There’s nothing like a good meatball and these are going to be in your dinner rotation in no time! I love making meatballs and seasoning them with what I have on hand. Honestly, they’re such a great way to change up your routine with dinner and easy to prep!

I decided to keep these meatballs light by omitting the egg and breadcrumbs. I find that using both egg and breadcrumb to bind the meatballs tends to make them pretty dense and tough if they’re overworked. Since pork tends to be fatty, they cook just fine without the two. These meatballs are super simple to make with most ingredients on hand thanks to pantry staples and if you don’t want to use pork, you can definitely substitute ground poultry, like turkey or chicken thighs. If using either of these, add a little bit of duck or bacon fat to the ground meat since they’re on the leaner side.

Personally, I like the honey-dijon sauce with pork since the flavors work well together. If you don’t want to make the meatballs solo for dinner, you can pop them on a sandwich or pair them with pasta. Make these as soon as you can because they’re super addictive once you try one. Let’s get cooking!

Honey-Dijon Pork Meatballs

Cook time: 25 minutes

Yield: 18 meatballs

1/4 cup honey

3 tbsp Dijon mustard

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Kosher salt, to taste

Black pepper, to taste

1lb ground pork

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp ground black pepper

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 small yellow onion, diced

3 large garlic cloves, minced

1 tbsp parsley, finely chopped

Pinch of red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 400°F and line a sheet pan with parchment or silpat. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk the honey, dijon mustard, and apple cider vinegar together. Season with salt and pepper to your liking (go easy on the salt here since the meatballs are going to be seasoned already). Set aside the sauce to work on the meatballs next.

Season the ground pork with the measured portions of kosher salt and black pepper. Set aside. In a small frying pan, add the olive oil and over medium-low heat, sauté the yellow onion until translucent and soft, about 7-10 minutes. Then add the garlic and stir. Once the garlic is fragrant, turn the heat off. Let the onion and garlic cool down a bit and then add it to the ground pork. Next, add the chopped parsley and red pepper flakes to the mixture.

Fill a small bowl with water and set next to your work area. With your hands, mix everything until it’s just combined, making sure not to overwork the meat mixture (using your hands makes sure you don’t toughen up the meatballs by mixing it too much). Dunk your hands in the water and then form the pork into even-sized balls. The water makes sure nothing sticks to your hands while you’re rolling them and ensures that you get a smooth surface all around. Once all of the meatballs are formed, wash your hands and then pop them in the preheated oven.

Bake the meatballs for 15 minutes. If you want them a little crisp on the outside, broil them on high for 3-4 minutes after the initial cook time is done. If you are going to broil them, remove them from the silpat just to be safe. I don’t you want you melting or warping anything by accident.

Once the meatballs are out of the oven, toss the meatballs in the sauce and serve with a simple salad or side of your choice. Any leftover sauce would be great spooned over the meatballs or to even dress a salad or pour over a plain side dish like rice or potatoes. Here, I made a quick salad with butter lettuce, baby arugula, sliced red onion, and dried cranberries dressed it with a little balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. Super simple and delicious! The peppery flavor from the arugula was a great combo with the meatballs so if you are going to go the salad route, I’d suggest making this one.

¡Buen provecho!