3-meat & Ricotta Meatballs in Tomato sauce on Spaghetti

Moist and flavourful ricotta meatballs baked in a quick and easy marinara (tomato) sauce served on al dente spaghetti topped with fresh ricotta and parsley.

3-meat & Ricotta Meatballs in Tomato sauce on Spaghetti

I’ve made no secret over the last few years that I just love meatballs. I make them often and I am always trying to improve on my recipes. So last week when I made my first batch of home-made Ricotta cheese, I wanted to use it in a way I had never done before. Enter Ricotta meatballs!

I thought of serving the ricotta on top of the pasta, which I did at the end as well, but also decided to mix some of the ricotta cheese into the meatball mixture. I know how deliciously light the ricotta made my Ricotta blueberry pancakes and thought it might do the same with the meatballs. And I was right! These ricotta cheese meatballs were light as a feather.

3-meat & Ricotta Meatballs in Tomato sauce on Spaghetti

I also amped up the flavour by using three different meats for the meatballs. I used lamb mince, lean beef mince and pork that I minced myself as I couldn’t find ready-made pork mince at the supermarket. The combination of meats ensured for one super juicy and delicious meatball recipe.

The ricotta kept everything moist and light and baking the meatballs in the tomato sauce resulted in a meatier version of marinara sauce to serve over the spaghetti. Very much similar to my Cheesy baked meatballs I made a while ago.

3-meat & Ricotta Meatballs in Tomato sauce on Spaghetti

I served the meatballs and marinara sauce on good old spaghetti and added loads of fresh ricotta and parsley over the top before serving and it was a meal to be remembered. Perfect for this time of the year when comfort food becomes a daily necessity!

I know the amount below make a lot of meatballs but I like to cook all the meatballs and then place the left overs in the fridge. They never last very long and are so delicious served inside a toasted baguette to make a quick meatball sub or stuffed inside a pita with some salad ingredients for a quick lunch. You could also make the mixture and form the meatballs and then freeze them raw. Simply drop them in the tomato sauce from frozen, et voila!

3-meat & Ricotta Meatballs in Tomato sauce on Spaghetti

3 meat ricotta meatballs

Moist and flavourful ricotta meatballs baked in a quick and easy marinara (tomato) sauce served on al dente spaghetti topped with fresh ricotta and parsley.
5 from 4 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Dinner, Meat, Meatballs
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Author: Alida Ryder

Ingredients

  • 500 g beef mince (ground beef)
  • 500 g lamb mince (ground lamb)
  • 500 g pork mince (ground pork)
  • 2 red onions, finely chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 cup fresh bread crumbs
  • 1 cup chopped parsley
  • 1 cup fresh ricotta cheese
  • 2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 2 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 2-3 tsp salt
  • pepper, to taste

For the tomato sauce

  • 2 400g/14oz cans chopped tomatoes
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp fresh thyme
  • black pepper, to taste

To serve

  • cooked spaghetti
  • fresh parsley

Instructions

  • In a frying pan, fry the red onion and garlic in a bit of olive oil, until soft and translucent. When cooked, remove from the pan and set aside.
  • In a large bowl, combine the meats, cooked onions, bread crumbs, parsley, ricotta, spices, salt & pepper and mix well. To make sure the seasoning is correct, fry a teaspoon of the mixture in the same pan you fried the onions and taste. Adjust seasoning as necessary.
  • With wet hands, form golf ball-sized meatballs and place on a tray lined with clingfilm/tin foil. When all the meatballs have been formed, place the tray in the fridge and allow the meatballs to rest for 20-30 minutes.
  • Pre-heat the oven to 200°c.
  • After 30 minutes, heat a large frying pan and add some olive oil. Fry the meatballs in batched until golden brown all over.
  • In the meanwhile, prepare the sauce and pan for baking the meatballs. Simply pour the tinned tomatoes into a large baking dish. Add the sugar, salt, thyme and pepper and mix well.
  • As the meatballs come out of the frying pan, place them in the tomato sauce. When all the meatballs are in the tomato sauce, place the baking dish in the oven and allow to bake for 25-30 minutes until the meatballs are cooked through and the tops have darkened slightly.
  • Serve the meatballs and sauce over cooked spaghetti and top with more fresh ricotta and parsley.

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6 Comments

  1. I’ve made yr cheesy meatballs a few times already. Family loves them so will definitely be giving these a try. Going to try making the ricotta too.