These homemade meatballs are hearty & flavourful and they’re covered in the tastiest tomato sauce made from scratch with love
F for failed hospitality classes
I’m the first to admit I can be a lazy cook. I mean, if there’s a shortcut to getting almost the same results, I’ll be doing it. You’ll never see me stress over imperfect julienne carrots.
This is probably why I scored so low on my hospitality test in high school. Instead of measuring my carrot sticks like we were supposed to, I eyeballed and chopped them. I then placed the good looking ones top of my pile.
When the judges came over to score our work, I died of embarrassment inside. She took out a pair of long tweezers and a ruler from her pocket. OMG, who even carries those things in their pocket? She then used the tweezers to flip over my perfect carrot sticks and exposed the ugly, uneven ones that were thin on one side and fat on the other.
With an arched eyebrow filled with judgement, she jotted something unfavourable onto her notepad about me and my poor carrots.
I’m totally impatient by nature, so I probably never make it to a commercial kitchen. Food doesn’t have to look perfect to me, it just has to taste damn good! I try my hardest with the plating for this blog because trust me; it doesn’t come naturally!
Made from scratch with a lot of love
As a proud, lazy cook, I used bottled tomato sauce plenty of times in during my uni days. It was cheap, convenient and back then I thought they tasted good!
How times have change! I don’t even own a bottle of pre-made sauce in my pantry. Homemade tomato and pasta sauce tastes 100% better! I love making my sauce, there’s just something so rewarding about it. Spooning up the sauce and tasting it along the way and tasting how the flavours develop is just wonderful.
At first glance, this recipe may look a little exhausting as the ingredients list is long but it’s a quite deceiving. Most ingredients are pantry staples that you may already have at home. Plus, cheap dried herbs make up for a few of the ingredients.
Also, you’re probably thinking ‘An hour’s cooking time?!, You must be kidding!’. HOLD UP, before you grab that store-bought sauce jar! This homemade tomato sauce is going to blow your mind, so it’s worth every second. This sauce is everything! Rich tomato flavour, creamy, herby, and the sauce clings beautifully onto each meatball.
I usually make large homemade meatballs with this sauce as it gives it the WOW factor when I’m serving it. One ball is approximately two tablespoons of mince. However, if you prefer smaller meatballs, just use a tablespoon of mince.
When things take a little longer to cook, I usually make a larger portion. This recipe serves up to 6 to 8 people. I usually freeze the leftovers if there are any, because my husband, Tomi, goes for gold. I swear he devours like 3 servings of my homemade meatballs at one sitting!
We have more homemade comfort recipes for you to try:
Chicken Provencal with potatoes
Pepper Beef and Mushroom Pie
Creamy Tuscan Chicken Thighs
Slow Cooked Ragu with 3 meat
Ingredients for Homemade Meatballs
FOR THE SAUCE
Passata (pureed tomatoes) – Passata is pureed tomatoes that have been strained to form a smooth consistency. Supermarkets usually stock passata near canned tomatoes and pasta sauces. You could swap passata for an equal amount of tinned crushed tomatoes.
Thickened cream (whipping cream) has gelatine added to it and contains 35% milk fat. To maintain a smooth, rich consistency, I don’t recommend using low-fat cream as it will thin out the sauce. You could swap thickened cream for an equal amount of pure cream.
Dried Italian herbs are premixed herbs usually comprising marjoram, basil, capsicum, rosemary, oregano, parsley and thyme.
FOR THE MEATBALLS
Beef mince (ground beef) – If possible, use good quality mince with some fat mixed in. The fat will make the meatballs tender and flavourful, whereas lean beef may cause the meatballs to taste a little dry.
Breadcrumbs – I used one-day-old white bread and blitzed them into breadcrumbs using a food processor.
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How to make Homemade Meatballs
Step-by-step guide with photos
Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large deep frying pan or in a saucepan. Add in the garlic and onions and stir-fry for a minute or until aromatic. Place in the carrot and stir-fry for 2 minutes, then add the tomato paste and stir-fry for a minute. Stir in the passata and water and bring it to a boil.
Reduce the heat to medium-low, then stir in the thyme, basil, Italian herbs, oregano, sugar and salt. Cover the sauce and cook for 30 minutes or until it’s thickened.
Meanwhile, prepare the homemade meatballs. Combine all the ingredients for the meatballs in a large bowl using your hands. For smaller-sized meatballs, scoop 1 tablespoon at a time, then roll them into balls. For larger ones like I’ve made, scoop 2 tablespoons.
Increase the heat to medium, then place the meatballs into the sauce in a single layer. Cover and cook the meatballs for 15 minutes for large meatballs and 8 minutes for the smaller ones. Don’t stir the sauce in between the cooking time as meatballs will fall apart.
Once the meatballs are cooked, stir in the cream and cook for two more minutes. Have a taste and adjust the salt and pepper to your liking.
Serving suggestions – These meatballs go amazing with crusty bread, pasta or just with your favourite salad.
Leftovers – Allow the meatballs to cool completely at room temperature, then transfer them into a sealed container and store them in the fridge for up to 4 days. They also freeze well for up to 2 to 3 months.
I’ve used a third-party application to calculate the calories and nutritional information, so please use this as an approximate guide only.
Cooking measurements are in Australian standard spoon and cup measurements. For specific details and conversions, visit our Australian Cooking Measurements page.
I would love your feedback and support if you made this recipe. To do this, please rate this recipe and provide a comment by scrolling down this page or by clicking that green circle on the bottom left. An email address is required (for spam), but it won’t be published. I would also love to see your dish, so don’t forget to tag me on my Instagram account ‘3catsfoodie’
Cheers – Cat T
Homemade Meatballs in AMAZING Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
For the tomato sauce
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 large brown/yellow onion (finely chopped)
- 1 large carrot (peeled and diced into small cubes)
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 700 gm passata (NOTE 1)
- ½ cup water
- 5 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves (not too packed)
- 1 tsp dried Italian herbs (NOTE 2)
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp sugar
- ¾ tsp salt
- ½ cup thickened cream (NOTE 3)
- salt and pepper to taste
For the meatballs
- 1 kg minced beef (ground beef) (NOTE 4)
- ¾ cup breadcrumbs (from 1 day old bread) (NOTE 5)
- 1 large egg
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tbsp tomato sauce (ketchup)
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp dried rosemary
- 1 tsp dried Italian herbs
- 1 tsp smoked paprika (or any paprika)
- 1 tsp thyme (fresh or dried)
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
- Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large deep frying pan or in a saucepan. Add in the garlic and onions and stir-fry for a minute or until aromatic. Place in the carrot and stir-fry for 2 minutes, then add the tomato paste and stir-fry for a minute. Stir in the passata and water and bring it to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low, then stir in the thyme, basil, Italian herbs, oregano, sugar and salt. Cover the sauce and cook for 30 minutes or until it's thickened.
- Meanwhile, prepare the meatballs. Combine all the ingredients for the meatballs in a large bowl using your hands. For smaller-sized meatballs, scoop 1 tablespoon at a time, then roll them into balls. For larger ones like I've made, scoop 2 tablespoons.
- Increase the heat to medium, then place the meatballs into the sauce in a single layer. Cover and cook the meatballs for 15 minutes for large meatballs and 8 minutes for the smaller ones. Don't stir the sauce in between the cooking time as meatballs will fall apart.
- Once the meatballs are cooked, stir in the cream and cook for two more minutes. Have a taste and adjust the salt and pepper to your liking.
