Meatballs with tomatoes in a frying pan. Tiny and delicious: meatballs in tomato sauce

Meatballs in tomato sauce will help complement the first course or replace a hearty side dish - 5 best recipes that have captivated many with their simplicity and at the same time sophistication. Small meat balls were traditionally added to soup to add satiety to the first dish and improve its taste. Now they are prepared as an independent dish, using various technologies and combining different products. What is the difference between meatballs and meatballs, how to cook them correctly - all this is in the best recipes from famous chefs.

Compared to meatballs, meatballs are called more elegant, harmonious and complete.

Traditionally, meat balls are made from:

pork – 550 g;
onions - 2 small onions;
garlic – 2 cloves;
sour cream – 30 ml;
tomato paste – 45 ml;
ground paprika – 1 tsp;
allspice, salt and bay leaf;
vegetable oil.

You need to prepare minced meat, add salt and pepper to taste. A pinch of nutmeg will help complement and improve the taste of the product. The minced meat must be thoroughly mixed and beaten a little to give it elasticity, airiness, lightness and uniformity. This will have a positive effect on the taste of the final product.

Small meatballs are formed from the minced meat - their size should not be larger than a quail egg.

To prevent meat from sticking to your hands during cooking, you need to constantly wet your fingers in clean water.

Pour oil into the frying pan, heat it and place the meatballs in the container, frying them on both sides until golden brown. While the product is being prepared, you need to mix sour cream, paste, spices in a separate container, pour clean water over them and simmer for 8 minutes. The finished sauce is then added to the meatballs, and they continue to simmer for another 15 minutes. The prepared dish is served warm, as an independent dish or as an addition to any side dish.

Cooking chicken meatballs in a frying pan

Even a novice housewife can cook chicken meatballs in tomato sauce.

To prepare the product you will need:

minced chicken or fillet – 400 g;
onion – 1 pc.;
carrot;
round grain rice – 100 g;
tomato paste – 2.5 tbsp;
mushrooms – 250 g;
sour cream – 2 tbsp.

Rice must be cleared of debris and rinsed under running water. Boil the cereal in boiling salted water until half cooked, cool, first straining off excess liquid. Add minced meat, ground onions and spices to the rice, mix everything and form meatballs. Fry them in a frying pan, first rolling them in flour.

In a separate frying pan, fry onions, chopped carrots, and mushrooms. Then add sour cream, pasta and a little meat broth. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Add sauce to meatballs and cook covered for at least 25 minutes, reducing heat. Serve to the table, garnished with greens.

From minced fish

For children and those watching their figure, you can add minced fish meatballs to the menu.

They are prepared from the following products:

fillet of any fish (hake, catfish) – 350 g;
bitter onions – 2 pcs.;
butter – 35 g;
flour – 60 g;
salt, spices;
carrot;
parsley root;
dry white wine – ¼ cup;
laurel;
tomato paste – 25 g.

Carrots and parsley root should be chopped and fried in vegetable oil. Pour in the pasta diluted in water, wine, season with black pepper, bay leaves and simmer for 2-4 minutes.

Remove skin and small bones from the fish fillet and grind together with the onion through a meat grinder. The minced meat should be peppered, salted, added the required amount of oil, kneaded and begin forming meatballs. Fry the balls, roll them in flour, in vegetable oil, then pour in the sauce and simmer for 5-7 minutes. Serve by adding parsley and dill.

Meatballs in tomato sauce in a slow cooker

In a slow cooker, this favorite product is prepared from:

ground meat – 500 g;
rice cereal – 100 g;
bulbs – 2 pcs.;
carrots – 1 pc.;
tomato paste – 1 tbsp;
homemade sour cream or cream – 40 ml;
sunflower oil, salt and spices.

First, the minced meat is prepared - it is mixed with ground onions, spices and salt. Afterwards, you need to prepare the sauce in a slow cooker by frying the onions and carrots in oil in the “Frying” mode, adding pasta, flour, and sour cream to them.

Form small balls from the minced meat, add to the sauce, pour boiled liquid over it. Cook in the “Stew” program for 35 minutes, then add spices and simmer for another 10 minutes.

In tomato-garlic sauce

You can prepare tender and juicy meatballs from:

minced meat – 0.5 kg;
chicken eggs – 2 pcs.;
white stale bread – 120 g;
milk – 0.5 cups;
cheese – 120 g;
spices and salt to taste;
garlic - a couple of cloves;
tomato paste – 30 ml;
vegetable oil.

