This time I made the pumpkin meatballs fried, but you can also bake them or make them in an air fryer.
They are one of those recipes that speak for themselves, without the need for exaggeration or fads.
They are simple and genuine, made with a few ingredients we always find in the kitchen: pumpkin, breadcrumbs, an egg to bind, and good Parmesan, which smells heavenly even when you grate it.
This is a home recipe, not a restaurant one — born to avoid waste and to make the most of what you have… and today, paradoxically, that is the real luxury.
The pumpkin is cooked slowly until soft, creamy and sweet, then combined with the rest and worked by hand as it has always been done, without a food processor and without obsessive measurements.
Home cooking is not laboratory precision, it’s about feel.
Add a little more breadcrumbs if the mixture is too soft, a drizzle more Parmesan if you want a more rounded note, a pinch more salt if it “needs something”.
The result is a golden fritter, soft inside, with that full flavor that only pumpkin can give, sweetened and supported by the Parmesan.
They are perfect as an appetizer, a main course, or a “I’ll have just one and we’ll see” — the truth is one leads to another.
When cooking is this simple and this good, nothing else is needed.
If you make this or any of my other recipes on the blog, send me photos and I will publish them on my page with your name.
Calories about 94 per meatball
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Inexpensive
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 13 Pieces
- Cooking methods: Oven, Frying
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter, All seasons
Ingredients to make Pumpkin Meatballs
- 1 2/3 cups pumpkin purée (about 400 g (14 oz))
- 2 eggs (medium)
- 1 cup breadcrumbs (about 120 g (4.2 oz))
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan (about 50 g (1.8 oz))
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 bunch fresh parsley (or 1 tbsp dried)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup breadcrumbs (about 80 g (2.8 oz))
- 1 teaspoon salt
- as needed peanut oil (for frying)
- 3 tbsp peanut oil (for greasing hands (about 50 ml / 1.7 fl oz))
Tools
- Frying pan
Preparation of Pumpkin Meatballs
First, roast the pumpkin in the oven at 392 °F (200 °C) for about 20 minutes. Scoop out the softened flesh and mash it with a fork or purée it.
Plan on using about 2 lb (900 g) of raw pumpkin.
Place the pumpkin in a bowl, add the other ingredients and mix well with a spoon.
Work until you obtain a mixture that is not too sticky. If needed, add a little more breadcrumbs. Prepare a plate with a little oil, grease your hands with the oil, then take portions of the mixture and form the meatballs.
Arrange them on a baking sheet and put them in the fridge until you are ready to fry them if you are not frying immediately.
Heat the oil and, once it reaches frying temperature, fry the meatballs a few at a time over low heat.
When cooked, drain them on paper towels and serve.
