These Mexican Meatballs are deeply savoury, slightly spicy, and so delicious. Serve them over rice, in a sandwich, with potatoes. The dinner options are endlessly awesome.
As a Sagittarius, my heart longs to roam, to be a nomad, constantly on the move from one place to the next. There's nothing I love quite so much as a good quest, especially if it's a quest for delicious food. But my bank account has different ideas.
So I've learned to conjur up foreign lands in my kitchen. Meatballs seem to be an ideal medium for culinary travel. And as a picky eater, this particular form of exploration means I can still stay in my flavor comfort zone. From Sweden to Greece to Italy, and now Mexico, everyone loves meatballs, and here for all of it.
What makes Mexican Meatballs so awesome?
These tender meatballs are absolutely packed with flavor with fresh herbs and a bit of heat, they're absolutely irresistible. Then they're the smoky chipotle tomato sauce that I just want to swim around in. It's all so tasty. Top it with sour cream and shredded cheese to take it right over the top.
This dish is also super awesome because of all the ways you can serve up these meatballs. I did a rice bowl here, but you could also opt for another whole grain. You could serve them alongside Mexican Potatoes. Or my favorite option, make them into a Mexican Meatball sub on a toasted roll. You've got a lot of options, and Sagittarius loves that kind of freedom.
Magical Properties of Beef
As witches who eat meat, we want to honor the life of the animal who is giving us its energy. Beef brings us the energy of passion, strength, grounding, and emotional expression. This food is ruled by the Moon and Mars and the element of earth. Beef is also tied to Taurus energy. Gratefully take this energy into your body as you prepare and eat beef dishes.
To learn more about the magical properties of the ingredients in this recipe, check the Kitchen Magick page.
Ingredients
Here's everything you'll need to make this dish. The full details are in the recipe card below.
- Ground beef - I use something more lean here than I would for burger so you don't end up with super greasy meatballs and they hold together better.
- Red onion - yellow/brown onion would also work
- Corn chips - salted only, you don't want Doritos with weird cheese dust
- Egg
- Parsley - fresh
- Jalapeno - fresh, not pickled (though that could work in a pinch)
- Spices
- Cumin
- Smoked paprika
- Coriander
- Garlic powder
- Chili powder (chipotle chili powder would be awesome if you can get it)
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Olive oil
- Garlic - minced or garlic paste
- Chipotle paste - or chipotle in adobo if you can get it
- Tomato pasata - or crushed tomatoes
- Sugar
- Optional toppings - sour cream, shredded cheese
Tips for making Mexican Meatballs
The ingredient list looks long, but it's actually really easy. Mostly, we're just combining spices and some binding ingredients and mixing them together with the beef to incorporate the flavors. The one extra step is popping your corn chips into a food processor to turn them into crumbs. Once everything is mixed, I use a scoop to portion out my meatballs, then form them into neater balls with my hands.
The meatballs get backed on a rack over a baking sheet in the oven, so while that's cooking, you can make your sauce. It's just a matter of combining a few ingredients in a skillet and bringing them to a simmer. Then when your meatballs are fully baked, transfer them to the sauce and let that all hang out for a few minutes before serving.
The good news is, these make awesome leftovers, so if you want to prep them ahead when you have a bit more time, that's definitely an option.
I can't wait for you to explore new flavors with these Mexican Meatballs. They're absolutely awesome.
Looking for more awesome meatball recipes? Try these Turkey Swedish Meatballs or some easy Spaghetti & Sausage Meatballs.
PrintMexican Meatballs
These Mexican Meatballs are deeply savoury, slightly spicy, and so delicious. Serve them over rice, in a sandwich, with potatoes. The dinner options are endlessly awesome.
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
- 50 grams (1.75 ounces) corn chips
- 500 grams (1 pound) lean ground beef
- ½ red onion, grated or finely chopped
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 2 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 1 jalapeno, seeds removed and finely chopped
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
For the sauce:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon chipotle paste
- 700 grams (24 ounces) tomato passata or crushed tomatoes (or similar amount based on what's available in your grocery store)
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
- Optional toppings: sour cream, shredded cheese
Instructions
For the meatballs:
- Preheat your oven to 220 C (400 F). Place a wire rack over a baking sheet and spray with oil or non-stick spray.
- Add your corn chips to a food processor and blitz until you have fine crumbs. Alternatively, you could pop them in a bag and smash them with a rolling pin.
- Add all your meatball ingredients to a large mixing bowl and use your hands to gently mix to combine.
- Use a cookie scoop to portion out your meatballs, then roll them into a ball with your hands and place them on the rack over the baking sheet. You'll end up with about 20 meatballs.
- Bake for 10 minutes until fully browned on the outside. Don't worry if they're not cooked through. They'll finish in the sauce.
For the sauce:
- While the meatballs are in the oven, make your sauce. Start by heating the olive oil in a skillet over low heat. Add the garlic and chipotle paste and cook for about a minute until fragrant.
- Then add the tomato passata and sugar. Stir it all together and bring it to a simmer, stirring occasionally.
- When the meatballs come out of the oven, transfer them to the sauce. Simmer the sauce with the meatballs for 10 minutes, turning the meatballs occasionally. Cook until the sauce is thickened a bit and the meatballs are fully cooked.
- Sprinkle with fresh parsley (or cilantro if you prefer) before serving.
- Serve over rice, with potatoes, as a sandwich, or however you like. Top with cheese and sour cream to make them extra awesome.
Notes
You can swap out the parsley for cilantro if you prefer that flavor.
Recipe slightly adapted from Recipe Tin Eats.
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