Tomato Sauce Meatballs make a crowd pleasing dinner when served on rice or spaghetti. Coated in a sweet, tangy and spicy sauce, these juicy meatballs melt in your mouth. They are easy to make, so why don’t you double the recipe and freeze the leftovers for later?
Love dishes with meatballs? You might want to see our hearty meatball stew recipe too.
What is your ultimate dinner recipe? The one you use whenever you feel stuck and can’t decide what to cook. I have a few recipes for those evenings. You know what? When I wanted to make a list for you, I realized that almost all of those recipes are a version of meatballs.
Homemade Turkish Meatballs are by far the most loved dinner in my family, but we love Gluten-Free Honey Garlic Meatballs as well, especially when we want a non-traditional meatballs recipe. I love to change things a bit when I’m in the kitchen and that’s how these Tomato Chili Sauce Meatballs were born.
Who can say no to flavor packed tender meatballs like these? I can’t! They become even tastier and more irresistible when coated with an amazing sauce. I added vinegar and a little honey to balance the flavors. This sauce is so good that you can use it on your favorite pasta too. We sometimes combine our easy parmesan pasta with this sauce and we devour it this way. With extra parmesan on it.
How To Make
To make this recipe, start with meatballs. You can even double the meatballs and keep them in the freezer for a later use.
When making meatballs, I mostly use breadcrumbs because it’s easier but I remember mom makes it with bread. She soaks it and then combines with the ground beef mixture. I don’t know the exact reason but the meatballs that are made with this method are fluffier. That’s why I made the meatballs for this recipe with bread, not breadcrumbs.
My staples for tasty meatballs are grated onion, garlic and spices. I always add these to the mixture no matter what version of meatballs I make. They are wonderful as a dinner when combined with a sauce on the top of pasta or as an appetizer. You can even make sandwiches with these meatballs. They are always a hit for kids.
Cook the meatballs in a large non-stick pan, transfer them on a plate and then make the sauce in the same pan. You keep all the flavors in your saucy meatballs this way.
Heat olive oil in the pan and add in garlic pureed tomatoes. Cook uncovered until it thickens. Add in chili, vinegar, honey and salt. Simmer for a few minutes and transfer the meatballs into the pan. Cook for about 10 minutes and remove from the heat. Sprinkle chopped green onions over them and serve on your favorite pasta.
What kind of chili sauce
Chili sauce is basically prepared with pureed tomato, chili peppers, vinegar and a sweetener. Although you can buy it from markets, I think you will prefer making it yourself when you see how easy it is to make. Isn't it great to make adjustments to your taste. I use fresh chili peppers in my sauce, but you can use chili powder too if it is what you have on hand. If you are making this for kids, I suggest using sweet chili peppers. Also, I use garlic in the sauce because garlic makes anything tasty. You can play with the amount of ingredients to find your desired sauce.
What to serve with
Although pasta and rice are two great options to serve with these meatballs, there are definitely more options. If you want to reduce the amount of carbs or if you are following a keto diet, I think Corn and Zucchini Sauté or Zucchini Noodles would be a great alternative. If you need a refreshing salad that is nutritious as well, serve them with Broccoli Slaw Salad. If you are planning to serve them as an appetizer, without the pasta, then I would go with Grilled Carrots with Chipotle Lime Dip or traditional Turkish Yogurt and Cucumber Dip Cacik.
More Meat Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Tomato Sauce Meatballs
Tomato Chili Sauce Meatballs make a crowd pleasing dinner when served on rice or spaghetti. Coated in a sweet, tangy and spicy sauce, these juicy meatballs melt in your mouth. They are easy to make, so why don’t you double the recipe and freeze the leftovers for later?
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Cooking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Meatballs:
- 3 slices white bread, crusts removed (about 1 cup when torn)
- ¼ cup water
- 1 onion, grated and drained
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 14 oz ground beef (400g)
- 7 oz ground lamb (200g)
- 1 egg
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- 1 and ½ tablespoons olive oil
Tomato Chili Sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups pureed tomatoes
- 1 red chili, seeds removed and diced
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- 1 teaspoon honey
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup chopped green onion
Instructions
- Place the bread, water and onion in a large bowl. Mix with your hands so that the torn bread is soaked.
- Add in garlic, ground beef, lamb, egg and spices. Mix these using your hand until combined well. Make balls from this mixture and place them on a plate.
- Heat 1 and ½ tablespoons olive oil in a large non-stick pan over medium heat. Place the meatballs carefully and brown them shaking the pan occasionally for about 5 minutes so that all parts of meatballs are browned equally. We don’t want them to cook completely. Transfer on a plate.
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in the same pan. Add garlic and sauté for about 30 seconds. Add in tomato puree and cook uncovered until it boils. Bring the heat to medium low and let it simmer until thickens. Add in chili, vinegar, honey and salt. Give it a stir.
- Transfer the meatballs and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Garnish with chopped green onion.
- Serve the meatballs over pasta, rice or as they are.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 647
- Sugar: 6.7 g
- Sodium: 823.7 mg
- Fat: 13.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 90.6 g
- Protein: 39.6 g
- Cholesterol: 105.8 mg
Keywords: tomato sauce meatballs, meatballs with tomato suace
Codrut Turcanu says
I like eating meatballs from time to time... my mother prepares them sometimes... thanks for the recipe!
Natalie Ellis says
Nothing matches meatballs more pefectly than tomato sauce. And one thing I love about meat balls is that we can easily use it with many kinds of food like pasta, bread or even rice.
I just did it last weekend with my bf and looking at these really makes me want to cook it again xD
Jason says
I tried the meatballs with soaked bread and whoa! They became so fluffy! Thanks for the tip!
★★★★★
Barbara Schieving says
These look fantastic! My husband would go crazy for these.
Zerrin says
Thank you Barbara! This is more like a dinner for men, isn't it? Hope you have a chance of trying it for your husband one day.
Sam R says
You are right, this is what "ultimate dinner recipes" are made up of. So filling and saucy. I served mine with bulgur pilaf and it was just as good.
Yet another easy to make recipe from our friends at Give Recipe.
Thanks for helping me put dinner on the table.
★★★★★
Zerrin says
Glad you like it Sam! Bulgur pilaf makes a perfect match too. Thanks for sharing the idea here!