These easy breakfast meatballs are an exciting alternative to bacon or breakfast sausage links. They are the perfect way to make any breakfast extra special.
Using bulk breakfast sausage and a few simple ingredients eliminates any hassle, allowing you to whip these tasty meatballs together in minutes. Best of all, this easy meal can even be prepped the night before and thrown in the oven when you wake up. Crafting a hearty breakfast couldn't be any easier!
What are they?
I got the idea for making these breakfast meatballs after I made meatballs from Italian sausage. The idea is to use the flavor already packed into bulk breakfast sausage and make a simple meatball by adding breadcrumbs and traditional meatball binders. All of the flavor is already there, we are just making them more tender, adding a little texture, and forming them into round balls.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Bulk breakfast sausage - Raw bulk breakfast sausage will be easiest to work with, but you can also use raw sausage patties or links and discard the casings. Pork sausage is most common, but I used my venison breakfast sausage for this recipe.
- Large Egg
- Plain breadcrumbs - You could also substitute panko breadcrumbs.
- Milk
- Yellow onion - A sweet onion would be great as well.
Customize this recipe
I keep my breakfast meatballs pretty simple to allow the flavors of the breakfast sausage to shine through. However, there are quite a few ways you can jazz them up. Feel free to give any of these suggestions a try.
- Drizzle real maple syrup over the meatballs as a glaze prior to baking.
- Add ½ cup of crumbled bacon.
- Add ½ cup of shredded sharp Cheddar cheese.
How to make them
My breakfast meatballs recipe begins by crumbling your raw breakfast sausage into a large bowl, then adding the beaten egg, breadcrumbs, milk, and grated onion. Once all five ingredients have been added combine everything well with clean hands.
To form the meatballs I recommend wetting your hands with a little water. This will prevent the meat mixture from sticking to your palms. I recommend rolling about two tablespoons of the mixture per ball. Using an ice cream scoop is an easy way to get consistent sizing.
Note: You can make the meatballs any size you want, however, the sizing will affect the baking time.
Place meatballs on a rimmed baking sheet. You can grease the baking sheet with cooking spray, but I find it is best to line it with parchment paper to prevent sticking. The meatballs are placed in a 350-degree oven for 20 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. Baking times will vary depending on the size of the meatballs.
Serve with a fried egg and homemade hashbrowns.
Storing and Reheating
These breakfast sausage meatballs can be prepped ahead for busy mornings by forming the raw meatballs the night prior, and then storing them in your refrigerator in an airtight container. Throw the refrigerated raw meatballs in the oven when you are ready to enjoy them the next day. Alternatively, they can also be frozen for longer storage in a freezer-safe container but should be completely thawed prior to baking.
Leftover meatballs can be stored for up to one week and reheated in the microwave until warmed through.
Breakfast Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 pound breakfast sausage
- 1 large egg beaten
- ½ cup plain breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup milk
- ¼ cup grated yellow onion
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Crumble the raw breakfast sausage into a large bowl. Add beaten egg, bread crumbs, milk, and grated onion. Mix well to combine.
- Scoop out approximately two tablespoons at a time of the meat mixture with a spoon or ice cream scoop and roll between the palms of your hands to form into balls and set them on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper in a single layer.
- Place the meatballs in the oven for 20 minutes, or until they reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees.
- Remove from the baked meatballs from the oven, let cool slightly, then serve with your breakfast favorites.
Notes
Nutritional Information
This recipe was originally published here on November 17, 2021.
Maria
Would these work without the onion?
Fox Valley Foodie
Yes, absolutely! 🙂
Angelica
These sound and look delicious! I’m making them in the morning for my kids. Right now I’m in the throes of a temporarily restricted diet, so am eating comforting savory foods vicariously through my children, lol.
Michael Wallen
I'm making the gravy, I can't wait to try it.