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Home » Dinner » French Onion Baked Meatballs

French Onion Baked Meatballs

Created: February 3, 2015 Updated: September 13, 2022 by Lyuba Brooke 18 Comments

10.4K shares
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Amazing Baked Meatballs cooked in homemade French Onion Sauce for stronger flavor. These meatballs a juicy and packed with great flavor.

French Onion Baked Meatballs on a white plate

Funny story about these meatballs. I was torn naming this dish all day. I’ve actually called them “meatloaf muffins” and “meatballs” interchangeably. The idea was to make them look like little muffins but they cooked down and looked like adorable meatballs without retaining muffin cup shape. I went back and forth and decided that it really didn’t matter because they are so delicious!

In reality, this is my recipe for meatloaf but I feel like people will look at them and say, “but they look round, so they must be meatballs.” So call them whatever you want, but make sure to make them because you WILL love it!

French Onion Baked Meatballs in a muffin tin

small white oval dish with french onion baked meatballs on a wooden table with a fork and cupcake baking pan filled with additional meatballs in it in background.

French Onion Baked Meatballs

Amazing Baked Meatballs cooked in homemade French Onion Sauce for stronger flavor. These meatballs a juicy and packed with great flavor.
5 from 2 votes
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Course: dinner, Main Course
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes minutes
Servings: 12 extra large meatballs
Calories: 255kcal
Author: Lyuba Brooke

Ingredients

  • Meatballs:
  • 1 lb ground pork
  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1/2 cup diced onion
  • 2 gloves of garlic
  • 1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
  • 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 Tbsp fresh minced dill
  • 1/2 Tbsp fresh minced parsley
  • Salt pepper
  • French Onion Sauce:
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 Large Vidalia onion
  • 1 1/2 tsp sugar
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 Tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 Tbsp flour
  • 1 2/3 cups beef stock
  • 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/4 cup red wine (preferably Merlot)
  • Salt
  • 1/2 tsp dry thyme

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 and lightly grease a 12-cup muffin pan.
  • Combine all ingredients for meatballs in a bowl. Mix very well until all ingredients are incorporated. Set aside.
  • Heat up oil in a cooking pan, over medium heat. Add sliced onions and sugar to the pan and saute until transparent stirring occasionally.
  • Stir in minced garlic, red wine and tomato paste, saute for a couple of minutes.
  • Sprinkle the mixture with flour and mix well.
  • Slowly add beef stock, while stirring the whole time.
  • Add salt and thyme and simmer for 5-7 more minutes.
  • Scoop about a tablespoon of French onion sauce (with some onions) in each muffin cup.
  • Scoop about 1/3 cup of meatball mixture and roll it into a big ball. Place meatball in the muffin cup, it should fit snugly. Repeat with remaining meat mixture.
  • Bake for 25-30 minutes.
  • Top off with remaining French Onion sauce, dividing it equally among the muffin cups.

Nutrition

Calories: 255kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 54mg | Sodium: 242mg | Potassium: 387mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 48IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 2mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @willcookforsmiles and tag #willcookforsmiles

French Onion Baked Meatballs on a white plate with a fork in a piece of one

French Onion Baked Meatballs on a white plate

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More Recipes From Me:

Swedish Meatballs

Turkey Meatballs with Creamy Parmesan Sauce

Best Italian Meatballs

LYUBA

ABOUT LYUBA

I’m Lyuba Brooke, mother of 2, the cook, recipe developer, photographer, and author behind willcookforsmiles.com. I share many classic and original recipes, cooking tips, and tutorials. My passion is sharing delicious meals for everyone to try. Read more...

10.4K shares

Filed Under: Beef, Dinner, Sauce

All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe. Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.

Comments

  1. Janet Bradley says

    November 17, 2020 at 10:23 am

    Really dumb question. Can’t wait to make these, but what would you serve them with??? Would they stay together if put into a casserole dish and cooked that way with the sauce poured over them before cooking?

