Pork Meatballs in tomato sauce with pasta is a great family dinner and super easy to prepare in just 40 minutes. Flavoured with basil, parmesan, and cumin, they go perfectly with the rich sweet tomato sauce.
I've made these with pork mince or ground pork, but this is a perfect recipe for using up leftover pork.
Other easy recipes for leftover pork include Pork Stroganoff or the takeaway classic Sweet and Sour Pork. For another great meatball recipe, try Lamb Meatballs with fruity couscous and homemade Tzatziki.
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Ingredients
Pork Meatballs need just a few simple ingredients.
- Pork Mince or ground pork. A higher fat content will make them more juicy.
- Breadcrumbs. A great opportunity to use up any leftover bread. One slice of bread makes about 25g or just under 1oz of breadcrumbs.
- Fresh Basil adds a lot of flavour or you could use 1 teaspoon of dried herbs for every tablespoon of fresh.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Get all your ingredients ready and follow these simple instructions.
Mix all the ingredients for the meatballs, except the olive oil, together in a food processor or a large bowl with your hands.
Take a heaped teaspoon of the mixture and mold it into a small balls about the size of a ping pong ball. (about 3cm across)
Heat a little oil in a large frying or skillet pan. When it is hot add the meatballs and fry for 1-2 minutes on each side. You may need to do this in batches. Remove them from the pan and put to one side.
Fry the onion over a low heat for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sweet smoked paprika and fry for another 2 minutes.
Add the tinned tomatoes, half the basil leaves, salt, and pepper, and using an empty tomato tin, 1 tin of water (or 400ml). Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
Return the meatballs to the pan and cook for 20 minutes. At the same time bring a large pan of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook as per the packet instructions.
Hint: Make all your meatballs the same size so they cook evenly.
Substitutions
Pork Meatballs is a simple recipe and you can easily make substitutions with some of the ingredients if you need to.
- Pork Mince - make these meatballs with other kinds of minced or ground meat such as beef or use half and half. Chicken and turkey mince can also be used but these meats don't contain as much fat so may be drier.
- Pasta - the most traditional pasta to serve with meatballs is spaghetti, but you could use any pasta or see Serving suggestions below for more ideas.
- Herbs - I've used basil as it has a nice sweet flavour but parsley or oregano also go well.
Variations
- Spicy - add chilli pepper flakes or a small amount of chilli powder to the meatball mix if you want to give them an extra kick.
- Gluten-Free - to make these pork meatballs gluten-free, replace the breadcrumbs with ground almonds and use gluten-free pasta.
- Quick Version - If you are short on time, you can make this recipe with good-quality pork sausages. Just cut the sausages up into bite-sized pieces. In the US, I would recommend using Italian sausages. Remove the sausage meat from the skins and roll the meat into balls. You might also like my Sausage Pasta Bake.
How to Bake Meatballs in the Oven
If you prefer, you can bake your pork meatballs in the oven. There are two main advantages to this.
- If you are cooking a large batch, it is quicker.
- Baking meatballs uses less oil.
Heat your oven to 200°C /400°F. Line a baking tray with a greaseproof or parchment paper. Place the meatballs on the trays so they are not touching and bake for 18 - 23 minutes. (timing will depend on the size of your meatballs). Check your meatballs are cooked with an internal cooking thermometer. Insert the thermometer into the middle of a meatball. The internal temperature for pork meatballs should be 74°C / 165°F. Alternatively, cut open a few and check that the juices run clear.
Can you cook raw meatballs directly in the sauce?
Short answer. Yes, you can! Cooking meatballs from raw in your tomato sauce without browning first takes longer, but you get nice tender meat and the flavour from the sauce slightly infuses the meatballs. Keep the sauce on a low simmer and don't stir it for the first 10 minutes or the meatballs will break up.
You should simmer them for 30 - 40 minutes. The safest way to check if meatballs are properly cooked is again to use a meat thermometer. Insert the thermometer into the middle of a meatball. The internal temperature should be 74°C / 165°F. Alternatively, cut open a couple. The meat juices should run clear.
Serving Suggestion
The most common thing to serve with pork meatballs is pasta and in particular, spaghetti. Serve with some grated parmesan cheese over the top and a few fresh basil leaves. Other serving suggestions :-
- Serve them in a baguette or a sub sandwich. You need bread with a thick crust to hold in all the sauce.
- They go well with Pitta bread or try this recipe for an easy 3 ingredient Flatbread.
- Although the sauce is a tomato one, you can also serve meatballs with Asian noodles. I would go for a thick noodle like an udon noodle.
- Rice goes well and can help to mop up the tomato sauce.
- Serve meatballs with mashed potato.
- For a lighter option, try a green salad or green vegetables.
- Courgette or zucchini noodles are a low-carb alternative to pasta.
