Home-style French Onion Meatballs

French Onion Meatballs are a tasty recipe that is full of flavor! They are the well-balanced weeknight meal or you can serve them as an appetizer at a party.

French Onion Meatballs Recipe

All weeknight meals should be stress-free, don’t you think? With a few dishes and ingredients involved as possible.

With four ingredients, these French Onion Meatballs check all those boxes and more. You will want to make them again and again.

Even your kids can help make them! Seriously, this has become a favorite recipe in our family for this reason.

And they are so full of flavor. We love making them to get that French Onion Soup (that you can also make in the Instant Pot) taste when it’s not quite soup weather.

Why Recipe stays in the rotation

The method is straightforward to put together and you will come back to it.

• You only need four ingredients, so it’s straightforward on the budget.
• Meatballs are always a family-friendly dinner item.
• You can serve them at a party as an appetizer.
• They’re straightforward to cook, which is suited to a stress-free weeknight meal.

Plus, they’re suited to kiddos to help in the kitchen. They will love forming these Lipton onion soup meatballs and rolling them in their hands.

Ingredients you’ll need for Lipton Onion Soup Meatballs

You only need four ingredients to make these flavorful meatballs.

• Ground beef – Feel free to make these with your favorite type of meat. You can use ground chicken, ground elk, ground turkey, ground pork, ground bison or even a mixture.
• Egg – The egg works as a binder to hold everything together. Make sure you Check your eggs For freshness first.
• Onion soup mix – we use Lipton Onion Soup Mix. We always keep one or two in the pantry for when we get a hankering for these meatballs!
• Panko bread crumbs – we love panko bread crumbs for meatballs because they hold up well.

What is Onion Soup Mix?

Instant onion soup mix is key for these meatballs. It’s a dehydrated mix of dried onion, beef bouillon, onion powder, parsley, celery seed, pepper, paprika, and salt.

It’s so handy to have on hand and mix into dishes, so we usually keep it in our pantry.

You can find it in the soup aisle of the grocery store. Lipton makes a great one, but there are other brands as well.

How to cook French Onion Meatballs

Making these meatballs is straightforward! Here’s what you need to do:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Add the ground beef, egg, onion soup mix, and panko breadcrumbs to a large mixing bowl.
3. Combine until it’s all mixed through. We find that using our hands works best for this and keeps us from over mixing. (This step is always fun for the kids too!)
4. Form the mixture into 20 equal sized balls and place the meatballs evenly spaced on a parchment lined baking sheet.
5. Bake for 20 minutes or until cooked through.
6. Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool about 5 minutes before serving.
7. Let cool completely before storing in an airtight, food-safe container for up to 5 days.

Add all of the meatball ingredients to a bowl

Mix meatball ingredients together

Scoop the mixture with a cookie scoop for uniform/even sized meatballs

Roll the meatballs smooth with your hands

How long to bake meatballs at 350°F

Meatballs can be baked for about 20 minutes at 350°F on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Always check the internal temperature for doneness with a meat thermometer.

For beef meatballs, they should be 160°F. Poultry meatballs should be 165°F.

Tips & Tricks for onion soup mix meatballs

Don’t over mix the ground beef mixture. You want to mix it until it’s combined. Over mixing can cause your meatballs to be chewy.

When forming the meatballs, we like to use a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop and then smooth them in our hands.

If you have leftover meatballs, they are easily frozen and reheated in the oven.

Items to make meatballs

Mixing bowls – stainless steel

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Cookie scoop

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Measuring cups

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Parchment paper

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Baking sheet

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What to serve with meatballs

Meatballs are so good with so many things!

• You can enjoy them on their own with a tasty veggie made while they bake, like Sauteed butternut squash.
• You can also enjoy them à la Swedish Meatballs, with this memorable Brown gravy for meatballs, some berry jam and Mashed potatoes.
• Oh, and you can’t forget the classic spaghetti and meatballs! Serve them on top of spaghetti or any other noodle along with your favorite Pasta sauce!
• Another way is to add them to a sub roll to enjoy as a meatball sandwich. You could use gravy or marinara sauce. Don’t forget the melty cheese! We recommend provolone or gruyere for that memorable French onion soup flavor.
• For an appetizer, you could serve them with warm jelly or French onion dip. Don’t forget the toothpicks!
• You could also enjoy them over a salad or a bowl of grains to add some protein into the mix.

How to store meatballs

Store meatballs in an airtight, food-safe container for up to 5 days.

If you wish to freeze meatballs, flash-freeze them on a baking sheet for about 30 minutes, then add them to a freezer-safe container. This keeps the meatballs from sticking together.

How to reheat meatballs

You can reheat meatballs in a skillet, in the oven or in the microwave.

In the skillet: Warm a skillet over medium heat and stir the meatballs around until heated through, about 10 minutes.

In the oven: Heat the oven to 250°F. Place the meatballs on a baking sheet and heat the meatballs in the warm oven for 10-15 minutes.

In the microwave: Place the meatballs on a plate. Cover with a paper towel and heat on high for 1 minute. Add more time in 30-second increments if needed.

Prep 10 minutesCook 20 minutesTotal 30 minutesMakes 20 meatballs

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 whole egg
• 1 packet onion soup mix
• ¼ cup panko breadcrumbs

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Add the ground beef, egg, onion soup mix, and panko to a large mixing bowl.
3. Combine until it’s all mixed through. We find that using our hands works best for this.
4. Form the mixture into 20 equal sized balls. We like to use a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop and then smooth them in our hands.
5. Place the meatballs evenly spaced on a parchment lined baking sheet .
6. Bake for 20 minutes or until cooked through.
7. Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool for about 5 minutes before serving.