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Skillet Meatballs with Tomato Sauce

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These easy Skillet Meatballs with Tomato Sauce are bursting to the seams with savoury flavour! They’re gently sautéed in a cast iron skillet to get a little colour and caramelly flavour. Then, they’re finished in the oven with a super easy  sauce – delicious on their own, in pasta or even on a sandwich!

Overhead shot of a skillet of meatballs with tomato sauce with basil.

Hi there!  How was your weekend? We had abnormally warm temperatures.  It rained and we lost all our snow.  For one a moment, I was thinking we were into spring.  A girl can dream!  Have you started any new shows lately?  Do tell!  You know I always love suggestions.  We’re in the middle of watching The Punisher on Netflix.  It’s based on a Marvel comic and I have been a fan of similar shows.  It’s been out for a little while but, boy, am I glad we started it.  There’s tons of action!  Have you seen this one?

Easy Homemade Meatballs Recipe

Ok, so onto these skillet meatballs!  These are made with simple items that you probably have on hand in your fridge and pantry. Garlic, onion powder, chili flakes and oregano give a good punch of flavour and the breadcrumbs soaked in milk lend some moisture.

A photo collage of the raw ingredients for skillet meatballs and tomato sauce.

The Secret to the Best Homemade Meatballs

The key to making meatballs is don’t handle them too much. I mean, form them but don’t overly handle them. Gently fry them in a skillet to get a little crust and colour.  These meatballs actually finish cooking in the skillet right in the sauce.   As they cook, they infuse flavour into the sauce and vice versa.  Hungry yet?

Raw meatballs on a sheet pan ready to go in the skillet to be cooked.

Size matters.  These are not your average meatballs!  I made ’em a little bit on the larger size (a small scoop, which is a little more generous than a tablespoon) because they do shrink down a little when cooked.  What you are left with is one delicious meatball and I’m pretty confident that you’re going to make again and again! With all the game day festivities coming up, they’re bound to make it to your table more than once.  Though, admittedly, I do not watch the sports.  I will, however, happily sit with you (or more likely alongside the food) and munch away 😉

A photo collage showing the cooking process of the skillet meatballs.

Best Tomato Sauce Recipe – a Little Secret

Like, these skillet meatballs the sauce is easy peasy.  Want to know a secret tip for a whole lotta flavour?  Add parmesan rind in the tomato sauce as it cooks.  Don’t throw that stuff away!!!  It seriously infuses flavour into the sauce and once you do it, there’s no going back.  Plus, you’re getting more bang for your buck when you buy that parmesan.  What’s not to love?

Of course, no meatball would be complete without some parm on top.  Garnish these beauties with a generous amount and eat up!

Grating fresh Parmesan cheese over the cooked skillet meatballs and tomato sauce.

A close up of skillet meatballs with a tomato sauce, garnished with basil and Parmesan.

Look how packed with flavour they are!  Plus, they are juicy and just plain delish!  What’s your favourite way to enjoy meatballs?

A close up of cooked meatball cut in half held up on a spoon.

 

Looking for more Italian Comfort Food Recipes?  Check These out!

Hope you enjoy these delicious meatballs with tomato sauce as much as we do!

Until next time, take care and chit chat again soon 🙂

P.S. If you missed my last recipe, you can check it out here.

P.P.S. If you think these meatballs with tomato sauce will make your belly happy too, please be sure to hit that little Pin button.  Many thanks, you guys! XO

Check out the recipe to these meatballs and tomato sauce below…

Skillet Meatballs {with Simple Tomato Sauce} - girlheartfood.com
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Skillet Meatballs

These easy Skillet Meatballs are bursting to the brim with savoury flavour! They're gently sautéed in a cast iron skillet to get a little colour and caramelly flavour. Then, they're finished in the oven with a super easy marinara sauce - delicious on their own, in pasta or even on a sandwich!
Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Keyword homemade meatballs, marinara sauce, Italian meatballs
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 12 meatballs
Calories 160 kcal
Author Girl Heart Food

