At parties, people love to eat this veggie dip. I’ve taken over making it because my mother used to do it for me. Serve alongside your preferred raw vegetables.
| Prep Time: | 25 mins |
| Cook Time: | 1 hr 40 mins |
| Total Time: | 2 hrs 5 mins |
| Servings: | 6 |
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¾ cup chopped onion
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 (28 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon white sugar
- 1 large bay leaf
- 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 basil leaves, torn, plus additional for sprinkling on top
Instructions
- Make the meatballs: Mix ground beef, bread crumbs, parsley, beaten egg, Parmesan cheese, garlic, and pepper in a large bowl until well combined. Form into 12 balls. Cover and refrigerate until needed.
- Make the sauce: Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion; cook until translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes, salt, sugar, and bay leaf. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 1 hour.
- Stir in tomato paste, pepper, and basil; stir in meatballs. Simmer on low heat until meatballs are cooked through, about 30 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 160 degrees F (71 degrees C).
- Discard bay leaf before serving.
- This recipe is a healthier version of
- .
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 374 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 29 g |
| Cholesterol | 81 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 6 g |
| Protein | 22 g |
| Saturated Fat | 6 g |
| Sodium | 1552 mg |
| Sugars | 11 g |
| Fat | 21 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
love how simple and delicious this recipe is! i added just a bit of red chili powder to give it a kick… my hubby loves this and keeps asking for me to make it again!
This recipe is terrible. The meat balls don’t hold together in the sauce. After an hour and a half of cooking there is not any sauce left . I needed a lot of modification to make it possible
Made this for VBS, we were leaning on trying to make healthier dinners for the children. This was a big hit! I mean BIG. they loved it. They had no idea that I served it with veggie spaghetti. thanks
fab recipe my 3 year old and her friends cleaned there plates! recommend highly x
Simply and delicious. Certainly a “go-to” recipe from now on.
I made the recipe as instructed except used one and a half teaspoon salt and one half teaspoon sugar. I used 90% lean beef for the meatballs and doubled the meatballs recipe. When I tried to roll the meatballs, though; I was unable to obtain the right texture. Even though I used half the meatballs in the sauce, the meatballs took much longer than 30 minutes to cook through. Next time I will make a few changes: less olive oil, ground meat that is not so lean, italian seasoning for meatballs, and oregano for the sauce, and continue to use less sugar. The extra serving of meatballs I baked and saved for appetizers and sandwiches.
The only thing I did different with this recipe is I didn’t have plain breadcrumbs so I used Italian breadcrumbs. I have tried & failed several times in the past to make meatballs that pass the muster of my picky husband & son. This recipe is a hit & makes me happy that I can finally make meatballs that the whole family enjoys. Thanks!!
Made this for my roommates and had rave reviews! The only thing I did differently was to add about 1/2 as much tomato paste as I prefer a thinner sauce.
This is very close to my favorite sauce recipe except I use no-salt tomatoes and paste and add garlic and onion powder and Italian seasoning to taste-absolutely yummy!
I only used the spaghetti sauce part of the recipe and it was easy and delicious.
This is a very fresh tasting sauce and the meatballs are good. Before adding the meatballs, crush any whole tomatoes that have not broken down.
Pretty tasty but I have to say I did not use 1/4 Cup olive oil. Even though it is a good for you fat, it still packs a punch in calories.