Italian Beef Meatballs In Rich Tomato Sauce
These classic Italian-American style meatballs are juicy and soft! They’re made with ground beef and loaded with herbs and parmesan cheese, and then incorporated with tomato. Served with your pasta of choice this is a simple and easy dish to prepare.
What is Makes This a Great Dish?
We had this dish with spaghetti which is one of our favorite kinds of pasta – and because the meatballs had been cooked in the tomato herb mix under pressure their flavor was just amazing – so that is what makes this dish special – follow our recipe and you will taste the best meatballs you have ever had!
This dish will go well with any sort of pasta. They’re really tender and taste great served over pasta and sprinkled with parmesan cheese. This is an easy recipe to make and very quick to cook.
Table of Contents
Key Spices and Ingredients for Italian Beef Meatballs
Paprika
Paprika in its basic form is made from ground sweet pepper pods and creates a bright red powder. Normal paprika has deep blood red color and a flavor of sweet and mild hot.
Worcestershire Sauce
Worcestershire sauce is a fermented liquid sauce created in the city of Worcester in Worcestershire, England during the first half of the 19th century. It is also known as Lea & Perrins. Its flavor complements the beef nicely.
Basil
Different varieties of basil all have their own flavors. Sweet basil starts with a slight peppery note and finishes with its distinctive sweet anise essence. Purple basil is more savory, while Thai basil (some- times called pepper basil) is known for its anise notes. While lemon basil, which is harder to find, has a citrus flavor.
We also have a great Beef Bourguignon recipe that is worth a try.
Italian Beef and Herb Meatballs Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Beef Mince 1kg
- 4 Button Mushrooms
- 3 cloves Garlic
- 1 med Onions
- 3 strips bacon
- 2 med Carrot
- 2 sticks Celery
- 28 oz crushed tomatoes 800g
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper ground
- 1 teaspoon dried basil fresh if you have it
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley fresh if you have it
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano fresh if you have it
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme fresh if you have it
- 1 tablespoon lea and Perins
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup beef stock
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 pinch chili or cayene to your taste
- 1 bay leaf if you have it
- 1 tablespoon sugar
Instructions
- Mix in the parmesan cheese to the beef mince
- Mix in the herbs to the mince (Can also use mixed or Italian herbs if you do not have all the individual herbs)
- Mix in Salt and pepper
- Mix by hand folding back and forth making sure they are well mixed – see the video and photos
- Make the meatballs – you can use an ice cream scoop to get them all the same size
- Slice mushrooms
- Dice carrot, celery, garlic, and onion
- Put in the Instant Pot the vegetables and the bacon at the same time and gently cook (sweat) the vegetables
- Add tomato paste and mix with the cooked vegetables
- Then add the wine and mix again
- Then add the crushed tomatoes, beef stock, Lea – Perrins, paprika, sugar, and mix
- If you want you can add a little chilli or cayenne pepper to taste
- Put the Meat balls in the mix and gently stir so they are well wet
- Put on the lid and cook for 15 mins high pressure 10 mins natural release
- After cooking taste the tomato sauce and add salt, pepper, and if necessary a little more sugar if the taste is too tart. (Tomatoes can cause the sauce to be a little tart or sour and just a very small amount of sugar fixes this.)