Easy Bacon Meatballs with Creamy Polenta
These savory bacon meatballs are so juicy and delicious served over creamy polenta. Such a cozy, warming comfort food meal and so simple to make.
Ingredients And Substitutions
The addition of cooked bacon to these meatballs not only ensures they are incredibly succulent but also adds great flavor, along with the Italian herbs and fresh garlic.
- Bacon. I used streaky bacon.
- Onion.
- Fresh garlic cloves.
- Ground beef / beef mince.
- White bread.
- Milk.
- Egg.
- Dried Italian herbs/Italian seasoning. If you can’t find Italian herbs, use a tablespoon of oregano, thyme, basil and marjoram mixed together.
- Salt and black pepper.
Tips For Making Bacon Meatballs
- Cook the bacon until crisp with the onion and garlic. The crispy bacon is key to getting that delicious flavor in every bite.
- Soaking white bread in milk is an old secret to ensuring your meatballs are impossibly moist and juicy. Don’t skip this step!
- Mix the meatball mixture well then fry into meatballs with wet hands. This prevents the meat sticking to your hands.
- Sear the meatballs well until deeply golden brown. This Maillard Reaction adds so much depth of flavor. Any sticky bits on the bottom of the pan will also add heaps of flavor to the tomato sauce.
Can I Make This Ahead?
Meatballs are a great meal prep recipe as they last for up to 3 days in an airtight container in the fridge and re-heat very well. The meatballs can also be formed and frozen in a single layer on a baking sheet then transferred to a freezer bag for up to 3 months.
Serving Suggestions
Meatballs are so versatile and can be served in a variety of ways. I love serving them over creamy polenta when I want comfort in a bowl but they work well served over cooked spaghetti, over creamy mashed potatoes or with crusty bread to mop up all the sauce. Garlic bread is also a family favorite. These meatballs would work well in a meatball sub too!
Ingredients
For the meatballs
- 6 strips streaky bacon finely chopped
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 slices white bread
- ¼ cup milk
- 500 g (1lb) ground beef / beef mince
- 2 tsp Italian herbs / Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp salt & pepper to taste
For the tomato sauce
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 800 g (28oz) crushed tomatoes
- ½ cup fresh basil leaves
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Start by cooking the bacon, diced onion and minced garlic together in a large pan set over medium-high heat until the onion is soft and the bacon is starting to crisp.
- Remove from the pan and add to a large mixing bowl. Allow to cool.
- Cut the crusts off the white bread then place in a small bowl. Pour the milk over the bread and allow to soak for 5 minutes.
- Once the bacon is cool, add to a large mixing bowl along with the soaked bread, beaten egg, beef and all the seasoning.
- Mix well then form meatballs with wet hands. This prevent the meatball mixture from sticking to your hands. You can also use an ice cream scoop to portion out the meatballs and form them lightly.
- Cook the meatballs in a large, deep skillet or pan over medium-high heat in a splash of olive oil until golden brown on all sides.
- Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Make the tomato sauce in the same pan by sautéing another chopped onion, garlic and fresh basil then pour in two cans of crushed tomatoes and a half can of water.
- Season with salt and pepper then bring to a simmer and add the meatballs.
- Cook for 15 minutes until the meatballs are tender and cooked through then serve over cream polenta topped with Parmesan cheese.
How many meatballs does this make?
10-12 depending on their size.
Love the recipe but wtf is the polenta part
What do you mean?
I love meatballs, and this is a wonderful way to feature them, thank you, a nice change from a pasta pairing!
Delicious.