You need to grate the required amount of cheese, chop the herbs, and soak the bread in milk. Mix the minced meat in a container along with eggs, bread, cheese, spices, herbs, form meatballs and place them on a baking sheet.

To prepare the sauce, you need to fry the onion and garlic, previously finely chopped, in oil, pour them with paste diluted in water, simmer, add meatballs. Simmer the meat balls covered for 30 minutes.

Choosing the right side dish for a dish

Of course, meatballs can be served as an independent dish, supplemented with vegetable salads or herbs. However, a properly selected side dish, which is quite simple to prepare, will help make the meal more satisfying.

Spaghetti with meatballs in tomato sauce

Spaghetti with meatballs in tomato sauce takes just over an hour to prepare. To prepare, take 300 ml of tomato sauce, a little olive oil, minced meat, onion, basil leaves, spaghetti, spices.

The dish is prepared as follows:

Small meatballs are prepared from minced meat, onions and spices.
Ready-made semi-finished products are fried in a frying pan, poured with sauce, and simmered for 8 minutes.
Spaghetti is boiled in salted water, poured with oil and sauce. Meatballs are placed on top.

Serve the dish immediately after cooking, garnished with basil leaves. You can serve the salad with cheese and olives separately.

Italian pasta

Pasta with meatballs in tomato sauce is the perfect addition to a family lunch or a romantic dinner.

Ingredients you need to stock up on:

paste – 250 g;
minced meat – 550 g;
onions, garlic;
sweet pepper;
parsley;
egg;
breadcrumbs;
sweet peppers, tomatoes;
olive oil;
salt and spices.

The minced meat is mixed with an egg, chopped onion, and spices. Balls are formed from the resulting mass, placed on a tray and refrigerated for about 15-25 minutes (this technique will help achieve a golden crust when frying).

Finely chopped garlic and pepper need to be fried, add previously blanched and ground tomatoes to them. Simmer for 10 minutes, add spices to taste.

While the sauce is being prepared, the meatballs are fried separately in a frying pan, placed in the gravy and simmered for 15-20 minutes.

Meatballs are a popular and... mysterious dish.

Different sources describe their difference from meatballs differently, and there is a lot of confusion in the recipes themselves.

The only thing they agree on is that “minced meat balls” smaller than a walnut are meatballs; anything larger is a meatball.

Perhaps another difference is that meatballs are often used to increase the satiety of soups.

Our selection of recipes includes meatballs as independent meat and fish dishes.

Meatballs in tomato sauce - general cooking principles

Meatballs are made from minced meat or fish; you can buy it ready-made in the store, or you can grind it yourself in a meat grinder. It is, of course, faster to cook from store-bought minced meat, but the taste of the dish is significantly different.

If you cook meatballs only from minced meat, they will turn out too dense and dry. Therefore, regardless of the type of meat or fish, to add juiciness and fluffiness, sautéed or raw, twisted onions, cheese, boiled rice, breadcrumbs or stale white bread soaked in milk are added to the minced meat.

With hands slightly moistened in water, the minced meat is formed into small balls, usually no larger than a walnut, and then prepared according to the recipe.

Tomato sauce is prepared from tomato puree, fresh tomatoes or tomato juice. Mushrooms and nuts ground into flour can be added to sauces for meatballs.

Separately add a little salt and a little pepper to the sauces and minced meat. They also add greens after chopping them, or sprinkle them on the dish when ready, before letting it brew.

You can cook meatballs in tomato sauce in a frying pan, in a saucepan, bake in pots or molds, tightly covering them with a sheet of foil.

Fish balls in tomato sauce

Ingredients:

400 grams of silver hake;

Half a head of bitter onion;

30 grams of butter sandwiches;

Flour - 2 tbsp. spoons, without a slide;

Salt, freshly ground pepper (black).

For the tomato sauce:

Carrots - 1 pc.;

White bitter onion - 1 head;

Half a small parsley root;

50 ml “Rkatsiteli”, “Aligote”, or other dry white wine;

Bay leaf;

30 gr. tomato puree.

Cooking method:

1. Peel the parsley root and carrots, grate with a coarse grater and fry in vegetable oil until lightly browned. Pour in tomato puree and wine diluted in one hundred milliliters of hot water, season with spices and boil for three minutes.

