Smoker Meatballs (Italian Style Sauce)

Check out my super easy and tasty smoked meatballs for beginners. While BBQ sauce smoker meatballs are terribly delicious – today we’re going a different direction. I’m going to walk you through making Italian beef meatballs on the Traeger Pellet Grill with pasta sauce. Let’s get smoking…

HEY THERE — Are you on instagram? I post quick, easy smoker recipes there @sipbitego.

Why this smoked meatball recipe is so good

• It’s truly unique to make Italian smoked foods. 
• Also add the smoked pasta sauce to homemade pasta.
• Meatballs can be made ahead, or you can use frozen meatballs instead. 
• New to smoked beef recipes? See my step by step video on how to smoke meatballs (scroll to bottom of page). 

Ingredients

Here’s what you need to make smoked meatballs traeger style.

To make homemade meatballs (mine have veggies in them)

• 2 lb ground beef (can substitute half with 1 lb ground pork)
• 2 large eggs, whisked
• 1 medium onion, red, diced small
• 1 carrot, diced small
• 1 red pepper, diced small
• 1 tbsp garlic, minced
• 1.5 tsp Italian seasoning, dried
• ½ tsp pepper
• 1 tsp salt

For finishing smoked meatballs in sauce

• 24 oz pasta sauce, your choice tomato sauce

Serving suggestions 

• Sandwich rolls, buns, subs
• Pasta (we like spaghetti or linguini)
• Parmesan cheese
• Mozzarella cheese
• Basil

The inside color the smoked ground beef takes on reminds me of smoked brisket flat. It’s a beautiful red ring.

See how to make Traeger smoked lasagna in 1 hour…

How to make smoked meatballs on pellet grills

Now I’ll walk you through it…

Quick look at this smoker recipe

1. Smoke meatballs for an hour at 225 degrees F on a rimmed baking sheet pan (with a rack on it). 
2. Transfer meatballs to a baking dish, add pasta sauce.
3. Finish smoking meatballs at 325 degrees F for about 45 min until done temp (160 or when it reaches 165 if you want completely done, without needing time to come up to temperature).
4. Serve and enjoy.

Detailed recipe steps

1. Preheat Traeger Grills or Pitt Boss or whatever pellet grill you’re using to 225 degrees F. 
2. Make meatballs. Add all homemade meatball ingredients to a large mixing bowl. Use a ¼ cup (or a large spoon or an ice cream scoop) to form round 3” meatballs. Place meatballs on a rimmed sheet pan or cast iron skillet, with space between them. Smoke immediately, or set them covered in the fridge for up to a day before smoking.
3. Smoke ‘em. Place the pan with the meatballs (on the rack) in the smoker. Smoke beef balls for an hour at 225 degrees F. Remove meatballs from the smoker and raise the temperature of the pellet grill to 325 degrees F. 
4. Smoke pasta sauce with balls. Add half the pasta sauce to the bottom of a large baking dish. Transfer the partially smoked meatballs on top of the pasta in the baking dish. Top meatballs with the rest of the pasta sauce. 
5. Continue smoking meatballs until done. Smoke them in pasta sauce for about 45 minutes at 325 degrees F, until they reach about 160 degrees F inside. During this time finish the dish you’re serving the meatballs with: prepare sub rolls for smoked meatball sandwiches or boil pasta, etc. 
6. Serve when cool enough to enjoy.

More smoked meatball recipes to try

There are so many other creative recipes to try beyond smoking Italian meatballs…

• Make them bacon wrapped.
• Use venison / chicken / turkey or another ground meat (check individual done temps for variations).
• Smoke them in BBQ sauce (mix in some water to reduce the thickness.
• Make stuffed meatballs by adding in a cube of mozzarella cheese to the center of each meatball.
• Make keto smoked meatballs with this recipe for meatballs with veggies.

Another recipe to smoke on the Traeger at 225 degrees F is this side dish for smoked asparagus. It cooks in about an hour.

FAQs

More Tasty Grill + Smoker Recipes

• Smoked mac and cheese
• Smoked cream cheese
• Smoked brisket flat
• 321 ribs
• Beer can chicken on the smoker
• Smoked wings
• Smoked tomahawk steak
• Traeger tri tip
• Smoked turkey breast
• Smoked turkey legs
• Whole smoked turkey
• Smoked Traeger pizza
• Smoked onion rings
• Traeger smoked ham
• Smoked whole chicken
• Smoked jalapeno poppers
• Smoked corn on the cob
• Traeger beef ribs
• Smoked leg of lamb
• Smoked shrimp
• Grilled chicken wings
• Grilled skirt steak
• Flank steak marinade
• Grilled potato wedges
• Smoked pulled pork
• Want more? See my lineup of easy smoker recipes

See this Traeger Flatrock grill review.

See my favorite smoker tools and seasonings in my Amazon Storefront.

Meat thermometer recommendations

Every home chef needs a reliable meat thermometer to cook food perfectly. 

On Sip Bite Go, you’ll often see me using:

1. Meater thermometer – a fancy wireless thermometer that connects to a phone app – gifted to me from a Traeger partnership.
2. ThermoPro digital thermometer – which has a wire that connects the thermometer to a display box outside the oven/grill. 

It’s like being psychic! The great thing about either of the thermometers above is that I don’t have to take the food out of the oven to know the temperature. 

How to use ‘em… What I do is stick the digital thermometer in steak, pork, chicken, whatever… Then put the food in the oven, on the smoker, or grill.

While the meat cooks, it reads the temperature so I know exactly what temp meat is as it’s cooking. Without having to take it out and check. It’s really difficult to overcook food when you know exactly what temp it is inside!

Are you a foodie, too?

Hey home chefs, hope that answers all your questions about cooking meatballs on the smoker. Feel free to drop me a line and let me know what version of smoked meatballs you want to try next. 

If you don’t follow me on instagram you totally should @sipbitego. And for more deliciousness, subscribe to the Sip Bite Go channel and see the Sip Bite Go recipe collection.