A meatball is ground meat (mince) rolled into a large somewhat spherical ball, sometimes along with other ingredients, such as bread crumbs, minced onion, eggs, butter, and seasoning. Meatballs are cooked by frying, baking, steaming, or braising in sauce. There are many types of meatballs made with different meats and spices. The term is sometimes extended to meatless versions based on legumes, vegetables, mushrooms, fish (also commonly known as fish balls) or other seafood.
History
The ancient Roman cookbook Apicius included many meatball-type recipes.Sally Grainger, Cooking Apicius: Roman Recipes for Today, Prospect Books, 2006, , p. 17-18
Early recipes included in some of the earliest known Arabic cookbooks generally feature seasoned lamb rolled into orange-sized balls and glazed with egg yolk and sometimes saffron.
Poume d'oranges is a gilded meatball dish from the Middle Ages.
By region
Various recipes of meatballs can be found across Europe and Asia. From Iberia and Sweden to the Indian subcontinent, there is a large variety of meatballs in the kofta family.Alan Davidson, ed., The Oxford Companion to Food, s.v. kofta
Europe
Albanian fried meatballs (qofte të fërguara) include feta cheese. Armenian stewed meatballs/meatball and vegetable stew (kufte rize) is a classic dish often poured over rice for consumption. In Austria, fried meatballs are called Fleischlaibchen or Fleischlaberl. In Belgium, meatballs are called ballekes or buletten in Flanders and boulettes in Wallonia. They are usually made of a mixture of beef and pork with bread crumbs and sliced onions. Many other variations exist, including different kinds of meat and chopped vegetables. They are often served in tomato sauce or with sour cherry sauce. In Liège, the traditional dish of Boulets à la Liégeoise consists of large meatballs (boulets) served with a sweet and savoury sauce made with Sirop de Liège. In Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, meatballs are called ćufte (from the Turkish word köfte) and are typically made from ground beef or ground lamb, usually served with cooked potatoes and salad on the side. In Bulgaria, meatballs are called kyufte (from the Turkish word köfte) and are typically made from ground beef or pork, or a mix of the two. They can be shallow-fried or grilled and often contain diced onions and soaked bread. They are a very popular dish. The term can be used for anything from Turkish köfta to Swedish meatballs and has also been used for burger patties. In Croatia, meatballs are called polpete in the Dalmatian region or faširani šnicli (faširanci) or ćufte in the continental part. They are typically made with ground beef or a mixture of pork and beef and served with mashed potatoes or rice, often with a tomato-based sauce. Danish meatballs are known as frikadeller and are typically fried. They are usually made out of ground pork, veal, onions, eggs, salt, and pepper; these are formed into balls and flattened somewhat, so they are pan ready. However, Danish cuisine also includes other versions, such as boller i karry (meatballs in curry sauce, typically served with rice), and the smaller meatballs used in soup with melboller (Danish dumplings). In Estonia, meatballs are called lihapallid (literally "meatballs") and are similar to those of Finnish or Swedish cuisine. In Finland, meatballs are called lihapullat (literally "meatbuns"). They are made with ground beef or a mix of ground beef and pork, or even with ground reindeer or elk meat, mixed with breadcrumbs soaked in milk or viili, beef stock and finely chopped onions or alternatively, French onion soup readymix. They are seasoned with white pepper and salt. Meatballs are traditionally served with gravy or brown sauce, boiled potatoes (or mashed potatoes), lingonberry jam, and sometimes pickled cucumber or pickled beetroot. In France, meatballs are known as boulettes de viande or (in Northern France) fricadelles. They can be made of beef, veal, pork or fish. In Alsace, meatballs are known as Fleischkiechele. They are made of beef, pork, onions, bacon, eggs, and bread. They are served plain or with cream sauce. In the region of Roussillon, they are known as boles de picolat. In Languedoc, they are served with tomato sauce or in a dish called ragoût d'escoubilles. The term quenelle can also refer to meatballs. In Germany, meatballs are mostly known as Frikadelle, Fleischküchle, Fleischpflanzerl, Bulette or Klopse. A notable variant of meatballs are Königsberger Klopse, which contain anchovy or salted herring, and are eaten with caper sauce. In Greece, fried meatballs are called keftédes (κεφτέδες) (from the Turkish word köfte) and usually include within the mix of bread, onions, parsley and mint leaf. Stewed meatballs are called yuvarlákia (γιουβαρλάκια: (from the Turkish word yuvarlak, which means "round") and usually include small quantities of rice. In Hungary, as well as territories from neighbouring countries where Hungarian is spoken, a meatball is called vagdalt or fasírt or fasírozott probably coming from Austrian German faschierte Laibchen. It is a mixture of minced pork, minced onions, garlic, paprika, salt and breadcrumbs, deep fried in oil or pork fat and eaten with potatoes or főzelék. Also, the májgombóc (liver dumpling) is popular in soups. In Italy, meatballs (called polpette , sing. polpetta) are generally eaten either as a main course or in soup. The main ingredients of an Italian meatball are beef and/or pork and sometimes poultry or sausage, salt, black pepper, chopped garlic, olive oil, Romano cheese, eggs, bread crumbs, and parsley, mixed and rolled by hand to a golf ball