    Reply
    • LyubaB says

      November 18, 2020 at 2:32 pm

      Hi Janet,

      It should be fine to cook them in the casserole dish but these are kind of like mini meatloaves and I made them larger so you can use a smaller scoop number like a #40 cookie scoop to make them 1-2inch meatballs and cook them that way and it will be fine to put the sauce over it. I think mash potatoes go well with it and any of your favorite veggies as well. I hope you enjoy it!

      Reply
  2. JB says

    June 26, 2016 at 9:06 pm

    Could you use something other than wine?

    Reply
    • lyuba says

      June 27, 2016 at 9:54 am

      Hi there!
      You can substitute something, but it won’t taste the same of course. If you are worried about alcohol content, it does get cooked out. I understand if you don’t want feel comfortable using alcohol thought, you can read this article on some substitution options: http://www.thekitchn.com/simple-nonalcoholic-substitutes-for-red-and-white-wine-tips-from-the-kitchn-184394
      I hope it works for you!

      Reply
  3. Karen Flamard says

    December 18, 2015 at 7:33 pm

    These meatballs are seriously yummy!!

    Reply
    • lyuba says

      December 22, 2015 at 7:00 pm

      I’m so glad you liked them! I’m happy to hear that 🙂

      Reply
  4. Ernest Contreras says

    August 27, 2015 at 2:50 am

    Your recipes are very home style and I am a big fan of meatball dishes , yours look great, as a professional I do not get much chance to cook at home but will soon since retirement is near. but I am going to do these recipes, your a credit to the profession and one good cook. I will be browsing your blog often I really enjoy it.
    Chef Ernest

    Reply
    • lyuba says

      September 4, 2015 at 9:31 pm

      That is SO nice of you, Chef Ernest! Thank you!! I hope you like everything you will get to try and hope you enjoy the retirement!

      Reply
  5. Mandy says

    July 30, 2015 at 7:08 pm

    These look sooo delicious!!!

    Reply
    • lyuba says

      August 2, 2015 at 2:38 pm

      Thank you so much, Mandy!

      Reply
  6. Jen Storment says

    March 7, 2015 at 8:20 pm

    These were delicious! The onion soup was a little sweet for my taste so I added a bit more beef broth, but otherwise it was perfect. It seemed strange adding mustard to the meatballs, but they were perfect. Yum!

    Reply
    • lyuba says

      March 10, 2015 at 9:33 pm

      Wonderful, So happy to hear it!
      I’m so glad you liked my recipe 🙂

      Reply
  7. Jess @ Flying on Jess Fuel says

    February 7, 2015 at 5:53 pm

    Oh my, these look so good! Who doesn’t love French onion soup!? This sounds like a killer combo!

    Reply
    • lyuba says

      February 15, 2015 at 4:14 pm

      It really is! Thank you, Jess 🙂 !

      Reply
  8. Theresa @DearCreatives says

    February 4, 2015 at 1:51 pm

    These all look so delicious!

    Reply
    • lyuba says

      February 15, 2015 at 4:13 pm

      Thank you so much, Theresa!

      Reply
  9. Marisa Franca @ All Our Way says

    February 4, 2015 at 6:58 am

    The meatballs look wonderful. I’ve been like you — trying to find the perfect name for a dish and fretting more about the name than having to write it up 🙂 I’ve seen pictures in a magazine whereby they actually did stay in the shape of a muffin – they must have piled it higher in the center. Your photos capture the essence of the dish — I can smell the wonderful aroma. Perfetto!!

    Reply
    • lyuba says

      February 15, 2015 at 4:11 pm

      I think because there are some onions at the bottom, the shape didn’t retain. But they were too tasty to care 🙂
      Thank you so much, Marisa!

      Reply

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Well, hey there!

I’m Lyuba Brooke, mother of 2, the cook, recipe developer, photographer, and author behind willcookforsmiles.com. I share many classic and original recipes, cooking tips, and tutorials. My passion is sharing delicious meals for everyone to try. Read More.

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