2. Through a fine wire rack in a meat grinder, twist the fish fillet, skinned and separated from bones, twice. The second time, add chopped and sautéed onion until translucent.

3. Season the minced fish, add a little salt, add softened sandwich butter, stir and knead the minced meat well.

4. Form the minced meat into small meatballs, roll them in flour and fry a little in heated sunflower oil.

5. Place in a deep frying pan, pour in the previously prepared tomato sauce and simmer covered for six minutes.

Meatballs in beef tomato sauce

Ingredients:

500 grams of beef pulp;

Medium sized bulb;

A glass (200 grams) of breadcrumbs, white;

Two chicken eggs;

A quarter cup of chopped parsley.

For the sauce:

500 ml tomato, thick;

Half a glass of chopped basil;

Two full st. tablespoons of pure, refined (olive) oil;

250 grams of tomatoes;

Garlic - 3 cloves.

Cooking method:

1. In a large saucepan, always with a thick bottom, heat the oil until smoking. Add garlic finely chopped with a knife and fry it for no more than a minute until softened.

2. Pour in tomato puree, add tomatoes cut into small cubes. Bring the tomato mixture to a boil, reduce heat and cook for 30 minutes.

3. Season with spices selected to your taste, salt and, after cooling slightly, beat the sauce until smooth with a blender or grind on a sieve.

4. Wash the beef in one piece thoroughly and dry it a little. Cut off excess films, veins and cut the meat into small pieces that can easily be put into a meat grinder.

5. Peel the onion, cut into slices and twist together with the pieces of beef through a fine sieve in a meat grinder once.

6. Mix the minced meat with white breadcrumbs; dark ones are not suitable, they give the meatballs a specific taste and smell. Add the eggs, slightly scrambled with a fork, and adding the parsley chopped with a knife, knead well. Don't forget to lightly salt the minced meat.

7. Lift the minced meat with a dessert spoon, form meatballs with your hands and fry them in small batches until a delicate golden brown crust is obtained. You need to fry quickly, over medium heat, after rolling the meat balls on all sides in flour.

8. Pour the prepared tomato sauce into the frying pan in which the meatballs were fried and heat it well over low heat. Lower the meatballs and simmer for 15 minutes.

9. Finely chop the basil, sprinkle the finished dish evenly with herbs and, covering with a lid, set aside for 10 minutes to let it brew.

Chicken meatballs in tomato sauce in pots

Ingredients:

450 grams of purchased minced chicken or breast (fillet);

Small onion;

120 grams of round grain rice.

For the sauce:

Tomato paste - 75 grams (3 tbsp);

Two medium carrots;

A small head of bitter onion;

Champignons, fresh - 300 grams;

2 tbsp. spoons of 20% sour cream.

Cooking method:

1. Select unhusked and damaged grains from rice and rinse the grains in running water under the tap. Place the rice in boiling, slightly salted water and cook until half cooked over low heat. Rinse again, discarding the rice in a colander and leaving it in it for a while, allowing all the water to drain completely.

2. Combine minced chicken twisted with one onion and boiled rice, add ground pepper, a little salt and mix well. When using fillet, it should be minced twice, and the onion should also be added the second time.

3. Roll the meatballs and immediately fry them in a frying pan in vegetable oil; before frying, lightly bread the meat balls in flour.

4. In a clean frying pan, fry the second onion chopped into small slices with coarsely grated carrots until lightly browned. Add mushrooms cut into small slices and, adding sour cream, simmer for up to 20 minutes. Two minutes before readiness, add tomato paste diluted in a quarter glass of water, stir and bring to readiness, add a little salt and pepper.

5. Place mushrooms fried in sour cream into pots and place meatballs on top. Fill everything with hot boiled water, you can take broth, and place the filled containers in the oven. Cover the pots with lids and cook at 180 degrees for 40 minutes.

Meatballs in tomato sauce in the oven

Ingredients:

Half a kilo of any minced meat;

Two fresh chicken eggs;

A small piece, about 100 g, of stale white bread, better than a loaf;

100 ml pasteurized milk;

120 gr. "Russian" cheese;

One-third cup of leaf parsley, chopped.

For the sauce:

Two small onions;

Three cloves of garlic;

50 grams of tomato paste;

One liter of tomato (thick) juice;

Four tbsp. l. vegetable oil.

Cooking method:

1. Pour milk over stale bread and let it soften for ten minutes. Select the crumb, squeeze out the milk, the bread should not be too wet, almost dry.

