• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Simply Delicious

  • Home
  • Recipes
    • Quick and Easy
    • Dinner Recipes
    • Lunch
    • Chicken Recipes
    • Meat
    • Baking Recipes
    • Dessert Recipes
    • Vegetarian
    • Gluten Free
  • Videos
  • In My Pantry
  • Contact
  • About
    • Privacy Policy

Home » Recipes » Dinner Recipes » Meatballs baked in Tomato sauce on Polenta

Meatballs baked in Tomato sauce on Polenta

April 26, 2013 by Alida Ryder 22 Comments

Pin
Share
Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Meatballs baked in tomato sauce on polenta

When I saw this recipe on one of my favourite blogs, Souvlaki for the Soul, a while ago, I knew I’d be giving it a go soon. I was just waiting for a cold day where the only comfort can be found in a bowl filled with delicious food.

Meatballs baked in tomato sauce on polenta

This recipe combines two of my absolute favourite things; Meatballs and soft polenta. I am a little obsessed with Polenta and I try to make use of this simple, versatile ingredient as much as possible during the colder months. It is perfect served with saucy, meaty dishes. I’ve heard a lot of people saying they don’t like polenta because of the texture and this is simply because they have not used enough liquid and they haven’t cooked the polenta for long enough. When undercooked, polenta will be quite grainy but when cooked properly, the grains are allowed to swell fully and the texture is rich, creamy and scrumptious.

Meatballs baked in tomato sauce on polenta

For the meatballs, I used the same recipe as for my Cheesy Meatballs baked in tomato sauce but left out the cheese as I wanted to top the finished dish with lots of grated Pecorino and fresh parsley. The end result was a delicious bowl of comfort food, perfect for the colder months.

Meatballs baked in tomato sauce on polenta

Meatballs baked in Tomato sauce on Polenta

4.74 from 19 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Entree, Main
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 4 -6
Author: Alida Ryder

Ingredients

for the meatballs

  • 500 g beef mince
  • 1 onion finely chopped and sauteed
  • 2 garlic cloves crushed
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • squeeze of lemon juice
  • salt & black pepper to taste

for the sauce

  • 2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
  • 1 x 400g tin tomato puree
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • salt & pepper to taste

for the polenta

  • 1 cup polenta
  • 2 cups stock
  • 2 cups milk
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 50 ml cream
  • salt to taste

to serve

  • Pecorino grated
  • fresh parsley finely chopped

Instructions

  • Pre-heat the oven to 180°C.
  • For the meatballs, combine all the ingredients and mix well.
  • Combine all the sauce ingredients and pour into a deep roasting dish/casserole dish.
  • Form medium sized meatballs and place into the roasting dish.
  • Place the dish in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until the sauce has reduced slightly and the meatballs are cooked.
  • To make the polenta, bring the stock and milk to a simmer and whisk in the polenta. Continue whisking until the polenta has started thickening then turn down the heat and allow the polenta to gently cook for 10-15 minutes.
  • Add the butter, cream and season with salt.
  • Serve the polenta with the meatballs and sauce topped with grated Pecorino and parsley.

 

Pin
Share

Filed Under: Dinner Recipes, Meat, Recipes

Subscribe

Previous Post: « Beetroot Tarte Tatin with Goat’s cheese cream
Next Post: Indian Sticky Chicken »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Gina Lopes

    May 14, 2021 at 8:11 AM

    We have now had this twice for dinner because we had meatballs from one of the meat boxes we get delivered. I can honestly say that based on my two renderings of this meal, it works with both beef and lamb meatballs and is just as delicious over polenta and creamy mashed potatoes. Thank you for another delicious recipe Alida. This has been copied in to our family cookbook (and referenced to you of course).

    Reply
    • Alida Ryder

      May 18, 2021 at 2:45 PM

      So wonderful to hear, thanks Gina!

      Reply
  2. Patricia

    August 25, 2019 at 5:26 AM

    I made these meatballs last night with only minor tweaking as I used shawarma spice mix, already made up instead of the individual ones you specified. I was late and in a rush to get dinner done
    I liked the look of the recipe because it didn’t require frying meatballs or cooking down a sauce and to be honest wasn’t sure if it would be tasty enough. I did add some peperoncini to the tomato mix
    And I will say emphatically, this was a seriously delicious meal. The meatballs and sauce were truly wonderful. And wow, the aromas in the kitchen were beautiful.
    And it is true comfort good with the polenta.
    So thank you for a simple but amazing recipe for a meal.

    Reply
    • Alida Ryder

      August 27, 2019 at 3:15 PM

      I am so pleased you loved this recipe Patricia. Thanks for your lovely comment.

