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Home » Meat » Meatball Stew With Potatoes and Carrots

Published: Mar 17, 2011 · Modified: Apr 24, 2022 by Zerrin & Yusuf

Meatball Stew With Potatoes and Carrots

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This hearty Meatball Stew with Potatoes and Carrots is one of our all-time favorite dinner recipes. All you have to do is first make meatballs, then simmer them in a vegetable stew base with tomato paste. Perfect for cooler days! And, you can even make this recipe in advance and freeze it!

MEatball stew in a bowl and a spoon in it.

It is definitely one of our weeknight dinner recipes. We often enjoy it with rice orzo pilaf or bulgur pilaf and a bowl of yogurt cucumber cacik  on the side.

Meatballs are a staple in our kitchen and we make a variety of meatball recipes. Although hearty and rich Turkish Izmir kofte is always our son’s top favorite, we all love kadinbudu kofte (meatballs with rice) and eggplant and meatball kebab too. 

We always have meatballs in the freezer so making this meatball stew gets even easier. We skip the first step of the recipe this way. So if you want, you can double the amount of meatballs, shape them into small balls and freeze for later use. Please read how to freeze them properly below in the ‘How to Freeze’ section. 

Jump to:
  • About The Ingredients
  • How to Make
  • Cooking Variations
  • Serving Suggestions
  • How to Store
  • Tips
  • FAQs
  • More Stew Recipes
  • 📖 Recipe
  • 💬 Comments

About The Ingredients

For this easy meatball stew recipe, you only need a few basic ingredients to create a delicious and hearty meal. Let’s have a look at them.

Ground beef, egg, onion, a slice of bread, olive oil, spices on a dark background.

Meatballs: For these meatballs, we use a combination of ground meat, spices, egg, breadcrumbs, and pureed onions. This simple mixture gives your meatballs great soft and moist texture and a fantastic flavor!

You can also use other types of ground meat including ground lamb, pork, chicken, and turkey. All of these will make excellent substitutes!

Potatoes, carrots, peas, tomato paste, tomato puree, salt and pepper, olive oil on a dark barkground.

Vegetables: We use carrots, potatoes and peas (fresh, canned or frozen) in our meatball stew recipe. But, feel free to add some more vegetables for color, texture, and flavor. Some of our favorite add-ins include garlic, green beans, red potatoes, red or green bell pepper and celery.

Tomato paste: Tomato paste helps deepen the flavor of the entire stew. We highly recommend adding it even if you use pureed tomato. They take the stew to the next level when used together.

Liquid: For this recipe, we only use water. But, you can use beef broth instead. If you use another type of ground meat, then use a similar stock, for example, chicken stock with ground poultry.

Alternative Add-Ins: Finally, if you want to bulk up this homemade meatball stew, then add in some pasta or noodles. This will add more consistency to the stew and make it much more hearty and satisfying.

How to Make

Let's have a look at exactly how to make meatball stew in under an hour with only a few simple ingredients.

Mini meatballs in a white pan before cooking.
  1. Make the meatball mixture. In a large mixing bowl, combine the pureed onion, crumbled bread, egg, salt, pepper, cumin, and alone oil. Mix the ingredients together until they are well combined. Then, add in the ground beef and make a uniform mixture using your hands. Don't over-mix the mixture, you will get dense meatballs otherwise. Just mix until everything holds together. 
  2. Shape the meat mixture into balls and place them onto a clean plate. We make them into mini balls so our stew looks like a meatball soup, but you can shape them into larger meatballs if you want.
Mini meatballs cooked in a pan.
  1. Cook the meatballs. Heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Then, working in small batches, cook the meatballs for about 2-3 minutes per side. Shake the pan occasionally to prevent the meatballs from sticking.

Also, keep in mind that the meatballs don't have to be fully cooked. They just have to be nicely browned on all sides. Remove the cooked meatballs from the pan and place them on a plate.