2. To the re-rolled minced meat, add the soaked crumb, eggs, finely chopped parsley, table salt, and a small pinch of pepper. Grate the cheese coarsely and mix everything well. For juiciness, you can add finely chopped onion sautéed in lean or melted butter.

3. Form balls from the prepared minced meat, place them in a deep baking container and place in a preheated oven. Keep the meatballs in the oven for seven minutes at 200 degrees.

4. Fry the garlic cut into small pieces in vegetable oil until softened, add the onion, chopped into slightly larger slices, and fry everything together for about five minutes.

5. Boil tomato juice in a small saucepan, add frying, fine salt, let it boil again and pour the sauce into a mold for lightly baked meatballs and cover with a sheet of foil.

6. Place the meatballs back in the oven and cook at 190 degrees for about fifty minutes.

Meatballs in tomato sauce with nuts

Ingredients:

Minced fish or meat - 500 grams;

80 grams of stale white bread;

One egg;

A glass of milk;

White salad onion - 1 head.

For the sauce:

200 grams of ketchup, variety at your discretion;

A small clove of garlic;

A third of a glass of breadcrumbs;

A handful of walnut kernels.

Cooking method:

1. Grind the nut kernels in a mortar or grind them into flour with a coffee grinder. Be sure to dry the nuts first, you can even fry them in a dry frying pan or oven and cool well.

2. Mix nut flour with breadcrumbs and fry until creamy in 2 tablespoons. spoons of butter. Add ketchup, stir and heat a little, no need to boil.

3. Fry the finely chopped onion until transparent and transfer, after cooling, to the minced meat. Add bread soaked in milk and slightly squeezed out, a small pinch of pepper, and salt. Pour in a little beaten egg, knead the minced meat, divide and form small balls from it - meatballs.

4. Fry the flour-breaded meatballs in vegetable oil until tender and transfer them to the gravy.

5. Carefully, so as not to crush, mix the meatballs with the sauce and simmer over low heat for five minutes under the lid.

Meatballs in tomato sauce - cooking tricks and useful tips

Meat for minced meat and minced meat should be ground with a manual meat grinder through a large grate installed on it.

For tomato sauce, it is best to use fresh tomatoes, but if you don’t have any, you can use canned tomatoes in your own juice or store-bought tomatoes.

When using fresh tomatoes or tomato paste, add at least half a teaspoon of granulated sugar to the sauce, it will turn out much tastier.

Leave the finished dish for 15-20 minutes with the lid closed to brew. The gravy will become thicker, and the meatballs will be better saturated with its taste and aroma.

To get a thicker gravy, add a little flour when sautéing the onions, mix well and only then add the liquid part.

Pasta with meatballs in tomato sauce is a classic of Italian cuisine, which we decided to present in four different and unique variations in the following recipes.

Ingredients:

pork - 1 kg;
white onion - 70 g;
bread breading - 40 g;
dried basil and oregano - 3 g each;
tomatoes in their own juice - 400 g;
meat broth - 240 ml;
garlic cloves - 4 pcs.;
grated parmesan.

Preparation

Pass the pork through a meat grinder along with onions, add breading, herbs and spices. To make the meatballs easier to mold, beat the minced meat on a table or plate, divide into portions, roll into balls and put in the freezer for about 20 minutes. When removed from the freezer, the meatballs should easily hold their shape so that they can be fried, leaving them round and not turning into cutlets. Fry the meatballs not until cooked, but until they have a distinct golden brown crust.

Simmer the tomatoes in the broth until a thick sauce forms. Add the crushed garlic and salt to the sauce, add the meatballs and cover the pan with a lid. Simmer the meatballs in tomato-garlic sauce until tender, sprinkle with cheese and serve.

Fish balls in tomato sauce - recipe

Ingredients:

For the meatballs:

fish fillet - 500 g;
champignons - 130 g;
grated ginger - 3 g;
green onions - 5 feathers;
bread breading - 20 g;
starch - 15 g;
egg - 1 pc.

For the sauce:

olive oil - 35 ml;
tomato paste - 62 g;
garlic cloves - 2 pcs.;
water - 120 ml;
parsley.

Preparation

Separate the selected fish fillet from the bones and skin, mix it with finely chopped champignons and poached in a frying pan. To give the minced meat a slight spiciness, add grated ginger, and to prevent the meatballs from falling apart during baking and further stewing, beat an egg into the minced meat and add a mixture of starch and breading.