Sustainability
All meat is not the same. Locally produced grass-fed, free range, or organic pork has a lower carbon footprint than industrially produced pork. If you have a local butcher, I would always recommend shopping there as your butcher will be able to tell you exactly where the meat has come from. Pork Meatballs are great for using up leftover pork and helping to reduce food waste.
Storage
Prepare these pork meatballs in advance and keep them in the fridge for 1 - 2 days uncooked. You can also prepare the sauce and just reheat it.
Once cooked, the meatballs can be stored in the fridge for 3 - 4 days. If you have used leftover pork, remember you should only ever reheat meat once. If you have already reheated them, why not eat them cold for lunch in a wrap with some salad?
Pork meatballs can be frozen uncooked for 6 months. Cooked meatballs can be frozen for 3 -4 months to keep the best quality.
Top tip
Don't overcook the meatballs or they will become too dry.
FAQ
You only need to brown meatballs for 1 -2 minutes on each side before adding them to the sauce. The meatballs will simmer in the sauce and carry on cooking. Larger meatballs will need longer cooking. You can check to see if they are cooked using an internal thermometer or cut them open to see if the juices run clear.
Yes, you can overcook meatballs and this will make them dry. Once your meatballs are cooked, you should remove them from the heat.
📖 Recipe
Pork Meatballs in Tomato Sauce with Pasta
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 700 g minced pork organic
- 25 g breadcrumbs organic (25g is about 1 slice of bread)
- 1 eggs organic, beaten
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin organic, fairtrade
- 2 tablespoon Parmesan cheese organic, grated, plus extra to serve
- 2 tablespoon fresh basil leaves organic, finely chopped
- 1 dash salt
- 1 dash black pepper organic, fairtrade, freshly ground
- 2 tablespoon olive oil organic, fairtrade
Sauce
- 2 red onions organic, peeled and diced
- 1 garlic cloves organic, peeled and crushed
- 2 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika organic
- 800 g chopped tomatoes organic, tinned
- 2 tablespoon fresh basil leaves organic, roughly torn
- 450 g spaghetti organic
Instructions
- Mix all the ingredients for the meatballs, except the olive oil, together either in a food processor or in a large bowl with your hands.700 g minced pork, 25 g breadcrumbs, 1 eggs, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 2 tablespoon Parmesan cheese, 2 tablespoon fresh basil leaves, 1 dash salt, 1 dash black pepper
- Take a heaped teaspoon of the mixture and mold it into a small ball about the size of a ping pong ball. (3cm across)
- Heat a little oil in a large frying pan and when it is hot add the meatballs and fry for 1-2 minutes each side. You may need to do this in batches. Remove them from the pan and put to one side.2 tablespoon olive oil
- Add the onion to the frying or skillet pan and fry over a low heat for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sweet smoked paprika and fry for another 2 minutes.2 red onions, 1 garlic cloves, 2 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika
- Add the tinned tomatoes, half the basil leaves, salt and pepper and using an empty tomato tin, 1 tin of water (or 400ml). Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.800 g chopped tomatoes, 2 tablespoon fresh basil leaves
- Add the meatballs and cook for 20 minutes.. At the same time bring a large pan of lightly salted water to the boil. Add the spaghetti and cook as per the packet instructions.450 g spaghetti
- Drain the pasta and serve immediately. Spoon the meatballs and sauce over the top, sprinkle with the remaining basil leaves and grated parmesan cheese.
Notes
How to Cook Meatballs in the sauce
Add the meatballs to the sauce on a low simmer. Don't stir the sauce for the first 10 minutes or the meatballs may break up in the pan. Simmer for 30 - 40 minutes. To check if meatballs are properly cooked, use a meat thermometer. The internal temperature should be 74°C / 165°F. Alternatively, cut open a couple. The meat juices should run clear.How to Bake Meatballs
Heat your oven to 200°C /400°F. Line a baking tray with a greaseproof or parchment paper. Place the meatballs on the trays so they are not touching and bake for 18 - 23 minutes. (timing will depend on the size of your meatballs). Check your meatballs are cooked with an internal cooking thermometer.Storing Pork Meatballs
You can prepare these meatballs in advance and keep them in the fridge for 1 - 2 days uncooked. You can also prepare the sauce and reheat it. Once cooked, the meatballs can be stored in the fridge for 3 - 4 days. If you have used leftover pork, remember you should only ever reheat meat once. Pork meatballs can be frozen uncooked for 6 months. Cooked meatballs can be frozen for 3 -4 months to keep the best quality.Nutrition per serving
The Nutritional Values are computer generated estimates based on industry standards and are provided as a helpful guide only.
Brenda
Didn't have any paprika so used Chilli Powder instead; but only ½teaspoon. It was fine !
Will try it again