Spanish Meatballs – Albondigas Recipe
Spanish meatballs, albondigas, or tapas are the best meatballs in tomato sauce I’ve ever had; they are Spanish food at its best.
Prep Time20 minutes mins
Cook Time35 minutes mins
Total Time55 minutes mins
Course: Beef, Pork and Lamb
Cuisine: Spanish
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 565kcal
Meatballs:
- 1 lb ground meat a mixture of beef and pork, Note 1
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 egg
- 2 ½ tablespoons dried breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- ¾ teaspoon sweet paprika
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon hot paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Tomato sauce:
- 1 medium onion
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves
- 2 cans chopped tomatoes each weighing 400 g/ 14 oz
- ½ teaspoon fennel seeds Note 2
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 bay leaves
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- salt and pepper
Meatballs:
Make meatballs: Place the ground meat, grated garlic cloves, lightly beaten egg, dried breadcrumbs, parsley, sweet, smoked, hot paprika, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Mix well with your hand. Form between 30 and 35 small meatballs, about the size of a walnut.1 lb ground meat/ 450 g + 2 garlic cloves + 1 egg + 2 ½ tablespoons dried breadcrumbs + 2 tablespoons chopped parsley + ¾ teaspoon sweet paprika + ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika + ¼ teaspoon hot paprika + 1 teaspoon salt + ¼ teaspoon black pepper Fry meatballs: Heat the oil in a large skillet. Fry the meatballs (in two batches if necessary) until brown on all sides. This will take about 5 minutes. Remove the meatballs from the pan and set them aside.1 tablespoon olive oil
- The recipe serves 4 as a main dish and 8-10 as tapas. The nutrition is calculated for 4 servings.
- Fennel seeds: I strongly recommend using them; they add incredible flavor.
Serving: 1/4 of the dish | Calories: 565kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 43g | Fat: 38g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 22g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 176mg | Sodium: 788mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g