Easy-baked venison meatballs that are super moist and full of flavor. Made with only venison these meatballs hold together well. Your whole family will love these on top of spaghetti!
Venison Meatballs
Our family loves venison if you haven’t figured that out by now like with our popular Venison Roast Recipe and others. We also love homemade meatballs. There is something about Mama in the kitchen with her apron on, rollin’ up meatballs made from Daddy’s hunt, in preparation for a big family dinner of spaghetti and meatballs. Nobody really knows how the meatball originated, but when done well, it’s an all-American favorite that stirs up quality conversation and good food around the table.
For years, I couldn’t find a moist, flavorful, and ‘hold together well’ meatball recipe made with only venison. Since venison is so lean, cooks often add sausage or beef to increase the fat content. It’s a free country y’all, but why purchase other meats when I have a freezer full of venison? So today I’m going to show you how to use my go t0 homemade meatball recipe with a few alterations to make it just for venison. I can’t wait to share this!
The recipe I am using as my base comes from the kitchn, an online resource for great recipes. The author requests the use of ground meat such as beef, pork, or veal. Pictured here is one pound of venison from my husband’s hunting adventures. And that’s all we’re going to use in this recipe.
How to Get Venison Meatballs To Hold Together
To compensate for the low-fat structure of venison, I have a small bowl of olive oil to add to the recipe. I have also substituted panko breadcrumbs for the fine breadcrumbs and made a couple of other minor changes. The highlight to their recipe is the grated parmesan cheese, which adds flavor to the meat, and whole milk, which gives it moisture. I don’t think I will ever make a meatball without both parmesan and milk…ever…again.
How to Make Venison Meatballs
To make the meatball mixture, combine all the ingredients at once and mix them with a large spoon (or your hands!)
Roll the meat mixture into 24 small 1-inch balls and place them into a 24-count un-greased mini muffin tin.
Yes, a muffin tin. The tin will keep the meatball shape while also collecting the juices. It’s perfect! I use my muffin tin for meatballs more than muffins and I’m proud of it!
Venison will take less time to cook than other meats. Bake your venison meatballs for only 15 minutes at 375˚F or until the internal temperature is 165˚F. Allow the meatballs to cool for a couple minutes and then spoon them out easily onto a paper towel to catch the excess drippings.
What to Serve with Venison Meatballs
We like to place our hot meatballs onto a bed of pasta with our favorite marinara sauce and fresh basil. It doesn’t get much better than that. Made from scratch venison meatballs that are moist, so flavorful and made with daddy’s skill and mama’s love <3
Enjoy!
Venison Meatball Tips
Can I freeze these meatballs? Yes, if you don’t want to cook your meatballs right away, you can store them in the refrigerator uncooked for 1-2 days or freeze uncooked meatballs up to one month. Let thaw and then bake as directed.
Can I cook these meatballs in sauce? Yes. Simmer them until they have an internal temperature of 165˚F. After that, you can keep them simmering on low until dinner or in your slow cooker. Your kitchen will smell amazing!
More Venison Recipes
- Smoked Venison Backstrap Recipe
- Venison Tamale Pie
- Venison Roast Recipe
- Hunters Casserole with Ground Venison
Venison Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground venison
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup onion very finely chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley minced
- 2 T. extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic finely minced
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
- 1 large egg
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients at once and mix them with a large spoon or your hands.
- Roll the meat mixture into 24 small 1-inch balls and place them into a 24 count ungreased mini muffin tin.
- Bake your venison meatballs for 15 minutes at 375˚ F.
- When fully cooked and have an internal temperature of 165˚ F remove from oven. Allow the meatballs to cool for a couple minutes before spooning them out onto a paper towel or plating them with sauce or noodles.
Comments & Reviews
This is the best tasting meatball recipe EVER!!! So moist too. Going to switch our weekly Taco Tuesday to a Meatball Monday 🙂
I think even the shyest of venison eaters will gobble these up. Thanks.
Thank you for the compliment, Cathey! So glad you all enjoyed them too 🙂
Absolutely the best! Didn’t bake it, just sautéed on the skillet and then cooked in my homemade tomato sauce. So good! Definitely a keeper. Thank you so much for the recipe!