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Beef and Mortadella Meatballs in Tomato Sauce

Image of beef and mortadella meatballs in tomato sauce. I generally avoid eating red meat but make exceptions from time to time. Case in point: I received free ground beef in a recent ButcherBox delivery and wanted to put it to good use.

From now until June 30, 2023, new ButcherBox customers get 2 packs of ground beef FREE in every box for 1 year! All their products are high quality, humanely raised, and never given antibiotics or added hormones. You can choose a box option and delivery frequency to fit your lifestyle and cancel whenever you’d like with no penalty. Place an order and it’ll be shipped right to your door!

Since it’s been a bit gloomy here in the Bay Area, fixing comfort food seemed fitting. So I settled on cooking beef and mortadella meatballs in tomato sauce plus Parmesan garlic bread. Talk about a hearty and delicious meal! Serve me up a plate with some greens and I’m a happy girl.

Beef and mortadella meatballs in tomato sauce is pretty easy to prepare and comes together in one pot. More important, the dish delivers deep, rich flavor. You’ll be licking your utensils clean.

Close-up image of beef and mortadella meatballs in tomato sauce. Recipe adapted from Bon Appétit. This post contains affiliate links, and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on the links.

Beef and Mortadella Meatballs in Tomato Sauce
 
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Makes 4 servings
Ingredients
Tomato sauce:
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, finely diced
  • 1 carrot, peeled and finely diced
  • 1 stalk celery, finely diced
  • kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • ½ cup tomato paste
  • 1 28 oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes, pulsed in a food processor until coarsely chopped
  • 1 cup heavy cream
Meatballs:
  • 1 pound ground beef (20% fat)
  • 8 ounces mortadella, cut into ¼" cubes
  • 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • ⅓ cup fresh bread crumbs (see notes)
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • finely grated Parmesan cheese (for topping)
Instructions
Make the tomato sauce:
  1. In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot and celery and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.
  2. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, until tomato paste begins to darken, about 4 minutes.
  3. Add tomatoes and heavy cream and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes.
Make the meatballs:
  1. Combine all the meatball ingredients in a large bowl and mix with your hands. Form into 1½" balls.
  2. Bring sauce to a simmer over low heat. Nestle meatballs in sauce, cover and simmer for 40 minutes. Top with Parmesan cheese.
Notes
To make fresh bread crumbs, place a few bread chunks in a food processor and pulse to the desired crumb size. You can use almost any kind of bread; I usually have random pieces of bread in the freezer that I defrost, toast and cool before pulsing.

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Comments

    • Hi Kristi – I would try substituting ground gluten-free oats (or another gluten-free option) to help bind the meatballs. Enjoy!

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