Ingredients

Skillet Meatballs

  • 1 cup bread crumbs
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1.5 lb lean ground beef
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp chili flakes
  • 1/2 tsp dried oregano
  • 3 cloves garlic -minced
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 3 tbsp fresh parsley -roughly chopped
  • 1/2 cup parmesan -grated on small hole on box grater
  • 1-2 tbsp olive oil

Simple Tomato Sauce

  • 1 can whole san marzano tomatoes -28 oz or 828 ml can
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • small rind of parmesan cheese -about 2-3 inch, optional
  • 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Garnish

  • parmesan cheese -to taste
  • fresh basil -to taste

Instructions

Skillet Meatballs

  1. In a small bowl combine bread crumbs and milk. Lay to one side.
  2. In a large bowl combine ground beef, salt, black pepper, chili flakes, oregano, garlic, onion powder, parsley, parmesan and reserved bread crumb/milk mixture. Stir with hands to combine. Form into balls (I used a small scoop) and used 2 scoops per ball (about 1 generous tbsp. of meat). Place on wax paper lined baking sheet.
  3. In a 10 inch cast iron skillet on medium high heat add 1 tbsp. of olive oil. Working in two batches (6 balls per batch) gently brown meatballs about 2 minutes per side (4 minutes total). Note - they are not cooked at this point, just browned a little on the outside. Remove batch from cast iron pan and continue with second batch.
  4. Drain any excess grease. Add all meatballs to pan and top with tomato sauce mixture. Bake in 375 F oven for 30 minutes. Garnish with more parmesan cheese and basil. Enjoy as is, with pasta or on a sandwich!

Simple Tomato Sauce

  1. In a bowl combine san marzano tomatoes with tomato paste, sugar, salt and black pepper. Stir to combine. Pour over meatballs. Place parmesan rind (if using) in tomato sauce.
  2. After 30 minutes, remove parmesan rind and stir in balsamic vinegar.
Nutrition Facts
Skillet Meatballs
Amount Per Serving
Calories 160 Calories from Fat 45
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 5g 8%
Saturated Fat 2g 10%
Cholesterol 38mg 13%
Sodium 483mg 20%
Potassium 360mg 10%
Total Carbohydrates 10g 3%
Dietary Fiber 1g 4%
Sugars 3g
Protein 15g 30%
Vitamin A 5.2%
Vitamin C 6.3%
Calcium 9.2%
Iron 13.4%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

© Girl Heart Food.  All images and content are copyright protected. Please do not use any images without prior permission.  If you want to republish this recipe please do not list instructions. Rather, link directly back to this post. Thank you.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. These look so scrumptious and saucy! Though my diet is 95% pescetarian, I do have a bite or two of homemade meatballs when I make them for my husband, or when my Dad visits. Quality control 😉 Haha.

    Reply

  3. This just looks like the ultimate comfort food and thank you for the tip to add parmesan rind to the tomato sauce, I did not know about that! We have watched so much on Netflix over the holidays, The Punisher sounds great – we have not seen that yet! Have a nice weekend, Dawn!

    Reply

  4. Hi Dawn, being Italian means not being a stranger to anything in tomato sauce including meatballs. The way you have done them here has my mouth watering. I love the way a hot skillit just browns the outside releasing all those wonderful juices, then when you think you have skyrocketed to flavor town in comes a rich tomato sauce to coat those babies and now we have reached Nirvana. I would get a nice ciabata bun cut it in half and load it with these meatballs and a healthy amount of sauce. Maybe some arugula and fresh mozzarella and we are set to board the crazy food train. Great job on this recipe dawn. Have a wonderful week!
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    Reply

    • Hi Loreto! Reading your kind comment certainly put a big smile on my face! Thank you so much – that means a lot!! And a sandwich with these sounds perfect right about now 🙂 Have a wonderful week too!!

      Reply

  7. Oh I love meatballs with pasta during winters. And this one here looks delicious. Also amazing pictures! I adore cast iron utensils just as much as you do. 🙂

    Reply

  10. My husband loves meatballs, so I’m always looking for different recipes to try! And I really love the sound of parmesan rind in the tomato sauce. I’ve never heard of that, but it sounds great! Pinning for later (which will probably be this weekend!)

