Yes, we’ve reached the level on this blog where we’re eating meatballs for breakfast 😂. Oh c’mon, you know it makes sense. In fact, once you give these breakfast meatballs a go they’re bound to be a regular appearance on your breakfast plate! Follow me…
Breakfast Meatballs
What makes these ‘breakfast’ meatballs?
Good question. These are really nothing like a regular Italian meatballs. I mean appearance-wise yes, but the flavour is much different. The bulk of these meatballs are made with sausage meat, which is of course a breakfast staple. They’re then loaded bacon and mushrooms to emphasise that breakfast feel. As such, you’d typically serve these where you’d usually serve sausages. So yes, that is me dunking a meatball into brown sauce instead of marinara sauce and yes it’s delicious!! 🤪
There’s a little bit of prep that goes into these meatballs, namely frying the bacon and sweating down the mushrooms, onion & garlic.
Bacon
I cook the strips whole and dice after they’re crispy. You’ll want to fry the bacon fairly low and slow to render down as much fat as possible. This will not only crisp up the bacon, which in turn makes it easier to finely dice, but it also gives you a base to fry the mushrooms.
Mushrooms, Onion & Garlic
The quantity seems like a large amount, but they shrink a lot, so don’t worry. Theoretically you could add the onion, mushrooms and garlic into the meatballs raw, but you lose out on a lot of flavour. Plus they’d release A LOT of moisture as the meatballs cook, which is fine to an extent, but it’d be more than necessary and the meatballs wouldn’t caramelize properly.
Can I do this step ahead of time?
Yep! Just allow everything to completely cool then tightly store in the fridge overnight or until needed to make the meatballs.
Sausage Breakfast Meatballs
What kind of sausage meat to use?
You’ll find sausage meat in most supermarkets, but if you can’t, just squeeze the meat from some ‘neutral flavoured’ sausages (i.e not herby or specially spiced sausages). In the US I believe you’re looking for ‘breakfast sausage’. Do not sub regular ground pork.
Fresh Breadcrumbs
Fresh breadcrumbs will give these meatballs a far softer texture, as opposed to say regular dried breadcrumbs or Panko breadcrumbs. To make the breadcrumbs just pulse bread slices in a food processor, or dice them into cubes as small as you can. You’ll then want to soak them in milk & Worcestershire sauce. The breadcrumbs will absorb the liquid and cling onto it to keep the meatballs nice and juicy. Process shots: add breadcrumbs to large bowl (photo 1), mash in Worcestershire sauce and milk (photo 2), add bacon, mushrooms, onion, egg, parsley and s&p (photo 3), mix to combine (photo 4), add sausage (photo 5), incorporate with your hands (photo 6).
Baked Breakfast Meatballs
The easiest way to cook the meatballs is to bake them. You could pan fry them, but because these have a fairly high bread content they do get stuck quite easily unless you’ve got a really good non-stick pan. Also, you’ll have to do it in batches, so realistically you end up taking just as long as if they’re baked.
Can I make these ahead of time?
If you can, I recommend making them fresh, but you can either prep them ahead of time or fully make them ahead of time. I’ve added a section on this in the recipe card notes below. Process shots: roll into meatballs and place on baking tray (photo 1), bake in the oven (photo 2).
Serving Breakfast Meatballs
As I mentioned at the beginning, I usually serve these in replacement of sausages at a cooked breakfast. They are however awesome in breakfast style wrap with avocado, scrambled egg and breakfast potatoes (photo below). For more similar recipes check out these beauties:
Delicious Meatballs Recipes
BBQ Meatballs Buffalo Chicken Meatballs Cranberry Turkey Meatballs Skillet Meatballs
Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for these breakfast meatballs shall we?!
How to make Breakfast Meatballs (Full Recipe & Video)
If you loved this Breakfast Meatballs Recipe then be sure to Pin it for later! Already made it or got a question? Give me a shout in the comments and pick up your free ecookbook along the way!
