Homemade Meatballs in Air Fryer

Ninja Foodi homemade meatballs in air fryer that drains the fat and creates a crispy outside you will love. If you love tender bite size ground beef or ground turkey bites, make these. If you love Frozen Meatballs in Air Fryer but want to make from scratch, this is a low carb and keto friendly appetizer or meal.

Air Fryer Meatballs for Spaghetti

We have gone over how to cook frozen meatballs before, but homemade is always best! You too should try them both ways and see which you prefer. Any brand of fryer will work with these instructions. You can throw them into a pot of spaghetti when done or toss with a sauce and serve as an appetizer too.

The biggest difference between all the different types is the size of the basket really. If you have a larger family you’d want a big one so you can fit more in each batch.

Homemade Ninja Foodi Air Fryer Meatballs

If you are using this pot it will be the lid that is attached you will use to get these crispy and cook all the way thru to the center. Other than that the directions below with the temperature and timing will be the same, depending on how large they are of course (that may cause it to vary a bit). You could use the Ninja Foodi meatloaf recipe and form into balls essentially.

Air Fryer Meatballs Ground Beef Only

This time we only used beef since that is what we have on hand. I would suggest 80/20 as a little bit of fat will help it bind together so they don’t fall apart. Here are a few questions you might have before you get going. If you have any others just let me know.

Can you put raw meat in an air fryer?

Of course, we do it all the time. Our favorite are these meatballs with ground beef. You can use other proteins though like air fryer chicken meatballs and those work the same way. Add raw wings without an issue, with or without sauce. You can even put rock hard frozen chicken breast in air fryer too!

What makes a great meatball?

You definitely need a binding agent. Most use breadcrumbs with egg where others use crispy fried onions or oats. We love our basic meatball recipe, you should really try it too.

Of course if you have a favorite quick easy recipe for meatloaf, by all means use that. I have been using this mixture for years and it was just what my mom threw together when I was a kid. Guess I am just used to it, think it is great and find no need to sway from it.

Whether you want to know how to cook meatballs on the stove or air frying, I typically will make a meatloaf mixture and then just roll it into balls. The larger they are the more tender they will be inside, but may take an extra minute. The biggest thing to remember is to make them all the same, or very similar, size so they’re all done at the same time. This is what I use in my ground beef mixture.

Ingredients

1. Ground beef is typical but you could use half of something else like spicy ground sausage or even venison
2. Onions are diced fine and optional but provide a bit of moisture, texture and flavor
3. Italian breadcrumbs will act as a binder to keep everything together and roll into balls
4. Egg will give it a bit of moisture and bind together as well
5. Parmesan cheese is optional but is a favorite add in for us
6. Minced garlic gives it great flavor
7. Onion soup mix is an easy way to add a wollop of taste to these babies

Add or omit what you want but this is my go to for meatballs in the air fryer. If you have seasonings of your own that are musts then by all means go with that. This is literally what I use to make my family meatloaf, and I just portioned them out into smaller balls.

How Long to Cook Large Meatballs in Air Fryer

That depends on their size of course but typically you will need about 10 minutes, depending on how well done you want the center to become. A lot less time than how long to cook meatballs in oven because you cut out the long preheating time and you won’t get the outside as crispy as this method.

Tips

• I use the measurements below but honestly, I normally don’t even measure the bread crumbs.
• What I do is add all the other stuff and add some from the container, mix, add a bit more if it is still sticky.
• When it reaches this consistency you see here I know I have enough added.
• If your meatballs are really tacky you probably need a bit more. I use the same mixture for this and porcupine meatballs Instant Pot style, but add rice to those too.
• When forming and the sizing of these babies, the larger they are the longer they will take to cook thoroughly, obviously. However, if you don’t like your hamburger well done then larger is probably the best size for you.
  • I prefer a golf ball size meatball so there isn’t really any pink inside and the outsides are nice and crispy!

What is the best type of ground beef to make homemade meatballs?

Of course there is a difference depending on what % ground beef you purchase. Honestly I prefer 80/20 over 90/10 because the fat does give it great flavor. I just don’t like it bathing in it while it cooks. The hamburger we use now, and for the past year, came from a local organic cow so it is quite lean and feel a bit more fat works better for these bites to bind everything together.

Directions

• Mix all ingredients together.
• Preheat air fryer for 5 minutes at 350 degrees.
• Form meat mixture into golf ball size balls
  • make sure each piece is about the same size as the others
• Put into preheated air fryer basket in a single layer leaving a bit of room in between each one so they get crispy. The holes below will allow the fat to automatically drains away the saturated fat from the meat.
• Air fry meatballs for 8-10 min. total (depending on the size of your meatballs), flipping them halfway through the cooking process.

Let them sizzle away until lightly browned to your liking. It is so quick and easy with such a fast cook time. In under 30 minutes you can have this and a side of air fryer cauliflower and butter noodles!

These are super versatile for sure. On a keto diet you can keep them as is and each one is super high in protein and low carb. You really don’t need sauce because there’s tons of flavor inside each one. Pop a few in your mouth as a meal or take them for on the go.

With Sauce

When done you can throw them into a pot of spaghetti, toss with spaghetti sauce, alfredo, a jar of barbecue sauce is easy or during the holidays use the ingredients in our cranberry meatballs and serve as an appetizer!

How to save leftovers

They save well when cooled inside freezer bags in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can then reheat in the microwave or air fry in Ninja Foodi the next day for about 3 minutes until warmed. Other dishes you will love served alongside of these, finger food style are;

• Our air fryer fried shrimp and empanadas in air fryer are the bomb!!!
• Here are our saucy Ninja Foodi chicken wings you can make after too