Potatoes and carrots are cooking in a pan with tomato paste and puree.
  1. Make the stew base. In a separate pan, heat some oil and add the tomato paste. Cook for about a minute and then add in pureed tomatoes. Cook the tomato mixture for another 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  2. Then, add your diced potatoes and carrots. Allow the ingredients to cook together for 5 minutes so that the flavors can blend together smoothly.
Meatballs, potatoes, carrots and peas with a tomato based stew sauce in a pan.
  1. Cook the stew. Add in your browned meatballs and hot water. Bring the mixture to a boil while stirring every now and then. Once boiling, reduce the heat and allow the stew to simmer for 15 minutes, or until the vegetables become tender but not mushy.
  2. Add in your peas, salt, and black pepper, and cook for another 5 minutes. If you want, you can add some dried thyme too. Remove your stew from the heat, garnish it with some fresh parsley and serve it immediately.
Meatball stew with potatoes, carrots and peas in a pan.

Cooking Variations

The biggest variation of this recipe probably is the cooking method you can use. Naturally, we make our easy meatball stew recipe in a deep pan or dutch oven. But, you can also make it inside a slow cooker or instant pot.

To make this meatball stew in a slow cooker: Cook the meatballs in a pan as described in the recipe below. Then, simply add all of the remaining ingredients inside of the slow cooker. Cook the stew on the high setting for 4-6 hours or on low setting for 6-8 hours. 

To make it in an instant pot: cook the meatballs in a pan first. (You won't need this if you are using pre-cooked frozen meatballs). Put them in the instant pot. Then add all of the remaining ingredients, and set the pressure to high for 10 minutes. Wait for another 10-15 minutes when it is done. Then let the steam release as you would normally do and carefully open the lid. Give the stew a stir and serve.

Meatball stew served in a bowl, bread slices on the side.

Serving Suggestions

This stew is incredibly versatile when it comes to what to serve with it. Some simpler accompaniments include some type of fresh tomato salad or rice pilaf with raisins. And, you can even use a rice substitute like healthy bulgur wheat.

You can also make a wide variety of bread. We especially love flatbreads or crusty cornbread to soak up the juices. You can also make dinner rolls or Turkish pide bread.

We often have a bowl of homemade yogurt on the side as well.

How to Store

To store any leftover meatball stew, you can simply allow it to cool completely at room temperature. Then, place it inside an airtight container and store it inside the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

And, if you decide to freeze it, just cover the container with a layer of aluminum foil. This will help protect the stew from freezer burn. It will keep well for up to 3 months. 

Alternatively, you can freeze the meatballs only. After shaping them into mini balls, place them on a baking sheet or a small tray that fit into your freezer. Make sure they are in a single layer. Put the baking sheet in the freezer and let it sit there for 30 minutes. 

Then remove from the freezer and put the frozen meatballs in resealable bags. Make sure you write the date on the bags. They keep well for 4-5 months. When you are ready to cook them, you can thaw them in the refrigerator overnight. But you really don’t need to. Just cook them frozen as you would normally do. And follow the remaining steps as described in the recipe below. 

Tips

  • Don’t overcrowd the frying pan when you are browning the meatballs. If you do, the pan will not get hot enough and the meatballs will end up being steamed, rather than fried. This will give them a bland color and semi-cooked flavor. Not the nicely browned and caramelized meatballs you are looking for!
  • Remember, the aim of frying the meatballs is simply to give them some color on the outside. They don’t have to be completely cooked. They will finish cooking once they have been added to the stew.
  • You can use either a heavy-bottom oven-proof pan to make these meatballs or a dutch oven.
  • If you want to save yourself some time, you can also pre-make these meatballs and freeze them. Once you are ready to use them in this stew, you can simply thaw them for a couple of minutes, then add them directly into the stew.
  • You can also buy pre-made frozen meatballs if you don’t want to make meatballs from scratch.
  • Adjusting the consistency of the meatball stew is incredibly easy! Simply add more water to make it saucier (runnier) and add less to make it thicker. The exact amount of water you will end up using will also depend on the amount of heat you use.

FAQs

Do you cook potatoes before putting in stew?

No, con't cook them beforehand. Just put them in the pan when making the stew.

How long does it take to soften carrots in stew?

They get tender after about 20 minutes.

How do you keep potatoes from getting mushy in stew?

Potatoes don't get mushy unless you over-cook them. Remove the stew from the heat right after the veggies are tender.

