Herbed Meatballs with Mushroom Gravy

Herbed meatballs with mushroom gravy are so good when made from scratch, and are delicious when served with buttery pasta or mashed potatoes.

The meatballs have herbs and cheese in them, and the consistency is exactly what a meatball should be like.

Why These Meatballs Work

• It's easy to make and only requires simple ingredients, so it's budget friendly. 
• This great dinner idea is something the whole family will enjoy.
• The combination of the mushrooms and gravy creates a rich, savory flavor that is hard to beat. 
• The sauce and meatballs are great as a dish by themselves, but they work so well with a bed of pasta, creating the perfect comfort food
• The meatball and mushroom gravy recipe is easy to double or even triple to serve a crowd. 

Ingredients

Get more info on all of these ingredients for the meatballs and creamy mushroom sauce in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

Meatball Ingredients

• ground beef- I like to use lean ground beef, but you can also use ground pork or a combination of the two. 
• large egg- this is your binding agent in these juicy meatballs
• Grated Parmesan cheese
• herbs and spics: onion powder, salt, and black pepper

Sauce Ingredients

• butter
• mushrooms- I used thinly sliced cremeni mushrooms
• shallot-  minced
• wine- dry white wine
• herbs and spices - peeled and minced garlic cloves, fresh rosemary sprigs, salt, and pepper
• beef broth
• cornstarch and water
• heavy cream

Instructions

Heat an oven to 350 degrees.

Make the meatballs.

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients except the meat, and then add the meat and blend only enough to get things incorporated.

Once you have your meat mixed up, form 2 inch balls. This should yield about one dozen large meatballs.

Lining a baking sheet with parchment paper prevents anything from sticking to the pan, and it also allows for a quick cleanup.

Cook the meatballs in the oven for about 30 minutes or until they're golden brown.

While the meatballs are cooking, make the creamy mushroom gravy.

In a large skillet, sauté the butter, shallot, garlic, mushrooms, and rosemary sprigs.

When everything looks caramelized in the large saucepan, deglaze with the white wine.

Add the beef broth, and keep it on the same medium-high heat that you have been using to sauté.

Simmer to reduce the liquid, about 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to low.

Whisk in the cornstarch and cream, and simmer on low until thickened, just a minute or two.

Once the mushroom gravy is thickened, add the cooked meatballs back to the sauce, toss, and simmer in the sauce until all of the meatballs are cooked through, before removing the meatballs and mushroom gravy from the heat

Serve the meatballs in mushroom gravy on buttery pasta or mashed potatoes, if desired, and enjoy.

Storage

The meatballs with mushroom gravy will keep well for up to 4 days when stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

To reheat, place the meatballs and mushroom gravy in a medium skillet over medium-low heat. Gently simmer until heated through, stirring occasionally.

Can I freeze this? 

You bet! If you have leftovers, you can freeze the meatballs and sauce for later. 

​As mentioned above, this is also a great recipe to double and use half now and freeze the other half for later.

Once the sauce and the meatballs have cooled, you can flash freeze the meatballs and store them in a freezer safe bag. The sauce should be stored separately, in a freezer safe container. 

Both the sauce and the meatballs should keep up to 2-3 months in the freezer. 

Thaw them in the fridge overnight before reheating to enjoy again.

Do I need to wash the mushrooms before using? 

Don't ever wash your mushrooms. They get slimy and soggy very easily that way.

Instead, all you need to do is take a dry, clean towel, and just wipe them and rub off any dirt.

​What do I serve these meatballs with? 

You can serve these meatballs on a bed of regular pasta, egg noodles, brown or white rice, or even on top of some creamy mashed potatoes.

Another simple way to enjoy these is with a big salad. 

Do I have to use white wine? 

If you don't want to use wine in your delicious gravy, you can swap it out for more beef broth, chicken broth, or chicken stock. It won't have the acidity like the wine would give your sauce in the original recipe though.

If you still want that acidic flavor, you can add some lemon juice or white wine vinegar to the gravy.

Tips and Variations

• If you don't want beef meatballs, you can swap out the ground beef for other meat to make pork meatballs, venison meatballs from ground venison, turkey meatballs, or even ground chicken meatballs. Use whatever ground meat you want in the meat mixture. You may need to check the baking time if using other ground meat options. With so many types of meat to choose from, these will become one of your favorite recipes.
• I find using my hands is the best way to make evenly sized homemade meatballs.
• Use a flavorful white, dry wine like Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay.
• If you're having a hard time molding your meatball mixture because it's dry, add a bite more egg to help bind it together.
• If your gravy gets too thick, add a little bit of beef broth to thin it out. 
• These juicy tender beef meatballs have a completely different flavor than Italian meatballs. These have a creamy mushroom sauce, not a tomato type sauce.
• Make a big batch of these meatballs. It's an easy way to meal prep and you can use them for various things all week long.
• If you see fat sitting on top of the meatballs or sauce, use some paper towels to soak it up.

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