Easy Air Fryer Meatballs turn out as crispy as you remember your Grandmother’s fried meatballs! The sheer beauty of this recipe is that they are done in about 10 minutes and are so tasty!
If you have been keeping up with my air fryer education, you know that I have been trying all kinds of delicious foods in my air fryer, since Christmas! So far, I have made, Air Fyrer Chicken Wings, Air Fryer Pork Loin, Air Fryer Doughnuts, Air Fryer Chicken Tenders and now these Air Fryer Meatballs!
How long to cook meatballs in the air fryer?
If you make cocktail sized meatballs, they will take about 10 minutes. Full sized meatballs will take approximately 20 minutes. Air fryers are different wattages so they may take more in less time in different machines.
I have made these air fryer meatballs with this Sweet and Sour Sauce and my old favorite, one of my most requested appetizers, this Cranberry Orange Sauce! These meatballs are the first thing that disappear when I take them to a potluck! No one can resist them!
The air fryer is, without a doubt, one of the best kitchen tools I have added in decades! So, I will take you along on this journey to perfect cooking in the air fryer.
Tips for cooking in your air fryer
A few things I have learned about cooking in the air fryer are;
- **IMPORTANT!** Air Fryers cook at varying degrees and have different wattages, so always consult your owner’s manual, before using any of the below tips! Some Air Fryers recommend not using cooking sprays.
- Preheating the air fryer gives you a crispier outside with little, or no added oil.
- Use no stick spray, instead of oil, so that you can control the amount of fat in your food.
- Spray the inside of your air fryer with no stick, or wipe it with oil on paper towel, for easy cleanup.
- Some foods need no added oil, such as; Air Fryer Doughnuts and these Air Fryer Meatballs.
- Line tray with aluminum foil for easy cleanup.
- Always spray rack with non stick spray, for easy cleanup.
- Use higher temperatures for quick cooking foods and lower temperatures for slower food.
- Cut foods in uniform sizes for more even cooking.
Are air fried foods healthier for you?
Air Fried Foods contain less fat than traditionally fried foods. In this fact alone, air fried foods contain less fat and calories, than traditionally fried foods.
Air fried foods can also aid in weight loss! Here is an interesting article that will walk you through the science of air frying foods!
How to make them
- Mix venison (or beef) and pork
- Grate onion directly over meat to capture the juices.
- About 2 tablespoons.
- Grate garlic too.
- Whisk eggs in bowl.
- Add eggs, breadcrumbs and spices to meat. If making meatballs for Italian sauce, add Parmesan cheese.
- Mix gently, but well.
- Form into balls. An ice cream scoop or cookie scoop works well to portion meat. Place on rack.
- Air Fry at 350°F 5 minutes, until golden on one side. Carefully remove from air fryer, flip meatballs over. Continue to air fry another 5 minutes, until browned and internal temperature is over 165°F
This sauce is a delicious sweet and sour sauce that utilizes apricot preserves. Just add all of the ingredients to a saucepan, bring to boil. Then reduce heat and simmer until thickened!
Air frying meatballs has become my favorite way to cook meatballs! Years ago I switched from pan frying meatballs to baking meatballs.
I appreciated the fact the baked meatballs turned out more round than pan frying, but I did sacrifice a bit on flavor and crispiness.
No longer, my friends! These air fryer meatballs are so much crispier than baked! I am now doing a happy dance in the kitchen! 🙂 !
Thanks for stopping by to check out this tasty recipe! Whichever sauce you pick, you will not be sorry that you tried these!
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Tools I Use to Make This
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Enjoy! And have fun cooking!
Xoxo,
Air Fryer Meatballs
Ingredients
For Meatballs
- 1.5 lbs ground, beef, venison, chicken or turkey
- 1/2 lb ground pork
- 1/2 small Onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
- 2 large eggs
- 3 Tbsp Milk
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp sage, dried
- salt & pepper
For Sweet and Sour Sauce
- 1 cup apricot jam
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp dry sherry
- 1 Tbsp grated onion
- 1 tsp grated garlic
- 1 tsp grated fresh ginger
Instructions
For Meatballs
- Grate onion and garlic right over bowl with the meat in it.
