A meatball is a generally spherical mass of ground meat and other ingredients, such as bread or breadcrumbs, minced onion, various spices, and possibly eggs, cooked by frying, baking, steaming, or braising in sauce.
There are many kinds of meatball recipes using different kinds of meats and spices. While some meatballs are mostly made of meat and ingredients to cement the ball, others may include other ingredients. How one makes one's meatballs depends as much on one's cultural background as on one's individual taste. There are even "meatless" meatballs to satisfy vegetarian palates.
From the Balkans to India, there is a large variety of meatballs in the kofta family.
The ancient Roman cookbook Apicius included many meatball-type recipes.