    Reply

  11. Yasss! I’m excited you posted this recipe because meatball sandwiches are one of my husband’s favorites! He always orders meatball sandwiches when we dine out for lunch, but I don’t think I’ve ever made him this type of sandwich at home! I’m going to surprise him with this recipe, I can’t wait to see his reaction!

    Reply

  13. Oh, how I wish it were Spring! The rain melted out snow as well but now it’s back again 🙁 I’d like to drown my sorrows into a huge bowl of these meatballs. There is just something to be said about homemade meatballs. These look like perfection!

    Reply

  15. This weekend, we are treating my parents to a homemade spaghetti. My dad loves meat sauces. I will have to try my hand at making these homemade meatballs for him! Happy Birthday Daddy! Thanks for the tip on not handling them too much. I probably would have made a mush out of them otherwise and then wonder what went wrong.

    Reply

  18. We had a super warm, rainy weekend here, too, Dawn…of course, then it got cold and turned all of that rainwater into a sheet of ice. Gotta love the winter, right? But, hey, on the bright side, winter means amazing comfort food, and these meatballs just sound like something that need to happen around here! You’re talking my kinda food language here! 🙂

    Reply

  19. Dawn, we had unusually warm weather this past Friday, but Saturday it blew away and we were back into operation 2-jackets-required-when-venturing-outside! It’s been a crazy winter here in my neck of the woods!
    But – stick-to-your-ribs and delicious meatballs like these would get my mind of that nasty weather outside. Love how flavor packed these are and finishing these off in the oven must make that sauce all sorts of concentrated delicious!
    I need to check out The Punisher on Netflix, I usually love most Marvel shows but hadn’t seen this yet – I’m currently in the first season of Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown – ever watched that?
    Hope you have a wonderful Tuesday and are staying warm! xoxo

    Reply

    • Haha! I got so exciting for the warm day, but then I remembered that it’s only just the start of winter. Oh well! The sauce is pretty amazing, I must say, and just what I want when it’s cold out (or any other day for that matter, lol). Parts Unknown? Freakin’ LOVE it!!! So good!! Stay warm too, my friend! XOXO

      Reply

  20. So delicious! I make lots of meatballs, everybody just loves them, so it is great to find new ideas, in this case the use of parmesan. Thank you for the Netflix tip, we got Netflix recently and haven’t watched regular TV at all ever since. So much nicer without the advertising and not having to watch the same movies on repeat… We’ve already found some good series, but it is very hard to choose, isn’t it, there are so many… 🙂

    Reply

  21. My husband will be very happy if I make this for him! He complains about the lack of meatballs in his life, haha! These look delic and you know I’m a fan of anything in a cast iron!! I haven’t seen the Punisher yet but have you watched Luke Cage? You might like that series if you’re a Marvel fan! PS – send me your spring weather!! XO

    Reply

    • I’m sure he would be 😉 They are pretty delish!! I haven’t seen Luke Cage, but heard it was good – will have to add to my list 🙂 Haha – I’d love to, but it’s freezing rain here today….ugh! Thanks Katherine! XO

      Reply

  22. My boy would flip out over these:) He loves meatballs and tomato sauce is his favorite:) I usually make meatballs with yogurt+baking soda or beer soaked bread crumbs and have never tried soaking the breadcrumbs in milk. Pretty excited to try next time I make some. Chris salutes you for using San Marzanos:). Have a wonderful week, Dawn!

    Reply

  26. Now this is some delicious comfort food! My husband is the master of making meatballs in our house and it’s always such a deliciously cozy dish! Your version looks so warm and hearty. Would love a big plate of this for lunch today! Pinned! Hope your Monday is off to a great start!

    Reply

  27. What’s it been? 24….28 hours since I knew these gorgeous orbs would be revealed? Not good for my heart! I love love love your recipe, my friend! And the note to add the rind to the sauce is a brilliant one! I want Sunday dinner at your house! Cheers! XOXO

    Reply

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