size. In the Abruzzo region of Italy, especially in the Province of Teramo, the meatballs are typically the size of marbles and are called polpettine . In the Netherlands, meatballs are called gehaktbal, and are often served with boiled potatoes and vegetables. They are usually made out of mixed beef and pork minced meat, eggs, onion and bread crumbs. In Norway, meatballs are called kjøttkaker (lit. "meatcakes"). They are typically served with gravy (lit. "brown sauce"), kålstuing (cabbage in cream sauce), tyttebærsyltetøy (lingonberry jam) and boiled potatoes. Kjøttkaker are similar to kjøttboller, except in form. Kjøttboller are round, like the typical meatball, whereas kjøttkaker or meat cakes are in a patty form, flattened out, larger than kjøttboller and often somewhat oval in shape. In Poland, they are called (singular pulpet, from the Italian name) or klopsy (singular klops, from German Klopse), and pulpeciki ("little pulpety"), and are usually served cooked with a variety of sauces (such as tomato or a kind of gravy thickened with flour, as well as forest mushroom sauce) with potatoes, rice or all sorts of kasza. Pulpety or klopsy are usually made from seasoned ground meat with onion and mixed with eggs and either breadcrumbs or wheat rolls soaked in milk or water. Fried pulpety are larger than typical cooked ones. They can be round or flat in shape. The latter, in many countries, would be considered a cross between a meatball and a hamburger. The fried variety is called mielony (short for kotlet mielony, literally "minced cutlet"), and its mass-produced version (as well as the one served in bars, etc.) is the subject of many jokes and urban legends about what is used to produce it. In Portugal, meatballs are called almôndegas . These are usually served with a spicy tomato sauce and rice or sometimes pasta. In Romania and Moldova, there are two types of meatballs called chiftele (from the Turkish word köfte) and pârjoale, and are usually deep fried and made with pork or poultry, moistened mashed potatoes and spices. Chiftele are flat and round and contain more meat. A variant mixing rice inside the meatball is used for sour soup, making ciorbă de perişoare. In Russia, they are called kotlety () in flat forms or tefteli () in ball forms. They can be made with chicken, pork, beef or fish. Tefteli have rice, potatoes and other vegetables mixed in as well. Kotlety are only made with meat and spices (sometimes bread is added). They can be served with a side of mashed potatoes or noodles, or in a sauce. When boiled in soup round meatballs are called frikadelki (Russian: фрикадельки). In Slovenia, they are called polpeti. They are typically made with ground beef or a mixture of pork and beef and served with mashed potatoes and tomato-based sauce. In Spain and Hispanic America, meatballs are called albóndigas, derived from the Arabic al-bunduq (meaning hazelnut, or, by extension, a small round object). Albóndigas are thought to have originated as a Berber or Arab dish introduced to Spain during the period of Muslim rule. Spanish albóndigas can be served as an appetizer or main course, often in a tomato sauce. Mexican albóndigas are commonly served in a soup with a light broth and vegetables. In Sweden, meatballs are called () and are considered a national dish. They became popular in the mid-1800s with the advent of meat grinders. Swedish meatballs are usually made with a mix of ground beef and ground pork, or just with ground beef, which is mixed into a mixture of beaten eggs, breadcrumbs soaked in milk, and grated raw onions or finely chopped and fried onions. Cream is often added for more luxurious versions. The meatball mixture is seasoned with salt and white pepper or a mixture of white pepper and allspice.Widenfelt, Sam Swedish Food, Gothenburg, Sweden Esselte 1956. Swedish meatballs are traditionally served with gravy, boiled or mashed potatoes, lingonberry jam, and sometimes pickled cucumber. Traditionally, they are small, around in diameter, though larger meatballs are often served at restaurants.Herbst, Sharon Tyler Food Lover's Companion Hauppauge, New York: Barron's Educational Series, Inc. 1990. The term köttbulle first appeared in 1755 in Cajsa Warg's cookbook, previously since the mid-1600s, they were more commonly called frikadeller. IKEA, a furniture retailer founded in Sweden, introduced Swedish meatballs to its cafeterias in 1985, andas of 2022serves over one billion meatballs annually worldwide. In 2018, a user on Sweden's official Twitter account claimed that Swedish meatballs originated in a Turkish recipe brought to Sweden by King Charles XII in 1714 after his exile in the Ottoman Empire. The claim garnered international attention but was later refuted. Leading food historian Richard Tellström stated there was no evidence behind the claim. The Twitter account retracted the statement shortly after. Later on, an advert from Scandinavian Airlines also claimed the Turkish origin but it was reverted after a public backlash. In Turkey, meatballs are called köfte and are extremely popular; there are many different versions with a variety of shapes – not necessarily round. Meatballs in Turkey are usually made with ground lamb or a mix of ground beef and lamb. Variants are mostly named after their traditional cities, such as İnegöl köfte and Tire köfte. Some of the other popular ones are şiş köfte, and sulu köfte. There is also a variant called Çiğ köfte that can be vegan. There is also vegan köfte made from bulgur and lentils called Mercimek köftesi. In Ukraine, they are called kotleta () when fried and frykadelka () when boiled in soup.