Ricotta Meatballs

Celebrate National Meatball Day

March 9 is National Meatball Day. Although in my house we could make it a weekly holiday LOL.

Now, if you've got some make-ahead meatballs in the freezer, go with that. But I wanted something new, so I decided to make Ricotta Meatballs.

Where did meatballs come from?

First, a little history. While many people think that meatballs came to the United States from Italy, that isn't the case. As far as historians know, meatballs were first created around the 2nd century B.C in China. From there, it's believed that the meatball moved across the Mideast and finally traveled trade routes to make it throughout Europe. Spaghetti and meatballs were actually an invention of Italian-Americans. Later on, these Italian-Americans would introduce meatballs to Italy. Today, just about every culture on the planet has its own form of meatball recipe. (holidayscalendar.com)

If you'd like to try another type of meatball, check out this recipe for lamb over rice. With Middle East origins, it's yet another way to enjoy meatballs!

How to make Ricotta Meatballs

I have to admit, I never would've thought to use ricotta cheese in a meatball, but when I saw this recipe on allrecipes.com, I was hooked! The cheese creates an unexpected tenderness in the meat mixture. In fact, my guy compares it to veal. I'm not sure he believes that it only uses ground beef!

In addition to the ricotta cheese, this meatball mix is flavored with onion, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper. Bread crumbs give structure and a beaten egg helps hold it all together. Pretty simple, really. Or, if you have a preferred combination of spices, go with that.

Once you form the meatball mixture into balls, fry them up in a big skillet.

I then add marinara sauce right to that same skillet. I appreciate anything to reduce the dishwashing chore, right?

Serving ideas for Ricotta Meatballs

Placing these tender meatballs into marinara sauce makes a wonderful, melt-in-your-mouth dish to serve many ways.

Are you low carb? The sauce works great on zoodles or spaghetti squash.

You can grab some hoagie rolls and serve as sub sandwiches.

Or of course you can serve on spaghetti noodles - always well received!

These ricotta meatballs are easy, tender and very tasty!

Have more ricotta? Consider using it to make an Italian Ricotta Cake with Chocolate Chips for a delicious dessert!

If you love to try meatballs different ways, look at meatballs with grape jelly and BBQ sauce, an easy holiday appetizer. Or maybe you'd like some Xiu Mai, also known as Vietnamese meatballs. They are savory and slightly sweet, making them a perfect appetizer or main dish.

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Ricotta Meatballs

The most tender and delicious meatballs ever!

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time40 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr

Course: Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: 8

Calories: 314kcal

Author: Sula

Ingredients

• ½ medium onion minced (or one small)
• 4 TB olive oil divided
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 cup ricotta cheese whole milk
• ¼ cup packed chopped Italian parsley
• 1 egg beaten
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper or to taste
• ⅓ cup dry bread crumbs
• 1 28 oz jar marinara sauce
• 1 cup water

Instructions

• Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the onion and sauté about 5 minutes, until the onion is translucent. Add the garlic and turn off the heat. Transfer mixture to a large mixing bowl.
• Add ground beef, ricotta cheese, parsley, egg, salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Stir with the onion mixture until almost combined, then add the breadcrumbs and continue to mix until thoroughly blended.
• Roll about 2 tablespoons of mixture (I used a small cookie scoop) into a one-inch ball. Continue with all the mixture to form the meatballs.
• Pour 2 tablespoons olive oil into the same skillet used to cook onions. Place skillet over medium heat and add the meatballs. Brown meatballs on all sides in the hot oil, about 5 minutes. If the pan contains excess grease, use a crumpled paper towel held by tongs to remove grease from the skillet.
• Pour marinara sauce and water over the meatballs in the skillet. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to simmer stirring occasionally for about 30 minutes until meatballs are cooked through and no longer pink in the center.
• Serve with pasta or rolls for a meatball sandwich.

Nutrition

Calories: 314kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 76mg | Sodium: 917mg | Potassium: 545mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 596IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 102mg | Iron: 3mg

Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data.

Love meatballs? Grape Jelly BBQ meatballs are an ever-popular classic!