I might or might not have mentioned it before – I am a big fan of »everything meatballs«. No matter if it’s actual meat or a plant-based alternative ;) I like them as a snack during the day or when used in a recipe like this one here. These Italian Baked Meatballs (with Rice) are extremely delicious and super easy to prepare. The perfect dish if you don’t want to invest a lot of time in the evening… which is pretty much every day of the week for me ;P
After a busy day at work, only a few people want to spend extra hours in the kitchen to prepare dinner – am I right?! The faster you get dinner done, the better ;P I am one of these people. Unlike many others my workday is actually happening in the kitchen to bake stuff, to take pictures, to organize stuff… so I actually like to spend time in the kitchen. But there is a limit to that. Even for me ;) So getting dinner on the table in only a few minutes is the goal!
To avoid falling into the »I am tired – let’s order something« trap, simple and quick dishes are perfect. Well… these meatballs are not really ready in 5 minutes, but the time you have to invest is pretty short. A big chunk of the time that is needed to get the meatballs onto your plates is the time they spend in the oven… time you can use efficiently to do other things like doing the laundry, cleaning dishes, or picking the next Netflix show to watch – I know from experience, that this can take a while ;P
Well. You could prepare the meatballs some time in advance if you want to (or if you need to). This will give you some additional time later in the evening to do other stuff. You can easily prepare the meatballs and store them in the fridge until they are ready to go into the oven… just don’t overdo it. It’s fine for minced meat to sit in the fridge for a few hours but not a whole day ;)
I made some rice along with the meatballs, but you can also make some pasta instead. As you can see on the photos, the tomato sauce is cooking down quite a lot in the oven. If you need more sauce to be happy, you might want to use more chunky tomatoes or add some tomato passata as well to the sauce. The meatballs will be floating a bit at the beginning, but in the end you will have more sauce for your rice or pasta ;)
By the way, the meatballs still taste great the next day. So you don’t have to empty the whole casserole dish… even if the temptation is quite big. If you don’t have any rice or pasta left for the meatballs the next day, you can, of course, cook some more – but you could also make some meatball sandwiches. A great dish for lunch ;)
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
(4 servings)
1 large onion, finely diced
2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
17.6 oz. (500g) minced meat (beef & pork mixed)
1 tsp. paprika powder
2 tsp. dried oregano (divided)
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. veggie broth powder
1 can (14 oz./400g) chunky tomatoes
2 tbsp. sour cream
salt, pepper
some cherry tomatoes (optional)
4.4 oz. (125g) mini mozzarella balls
serve with your favorite pasta or rice
(4 Portionen)
1 große Zwiebel, fein gewürfelt
2-3 Knoblauchzehen, fein gehackt
500g Hackfleisch (gemischt)
1 TL Paprikapulver
2 TL getrockneter Oregano (aufgeteilt)
1/2 TL getrockneter Thymian
1 TL getrocknetes Basilikum
1 TL Gemüsebrühepulver
1 Dose (400g) Tomaten, stückig
2 EL Saure Sahne
Salz, Pfeffer
einige Cherrytomaten (optional)
125g Mini-Mozzarella Kugeln
dazu passend Lieblingspasta oder Reis
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
1. Peel and finely dice/chop the onion and garlic. Divide and set aside.
2. Add the minced meat to a bowl and mix with half of the diced onion and garlic. Add paprika powder, 1 tsp. of the oregano and the thyme. Season with salt and pepper and mix well. Shape into 12-14 small meatballs. Set aside.
3. For the sauce add the tomatoes to a bowl. Add remaining onions and garlic and season with the remaining 1 tsp. of oregano, basil, veggie broth powder, salt, and pepper. Add sour cream and mix everything well. Place the meatballs in an ovenproof casserole dish (about 9×9 inches) and pour the sauce over the balls. If you like, you can place some cherry tomatoes between the meatballs.
4. Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F). Place the casserole dish in the oven and bake the meatballs for about 25 minutes. Drain the mini mozzarella balls, crush them a bit and place them on top/around the meatballs – bake for another 20-25 minutes until the meatballs and cheese have gotten some color.
1. Die Zwiebel und den Knoblauch schälen und fein würfeln bzw. hacken. Aufteilen und zur Seite stellen.
2. Das Hackfleisch in eine Schüssel geben und die Hälfte der gewürfelten Zwiebel und des Knoblauchs dazugeben. Paprikapulver, 1 TL des Oreganos und Thymian dazugeben. Mit Salz und Pfeffer würzen und alles gut vermengen – zu etwa 12-14 Hackbällchen formen. Zur Seite legen.
3. Für die Soße die Tomaten in eine Schüssel geben. Restliche Zwiebeln und Knoblauch dazugeben und mit dem verbliebenen 1 TL Oregano, Basilikum, Gemüsebrühepulver, Salz und Pfeffer würzen. Saure Sahne dazugeben und alles gut vermengen. Die Hackbällchen in eine ofenfeste Form (etwa 23x23cm) setzen und mit der Soße übergießen. Wer mag, kann noch einige Cherrytomaten zwischen die Hackbällchen setzen.
4. Den Ofen auf 200°C (390°F) Ober-/Unterhitze vorheizen. Die Form in den Ofen schieben und die Hackbällchen etwa 25 Minuten backen. Die Mini-Mozzarella Kugeln abtropfen lassen, etwas zerdrücken und dann auf/um die Hackbällchen verteilen – noch einmal 20-25 Minuten backen, bis Hackbällchen und Käse Farbe bekommen haben.
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
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Italian Baked Meatballs (with Rice)
- Prep Time: 00:20
- Cook Time: 00:50
- Total Time: 01:10
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: Italy
Description
A simple and easy to prepare dish: Italian Baked Meatballs with Rice. A great dish for the whole family. The perfect weeknight dinner option :)
Ingredients
1 large onion, finely diced
2–3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
17.6 oz. (500g) minced meat (beef & pork mixed)
1 tsp. paprika powder
2 tsp. dried oregano (divided)
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. veggie broth powder
1 can (14 oz./400g) chunky tomatoes
2 tbsp. sour cream
salt, pepper
some cherry tomatoes (optional)
4.4 oz. (125g) mini mozzarella balls
serve with your favorite pasta or rice
Instructions
1. Peel and finely dice/chop the onion and garlic. Divide and set aside.
2. Add the minced meat to a bowl and mix with half of the diced onion and garlic. Add paprika powder, 1 tsp. of the oregano and the thyme. Season with salt and pepper and mix well. Shape into 12-14 small meatballs. Set aside.
3. For the sauce add the tomatoes to a bowl. Add remaining onions and garlic and season with the remaining 1 tsp. of oregano, basil, veggie broth powder, salt, and pepper. Add sour cream and mix everything well. Place the meatballs in an ovenproof casserole dish (about 9×9 inches) and pour the sauce over the balls. If you like, you can place some cherry tomatoes between the meatballs.
4. Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F). Place the casserole dish in the oven and bake the meatballs for about 25 minutes. Drain the mini mozzarella balls, crush them a bit and place them on top/around the meatballs – bake for another 20-25 minutes until the meatballs and cheese have gotten some color.
Notes
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I love my job, but in between I love to bake and try new things in the kitchen. A lot of my friends and colleagues encourage me to bake - for a very simple reason: they get the leftovers - and it seems they like it most of the time ;) 
