Italian meatballs in Tomato Sauce

A comforting bowl of Italian meatballs in Tomato Sauce anytime

Tender baked meatballs simmered in a homemade umami flavoured tomato sauce really deliver in flavour. The layering of ingredients, the fusion of flavours into the meatballs and the sauce during the cooking process, and the addition of fresh and dried herbs bring together a meal that has you coming back for more.

Meatballs are incredibly versatile and the flavour profile can be changed easily by using different herbs and spices. This recipe is for classic Italian meatballs in tomato sauce, which never disappoints and is easy to bring together for a mid-week meal for the whole family.

Ingredients:

Beef Meatballs

Makes about 20 meatballs

272 calories per person when serving 5 meatballs per serve

Serves 4

Ingredients:

400g - 500g beef mince ( see cooking notes below)

1/2 a very finely chopped large onion, or one small one

2 teaspoons dried mixed herbs, or Les Herbes de Provence or Italian herb mix

1 beaten egg

1/2 cup breadcrumbs, fresh or dried or Panko (I used Panko)

salt and ground black pepper

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200 deg. Fan or 180 deg C.

Mix all the ingredients together.

Form into meatballs with your hands, mixture should make about 20. It you get more, all the better. Mr. HRK made the meatballs for me with his hands, or you can also use a small ice cream scoop to make life easier.

Place your meatballs on a lined baking tray and cook for 10 minutes.

Remove the meatballs and rest until the tomato sauce is ready for them.

Tomato Sauce

The tomato sauce can make or break meatballs. It's important to get it right. I would prefer not to use canned chopped tomatoes for the best result, and use homemade passata or marinara sauce as your base, but let's be practical, it will still be delicious if you follow this recipe and use canned tomatoes. I used them the first time I made this recipe, and it was still delicious.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed or 2 teaspoons dried garlic (optional)

1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes, or 1 bottle of Homemade Passata or Marinara Sauce, or store bought passata

4 teaspoons Sweet Chilli Jam ( I used my homemade jam), or 1/4-1/2 tsp crushed dried chilli flakes (all optional) (See cooking notes below)

1 teaspoon dried oregano

Method:

Heat your oil in a large frying pan, and fry the onion on a low heat until softened and almost translucent. 

Pour the tomatoes or passata into the pan, add the garlic (optional), and add 200 ml water only if using a can of tomatoes. Add the oregano, the sweet chilli jam or chilli flakes, if using, and bring the pan to a gentle simmer.

Cook for 5 minutes, stirring regularly.

Add the meatballs to the tomato sauce.

Season with sea salt and ground black pepper, and cook for another 5 minutes, until the meatballs are thoroughly cooked. They really should be. If the tomato sauce is too thick, just add a little water at a time until you reach the desired consistency. 

Taste the sauce to check if more seasoning is needed.

Sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese, some fresh basil, and serve with rice or pasta, and a fresh green salad or vegetables.

Backstory:

I have become a huge fan of Meatballs in Tomato Sauce, can you tell? Better late than never eh? For many years I have cooked Spaghetti Bolognese, and found it very tasty and easy to cook. There are a few recipes on my HRK website featuring Spaghetti Bolognese. I am moving on now to thinking that Meatballs in Tomato Sauce are even more delicious and enjoyable than a plate of Spag Bol, as it is often called here. Basically the same ingredients, just a different process and pasta required at all. Enter low calorie meals again.

I grew up eating beef rissoles and vegetables on a regular basis, rissoles being large meatballs, pressed down to become a flattish beef patty and cooked in a frypan or on the barbecue, and often served with a delicious gravy. My Mother was very talented at cooking these good basic meals. She made extremely tasty rissoles, and now I use that basic recipe which is only in my head, to make meatballs. So tasty.

When I was in France two years ago, one of my fondest food memories was when Matthew took me to visit Martina, one of their lovely Italian friends, who had volunteered to look after the children while Matthew took me out sightseeing. It was so kind of her, and when we arrived back at her small apartment, she had a large frypan of Meatballs in Tomato Sauce cooking on the cooktop. What a Wonder woman. The meatballs were just plain mince rolled into meatballs, with a few dried herbs added and she had heated up a bottle of Italian passata, and sprinkled them with parmesan cheese. She cooked white rice to go with them. It seems that it's not authentically Italian to serve pasta with meatballs, bread will even do. The children loved them, and even though I only needed a taste of them, they were very good. She had made a really delicious and authentic Italian dish from simple ingredients. 

I am adding a few more elements to mine, because I love lots of fresh herbs, and have more time on my hands, but this is a very versatile meal which can also be very budget friendly.

This recipe is loosely based on one from the Fast 800 Recipe Book, with 400 g of mince yielding 20 meatballs and only 272 calories. The recipe actually said to use 300 g of mince, but I couldn't make 20 meatballs from that quantity of mince. Perhaps it was a typo or just my meatball making skills.

Cook's notes:

1. I dislike recipes where there is a small amount leftover from either a bottle of pickled vegetables, or a packet of an ingredient, or a jar of sauce. So, with this recipe if you buy your beef mince from a butcher, well you can certainly ask for 400g of mince. However from a supermarket it is usually in packets of 500g, so just use it all. Honestly, you will just end up with more meatballs, so you can freeze the extra if you wish, or cook them up and you will probably find there is enough sauce for the whole lot. It also depends on how hungry your dinner guests are. 20 meatballs for 4 people is aimed at a lower calorie meal. If this doesn't concern you, by all means cook more. Mr. HRK and I find that 5 meatballs each with sauce and some vegetables or rice or wholemeal pasta is plenty to eat. 
2. If you have some leftover pork mince, this can be added to make up the 500 g. Pork mince and beef mince are delicious together.
3. If you wish you can buy the meatballs already prepared to save time, and then just add them to your sauce. However I like to make my own, because I can.
4. Baking the meatballs is a healthier option, and they stay nice and round when added to the sauce.
5. I love to use my Sweet Chill Jam in the tomato sauce, as it cuts the acid of the tomatoes and gives the tomato sauce a slightly chilli hit. However this is optional. Not for children though I would suggest. A teaspoon of sugar can be added if you have issues with the acid from tomato sauces. Sweet Chilli Jam is also available for purchase from delis and supermarkets.
6. Leftovers seem to improve in flavour but this meal can easily be frozen as well.

I hope you enjoy this recipe, and I would love to know if you cook it one night.

Warmest wishes,

Pauline