Divide the minced fish into equal-sized portions and roll each into balls. Place the balls on a sheet of parchment and bake for 20 minutes at 170°C.

While the meatballs are in the oven, we have the opportunity to make the sauce. For the sauce, fry the garlic in olive oil for about 30 seconds, mix it with tomato paste, add water and leave to thicken for 10 minutes. Add parsley and meatballs to the sauce, keep the pan on the fire for about 15 minutes, and then remove and serve.

Chicken meatballs stewed in tomato sauce with cream

Ingredients:

For the meatballs:

chicken - 650 g;
boiled rice - 90 g;
egg - 1 pc.;
white onion - 70 g;
garlic clove;
flour - 80 g;
vegetable oil.

For the sauce:

butter - 50 g;
flour - 25 g;
chicken broth - 480 ml;
sour cream - 80 g;
tomato sauce - 110 g;
paprika - 5 g.

Preparation

Pass the chicken through the middle grill of the meat grinder along with the onion, add spices and boiled rice to the minced meat. To bind, beat the egg into the mixture, add the crushed garlic into the paste and a little oil. Make meatballs of equal size from the prepared mixture and roll them in flour.

Heat the oil in a frying pan and brown the meatballs in it, then transfer them to a plate.

Mix tomato sauce with sour cream. Saute the flour in butter and dilute it with broth. Season the sauce with paprika and add sour cream and tomato sauce. When it thickens, place the meatballs in it and cover the pan with a lid. Now all that remains is to cook the meatballs in tomato sauce over low heat for 12-15 minutes or until fully cooked, stirring them occasionally to coat them evenly with the sauce.

Before serving, the dish can be drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with fresh parsley or oregano.

Minced meat - 300 grams;

Onion - 1 piece;

Garlic - 3-4 cloves;

Tomato paste - 1 tbsp;

Ground paprika - 1 tsp;

Red pepper - to taste;

Sunflower oil - to taste;

Dill, parsley - 0.5 bunch;

Sugar - optional.

167 kcal

Cooking process

Meatballs in tomato sauce are a delicious homemade comfort food that goes well with any breakfast or dinner side dish. You can add your favorite spices and herbs to the meatballs. The sauce can also be varied and include sweet red peppers in addition to tomatoes. I only used tomato.

To prepare meatballs in tomato sauce, we need minced meat, onion, garlic, tomato, tomato paste, paprika, red pepper, herbs, salt and sunflower oil.

Step-by-step video recipe

Place the minced meat in a bowl, add half a finely chopped onion, chopped garlic and herbs. Add salt, paprika and red pepper. Mix all the ingredients well, beat out the minced meat and let it sit for 15 minutes.

Form the minced meat into meatballs.

Heat sunflower oil in a frying pan, add meatballs and fry them a little on all sides. There is no need to fry it, just lightly brown it. Then remove them from the pan.

Cut the second half of the onion and tomato into cubes, after removing the skin from it. Sauté the onion, add chopped tomato and fry a little.

Add tomato paste to the pan and pour in a glass of hot water, mix well. Add salt and pepper to the sauce to taste, taste and add sugar if necessary. I added 1 teaspoon.

Place the meatballs in the sauce, cover with a lid and simmer for 15 minutes over low heat.

Meatballs in tomato sauce are a delicious homemade comfort food that goes well with any side dish for breakfast or dinner. You can add your favorite spices and herbs to the meatballs. The sauce can also be varied and include sweet red pepper in addition to tomatoes. I only used tomato.

To prepare meatballs in tomato sauce, we need minced meat, onion, garlic, tomato, tomato paste, paprika, red pepper, herbs, salt and sunflower oil.

Form the minced meat into meatballs.

Heat sunflower oil in a frying pan, add meatballs and fry them a little on all sides. There is no need to fry it, just lightly brown it. Then remove them from the pan.

Cut the second half of the onion and tomato into cubes, after removing the skin from it. Sauté the onion, add chopped tomato and fry a little.

Add tomato paste to the pan and pour in a glass of hot water, mix well. Add salt and pepper to the sauce to taste, taste and add sugar if necessary. I added 1 teaspoon.

Place the meatballs in the sauce, cover with a lid and simmer for 15 minutes over low heat.

You can serve it with any side dish, such as spaghetti. Pour tomato sauce over them and place meatballs on top.

Bon appetit!