Meatballs in tomato sauce: when I prepare meatballs for my son it’s a celebration, even though he’s grown up, nothing has changed. His favorites are the fried ones, but he also loves these in tomato sauce. The meatballs in tomato sauce are very simple to make and cook quickly. If you have leftovers, you can reheat them the next day or use them to dress pasta. I prepare meatballs in tomato sauce all year round; in summer, I use fresh tomatoes, and in winter, I use tomato puree or canned tomatoes. For the meatballs, I use beef, but you can also use a mix of beef and pork if you prefer. If you love meatballs as much as I do, I recommend checking out my collection of Meatball Recipes for Every Occasion. Now let’s see how to make meatballs in tomato sauce, and if you try them, let me know. Barbara
Here are more recipes I recommend trying:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients for preparing Meatballs in Tomato Sauce
- 1.3 lbs Ground beef
- 3 Ripe tomatoes (or canned tomatoes)
- 1 Onion
- 1 Carrot
- 1 Zucchini
- 1 Bell pepper
- Basil
- 1 Egg
- to taste Chopped parsley
- to taste Salt
- to taste Pepper
- to taste Extra virgin olive oil
- to taste Breadcrumbs
- to taste Vegetable broth (or water)
How to prepare Meatballs in Tomato Sauce
Let’s start preparing the Meatballs in Tomato Sauce. Wash the tomatoes, remove the central part where it was attached to the plant, and cut them into small pieces. Put them in a large pot, add a pinch of salt, 3 tablespoons of oil, and the basil leaves.
Clean the carrot and cut it into small cubes, add it to the tomato sauce. Clean the onion and chop it into very small cubes, add half to the sauce and keep the other half aside. Clean the zucchini, remove the ends, cut it into pieces, and add it to the sauce. Cut the bell pepper, remove the seeds, and slice it into strips.
Wash the parsley and chop it finely. In a bowl, put the minced meat, the half onion you kept aside, 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, the chopped parsley, the egg, and mix everything well to obtain a homogeneous mixture. Season with salt and pepper and add breadcrumbs to make the mixture compact.
With your hands, form walnut-sized balls and place them on a plate. Put the tomato sauce on the stove and cook for about ten minutes, then add the meatballs, a glass of vegetable broth or water, and cook for 30 minutes, turning them occasionally.
At the end of cooking, adjust the salt. You can serve the Meatballs in Tomato Sauce either hot or cold depending on the season.
How to store Meatballs in Tomato Sauce
You can store meatballs in the refrigerator for 2/3 days or freeze them for a few months.
