Ricotta meatballs with rosemary tomato sauce
Tastes like it came from a restaurant, but so easy to make
Hello! Welcome back! Skip all the rambling and scroll right to the bottom of this post for a printer-friendly PDF of the recipe only.
Warm weather always has me dreaming of dinner parties. Long, relaxing nights with friends spent eating, chatting, drinking a little too much wine, and lingering at the table long after the candles have extinguished themselves.
Cooking a delicious meal for others truly brings me joy, but what does not is having to sequester myself to the kitchen for most of a party while my friends have fun without me. What are you guys laughing at?? Stop having fun without me!!! I have definitely been known to demand a pause in revelry until I return — what a fun host!
Which is why I often opt for meals that can be mostly prepared ahead of time and just need to be thrown in the oven, reheated, or assembled once the appetizers have been eaten. And one of my favorite meals that fits checks all of these boxes? Meatballs.
Tell me more
Meatballs used to be so intimidating to me because I thought they had to be pan-fried, and the idea of pan-frying 40 little balls in batches just was not for me. But then I discovered the joy of baking meatballs, which allows you to fully cook every single last one, all at once, in less than 20 minutes. And since the prep work mostly involves just mixing up ingredients, it took what was once something I only ever consumed at restaurants and turned it into, dare I say, an easy weeknight meal.
Since then, I’ve experimented with and perfected my meatball recipe, landing on a few that are in heavy rotation, especially since having a kid (did I mention these suckers freeze and reheat beautifully?). Today, I’m sharing perhaps my favorite variation: ricotta meatballs. They are so moist (I said it!), tender, juicy, and delicious. I serve them in a rosemary-spiked sauce which just adds a jolt of unexpected freshness, and some toasted bread. Maybe some greens on the side. The result is a dish that truly tastes like something you’d get at a restaurant but actually comes together in about 30-ish minutes.
Before we start
Ricotta meatballs replace the milk in traditional meatballs with ricotta, which I think results in a fluffier, more tender ball.
Similar to when making traditional meatballs, we start with a panade, which is a fancy French word for a mixture of milk and bread. In this case, the mixture is ricotta and breadcrumbs. You let this sit for about 10 minutes so the breadcrumbs can absorb the moisture and form a paste, which will moisten the meat. I promise this is a very necessary step!! You will not get the same result if you just mix the ricotta and breadcrumbs in without it.
This recipe was developed in partnership with Gratsi, a wine brand that I have had a longtime relationship with. They first sent me their wines to try two summers ago, and I absolutely fell in love with the taste and the convenience. Good, low-sugar wine in a box that you can keep in your fridge for a month should not be taken for granted. I am embarking on a 6-month partnership with them, and though most of the recipes will live solely on Instagram and on their website, I thought this one was so good that I had to share it here, as well. Thank you for supporting me and my work, including my partnerships. Every dollar I make from these and from paid subscriptions goes directly back into recipe development and creating content to share with you. On that note, because this is a partnership, I am making the recipe free for all to access.
The recipe
Note: recipe videos are posted on my Instagram.
Serves: 6
Cook time: 40 minutes
Meatball ingredients:
1-1/2 cup ricottaÂ
 1/2 cup breadcrumbsÂ
 1 lb ground beefÂ
 1 lb ground porkÂ
 1 cup ground ParmesanÂ
 2 eggsÂ
 1/2 cup chopped parsleyÂ
 6 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1/2 yellow onion, grated or finely choppedÂ
 Salt and pepperÂ
 Preheat oven to 425. Mix ricotta and breadcrumbs together in a large bowl and let sit for 10 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl and season generously with salt and pepper. Test seasoning by cooking a small piece of the mixture in a pan. Adjust salt if necessary.
Using about 2 tablespoons at a time, roll into balls and place on a baking sheet (this yields about 32 meatballs). Bake for 12 minutes, then broil for 3-4 minutes until brown on top.
Sauce ingredients:
1/3 cup olive oil
6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 28-oz can whole peeled tomatoes
1 sprig rosemary
Salt
Add olive oil and garlic to a cold pan then turn the heat to medium. Cook, stirring frequently, until garlic is just starting to brown. Add the tomatoes and season generously with salt. Using the back of a wooden spoon, gently break the tomatoes down. Add the rosemary and reduce heat to low. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. To serve, top meatballs with rosemary tomato sauce. Serve with toasted bread.
Notes
Make ahead: Prepare the meatballs ahead of time and place them uncooked and on a baking sheet in the fridge until ready to cook. Let the come to room temp for about 10 minutes before putting in the oven. Cook according to directions. The sauce can be made ahead of time and heated just before serving.
Leftovers: These freeze beautifully and are ideal for meal prep. I kept the leftovers in the fridge for about four days before moving the rest to the freezer. They’ll keep for 1-2 months in the freezer. To reheat from the fridge, just microwave or air-fry. From the freezer, let them defrost and reheat, or air-fry from frozen (I find microwaving from frozen results in a tough texture). Bonus, if you have babies who are learning to eat, these are ideal for baby-led weaning. And my toddler still loves them to this day.
The meat of it: Go all beef or all pork if you’d like, or sub in ground turkey or chicken for the pork. I wouldn’t do all chicken or all turkey, because the texture would be a bit different and they wouldn’t be as moist.
Sides, please: I loooove serving this with steamed broccolini. I do this in the microwave (I know, sue me, but all cooking methods can lead to a loss in nutrients so why not go for the easiest???) — rinse broccolini, don’t dry, and place on a microwave-safe plate. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with lots of sea salt. Cook covered on high for 2-10 minutes, depending on your microwave and how soft you like it. Or, do a nice side salad with bitter chicories — radicchio would be beautiful with these. I like to dress mine in a 1:1 oil to red wine vinegar dressing that’s spiked with a little agave or maple syrup and a garlic clove. So bright with the bitter greens, and such a good counterpart to the savory meatballs.
Feeling salty: Salt and taste as you go. I do not include exact measurements for salt because I don’t know what kind of salt you’re using, and different salts have different levels of saltiness.
Comments? Questions?
I’m all ears. Leave a comment below or email me at hellosaturdaytable@gmail.com. There’s nothing I love more than chatting with you all!
perfect timing - was going to make meatballs today!
This sounds delicious! Could you suggest a substitution for pork? Ground veal? All beef? Thanks!