I have been trying for YEARS to come up with a good meatball recipe that is easy to make and tastes great. That’s not too much to ask, right? Enter air fryer meatballs.
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Just to give you a little background on why I so desperately wanted to perfect my meatballs, my husband is a hunter, so we constantly have a freezer full of ground deer. This means that I am always in search of recipes that can be adapted to use up venison since that’s the most plentiful protein available to me.
This sounds easier than it actually is, because if you’ve ever had venison you know that it can taste a little gamey. It also has little to no fat, which is great health wise, but means that it doesn’t make a good burger and you often need to add some kind of fat when cooking to keep it from being dry.
Most often we use venison for tacos, spaghetti, and chili, and…meatballs! These meatballs are so good and require a minimal number of ingredients that you will probably already have on hand. They come together really quickly — you can go from raw meat to a cooked meatball in about 25 minutes. The air fryer really helps with cooking things quickly.
Related: Air Fryer Pros and Cons
This recipe makes about 14 meatballs, so depending on the size of your air fryer you might have to work in batches. My fryer just barely fits all fourteen. You also have the option to cook them in the oven if you don’t have an air fryer. Just follow the same time and temperature directions, making sure to give yourself adequate preheat time. I recommend using a sheet pan lined with aluminum foil to make clean up a little easier, and definitely don’t forget to spritz a little nonstick spray on the foil if you are using a lean meat like venison or ground chicken/turkey.
The last thing I’ll say before we get to the recipe is that this is a great recipe to double. You can cook one half now and freeze the other half for a night when you don’t really feel like mixing and rolling out meatballs. It’s always nice to have something prepped ahead of time!
- 1 lb ground meat
- 3 slices sandwich bread
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp pepper
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
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Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix until well combined (using your hands it easiest. Preheat air fryer at 350° for two minutes. Spray the basket lightly with nonstick spray, then roll the meat mixture into 14 even balls and place in the basket. Cook at 350° for 8 minutes, then shake the basket to turn the meatballs and cook again for another 5 minutes. Serve immediately over noodles or rice with your favorite sauce.