      Reply
  3. Sara

    February 9, 2019 at 4:37 AM

    I made over mashed potatoes and it was delicious.

    Reply
    • Alida Ryder

      February 10, 2019 at 7:33 PM

      Delicious!

      Reply
  4. Tracy

    August 26, 2018 at 2:26 AM

    This really didn’t work for me. The tomato sauce didn’t thicken much at the low temperature and the polenta was very runny. In the end, I cooked it for 30 minutes and eventually gave up and served the meatballs with pasta. What did I do wrong?

    Reply
    • Alida Ryder

      September 3, 2018 at 8:33 AM

      It could be that the tomatoes you used were very liquidy, which would explain it not thickening. Different brands of polenta can sometimes behave differently. This is meant to be a softer consistency but definitely not runny. Add more polenta next time and it will firm right up.

      Reply
  5. Wendy

    October 3, 2016 at 7:29 PM

    Would it be possible to prep and freeze the meatballs like a few weeks ahead of time? If so, would you make any adjustments to the recipe or cooking times?

    Reply
    • Alida Ryder

      October 5, 2016 at 9:22 AM

      Yes, of course. I would cook them from frozen and would add around 10 minutes to the cooking time. The sauce might get a little watery from the frozen meatballs so you might want to simmer it uncovered to reduce a little.

      Reply
  6. Marina

    March 27, 2016 at 10:01 AM

    400g tomato paste??? wouldn’t it be too much for 500g miced meat?

    Reply
    • Alida Ryder

      March 27, 2016 at 11:12 AM

      Purée, not paste. Tomato purée is similar in consistency to passata. It’s much milder than tomato paste.

      Reply
  7. Gvela

    March 25, 2015 at 3:48 AM

    I don’t know where the polenta went wrong.. It was too damn liquidy! Was I was supposed to let the milk and stock boil and then add the polenta then let it simmer? Also saying to cube it first would have helped!

    Reply
    • Alida Ryder

      March 30, 2015 at 1:54 PM

      Gvela, did you use ready-cooked polenta? The polenta I used in this recipe did not need to be cubed as it is in raw form (almost like grits if you are from the States). And yep, you bring the milk and stock to a simmer and then whisk in the polenta before allowing it to cook until thick.

      Reply
      • sharon sacco

        November 1, 2018 at 3:30 PM

        can you use Corn Meal for the ingrediant for Polenta

        Reply
        • Alida Ryder

          November 1, 2018 at 4:13 PM

          Yes, Polenta and corn meal are pretty identical.

          Reply
  8. Rene

    May 17, 2013 at 3:26 PM

    I have to try polenta like this. I’ve only ever had Polenta that other people made, and it was horrible. I couldn’t understand why people would eat it. For me it tasted as if I was eating pap straight out of the packet.

    Reply
    • Alida Ryder

      May 22, 2013 at 1:23 PM

      Rene, this happens so often as people don’t cook polenta for long enough or with enough liquid. This way of cooking ensures soft, luscious polenta. 🙂

      Reply
  9. Brooke Schweers

    May 7, 2013 at 7:44 AM

    Yum this looks divine. Never though to serve meatballs over polenta but it makes perfect sense now!

    Reply
    • Alida Ryder

      May 7, 2013 at 8:21 AM

      Brooke, it is simply perfection. Such comfort food!

      Reply
  10. kelly leiva

    April 27, 2013 at 12:08 AM

    Is this baked covered? Sounds wonderful:)

    Reply
    • Alida Ryder

      May 1, 2013 at 11:08 AM

      Kelly, it isn’t. I like to leave it uncovered because the sauce gets to reduce and become rich and delicious.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Hi! I'm Alida, mom of twins and creator of Simply Delicious. I hope to encourage a love for cooking by creating fool-proof recipes that are easy and delicious. Read More…

Chicken Recipes

Hawaiian chicken skewers

Chicken Parmesan meatballs in tomato sauce with mozzarella

Chicken Parmesan Meatballs

Miso chicken noodle salad

Miso chicken noodle salad

Harissa grilled chicken wings

Curried Grilled Chicken Breast

Easy Curried Grilled Chicken Breast

Grilled chicken burgers

Easy Grilled Chicken Burgers

Seafood Recipes

Grilled garlic butter prawns

Grilled garlic butter prawns

Sticky honey sriracha salmon with coconut rice

Sticky honey sriracha salmon with coconut rice

Seared scallops with lemon caper sauce

Seared scallops with lemon caper sauce

Pasta vongole

Pasta Vongole

Conversion Chart

Simply Delicious conversion chart

DMCA Protection

Website Content Protection

Copyright © 2022 Simply Delicious on the Foodie Pro Theme Privacy