LOVE this. Meatball lovers over here.
I can never turn down a meatball, especially ones on a bed of mashed taters.
YUM comfort food! This gets me in the mood for fall/winter cooking!
Comfort food at its finest! These meatballs look insanely delicious. I’m looking forward to fall cooking, too! Hope you and your family had a great Labor Day! 🙂