- Whisk eggs. Add the rest of ingredients to bowl and mix, gently, but well by hand.
- Form meatballs. For dinner meatballs, portion meat with ice cream scoop. For appetizer meatballs, portion with cookie scoop.
- Place on air fryer basket, so the meatballs are not touching.
- Air Fry at 400°F for about 5-6 minutes, until browned. Carefully remove from air fryer and flip with tongs. Continue to air fry about 5-6 more minutes, until browned and temperature is over 165°F.
For Sweet and Sour Sauce
- Grate onion and garlic directly over small pot. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to very low. Cook, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour, until sauce is thickened.
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Notes
Air Fryers vary in wattage, and therefore in cooking times. This recipe is based using my Cuisinart TOA60. If your air fryer is different, carefully watch food the first time you make it, so that it doesn’t burn.
Preheating your air fryer will give you the best, crispiest result. Check your brand of air fryer user manual to see if preheating is recommended.
Air fryers preheat in about 3-4 minutes.
Use cooking spray or a fine mist sprayer to spray food prior to cooking, with the exception of baked goods.
Don’t overcrowd foods so air can circulate all around.
Flip foods over half way through cooking.
Nutrition
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I get a small commission if you click the link and purchase something, at no additional cost to you. See FTC Disclosure, here.
Rose Jackson
I love my air fryer and now I have the best recipe ever for Venison meatballs. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I’ll be making these every chance I get. So yummy!
Beth Neels
Aww! That’s great Rose! I’m so glad you like them! Thanks so much for letting me know!
Ramona
wow, all these flavours! I am loving this recipe and my kids asked me yesterday to make meatballs. so glad to find this recipe now. Bookmarked and will be in production in the next couple of days. Yumm! Thank you for sharing 😉
Binky
Thanks Ramona! I’m so glad you enjoyed the meatballs! The sauce is yummy! The kids will love it!
Immaculate Ruemu
LOVE your presentation and how juicy these meatballs looks. DELICIOUS!
Binky
Thank you Immaculate! They are quite juicy cooked in the air fryer!
Laura
Apricot preserve??? You are a genius. I need to try this recipe and I need to buy an air fryer. Both my sisters have it and they love it. I need to create space in my kitchen counter. That is my challenge
Binky
That is definitely a challenge! This one is large so I had to move a few things around! Thanks for the comment Laura!
Corina Blum
I need to try this! I got an air fryer for Christmas and I love the chips in it and I’ve made some great chicken nuggets so meatballs have to be soon on the list!
Binky
They are really very good, Corina! You will like them! Thanks!
Brian Jones
I love the look of that sauce and the flavours in the meatballs sound fantastic.
Binky
Thank you Brian! We are crazy about this sauce!
Alisa Infanti
I haven’t got an air fryer just yet but the more recipes I read that look so good like this one the more inclined I am to add this gadget to the top of the birthday list.
Binky
I felt the same way, and I love it! It is so fun! Go for it Alisa! Thanks! Have a great weekend!
Valentina
I got an air fryer over the holidays last year and love it. I love how easy the clean-up is — in addition to the good food it makes. 🙂 These look fantastic! (I just listened to you on Elaine’s podcast — this morning! Loved it.)
Binky
Haha! Thank you! The podcast episode was a lot of fun! I’m glad you enjoyed it! I love my air fryer too! Thank you Valentina!
Rae
I think the Air Fryer is the single best kitchen gadget (outside of a stand mixer) and we have used ours non-stop. These meatballs have my stomach growling!
Binky
I love it too! Maybe you are just hungry? 🙂 Thank you Rae!
Tara
Grated onion keeps the meatballs so tender. Just delicious!
Binky
Agreed! I love using the grated onion! Thanks for stopping by Tara!
Sues
These look awesome! I haven’t used my air fryer nearly enough since I got it, so I think I need to add these to my list and make them ASAP!
Binky
I am really loving my air fryer! Let me know how you like them when you give them a try! Thanks Sues!
Kim
My husband got me an air fryer for Christmas, so I have been trying to figure it out! Going pretty well so far! I love the sound of this sauce! Interesting how you grate the onion in the meat.
Binky
I have been grating the onion and garlic in the meat bowl for many years! Thanks Kim, let me know how you like the sauce!