More Stew Recipes

  • Turkish Beef Stew Dana Guvec
  • Turkish Lamb Stew Kuzu Guvec
  • White Bean Stew
  • Cabbage Stew
  • Okra Stew

You might also like:

  • Best Turkish Recipes with Bulgur Wheat
  • Turkish Stuffed Eggplant Karniyarik
  • Turkish Chicken Kebab Recipe (Tavuk Şiş)
  • Kofta Kebab Recipe

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Print

📖 Recipe

Meatball Stew With Potatoes and Carrots

Meatball stew served in a bowl and a spoon inside it.
Print Recipe

Hearty meatball stew with meatballs potatoes, carrots and peas. 

  • Author: Zerrin & Yusuf
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 45 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: 4
  • Category: Dinner
  • Method: Cooking
  • Cuisine: Turkish

Ingredients

For Meatballs:

  • 1 medium onion, pureed

  • 1 slice of stale bread, crumbled (or 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs)

  • 1 egg

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • ½ teaspoon black pepper

  • ¼ teaspoon cumin

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

  • 500g (1.102 pounds) ground beef (10%fat)

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil to fry meatballs

For Stew:

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste

  • ½ cup pureed tomato

  • 2 medium sized potatoes, diced

  • 2 medium sized carrots, diced

  • 2 cups hot water

  • ½ cup peas, fresh, canned or frozen 

  • ½ teaspoon salt

  • ½ teaspoon black pepper

  • 1 tablespoon chopped parsley, for garnish

Instructions

Meatballs:

  1. In a large bowl, combine pureed onion, crumbled stale bread, egg, salt, black pepper, cumin and olive oil. Add in ground beef and using your hand, mix just until everything is combined. 

  2. Shape it into mini balls.

  3. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan.

  4. Cook the meatballs in batches over medium high heat, shaking the pan occasionally. 2-3 minutes per side. Don’t overcrowd the pan. They don’t have to be cooked completely. They are good if all the sides are brown. 

  5. Put the cooked meatballs on a plate.

Stew:

  1. Heat oil in a pan. Add in tomato paste and cook it for a minute. Add in pureed tomato and cook together for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

  2. Add in diced potatoes and carrots and cook them for 5 minutes. 

  3. Add in the meatballs.

  4. Pour hot water, stir and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and let it simmer for 20-25 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. 

  5. Add in peas, salt and pepper and continue cooking for 5 minutes. 

  6. Remove from the heat, garnish with parsley and serve.

Notes

  • Don’t overcrowd the frying pan when you are browning the meatballs. If you do, the pan will not get hot enough and the meatballs will end up being steamed, rather than fried. This will give them a bland color and semi-cooked flavor. Not the nicely browned and caramelized meatballs you are looking for!
  • Remember, the aim of frying the meatballs is simply to give them some color on the outside. They don’t have to be completely cooked. They will finish cooking once they have been added to the stew.
  • You can use either a heavy-bottom oven-proof pan to make these meatballs or a dutch oven.
  • If you want to save yourself some time, you can also pre-make these meatballs and freeze them. Once you are ready to use them in this stew, you can simply thaw them for a couple of minutes, then add them directly into the stew.
  • You can also buy pre-made frozen meatballs if you don’t want to make meatballs from scratch.
  • Adjusting the consistency of the meatball stew is incredibly easy! Simply add more water to make it saucier (runnier) and add less to make it thicker. The exact amount of water you will end up using will also depend on the amount of heat you use.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size:
  • Calories: 469
  • Sugar: 7.7 g
  • Sodium: 1084.3 mg
  • Fat: 23.1 g
  • Carbohydrates: 33 g
  • Protein: 33.9 g
  • Cholesterol: 121.5 mg

Keywords: meatball stew

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  1. Mely@MexicoinMyKitchen says

    March 18, 2011 at 3:03 pm

    You know what? We have a very similar dish but instead of Bulgur we use rice to make the meatballs and also add mint. And as you mention is a very complete meal.

    Have a great weekend.

    Mely

    PS. I already emailed a copy of your recipe for flour cookies to my friends. Those cookies are so good!

    Reply
  2. Monet says

    March 18, 2011 at 6:08 am

    What a great idea to add bulgher to your meatballs. They look and sound so good. I'm sure they are especially hearty and flavorful. Thank you for sharing this delicious meal. I hope you have a beautiful Friday. The weekend is nearly here!

    Reply
  3. Feast on the Cheap says

    March 17, 2011 at 9:44 pm

    Looks wonderful!

    Reply

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