1. Step-by-Step: Making Air Fryer Beef Meatballs

Mix It All Together

1. Grab a bowl and combine the ground beef, breadcrumbs, Parmesan, egg, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Don’t be shy – get your hands in there. If you’ve never squished raw meat between your fingers, you’re missing out on a strange but oddly satisfying sensory experience. Make sure everything’s well combined, but don’t overwork it. Overmixing can lead to tough meatballs, and nobody wants that.

Roll Those Meatballs

1. Now comes the fun part. Scoop up a bit of the mixture and roll it between your palms to form 1-inch meatballs. Pro tip: keep a little bowl of water nearby to dip your hands in. This keeps the mixture from sticking to you and makes rolling easier. You should get about 15-20 meatballs from a pound of beef, depending on how big or small you like them.

Preheat the Air Fryer

1. Set your air fryer to 375°F and let it preheat for a couple of minutes. Don’t skip this step – just like with an oven, preheating helps ensure even cooking.

Air Fry to Perfection

1. Place your meatballs in the basket of the air fryer, making sure they’re not overcrowded. If you have a small air fryer, you might need to cook them in batches. Air fry for 10-12 minutes, shaking the basket halfway through to ensure even cooking. The meatballs are done when they’re golden brown on the outside and reach an internal temperature of 165°F.

Enjoy the Magic

1. When you open that air fryer and see those perfectly browned meatballs, you’ll feel like a culinary genius. Seriously. Serve them with marinara sauce, throw them on some spaghetti, or just eat them straight from the basket (no judgment here).