Mexican Meatballs
These Mexican Meatballs are packed with spices and smothered in a rich chipotle tomato sauce. They are a fun spin on meatballs and have a nice kick of spice. These meatballs are Whole30, Paleo and Keto and freeze really well too!
So I have to confess, I was originally on a mission to create a recipe for Mexican Meatloaf. I had all of the ingredients out on the counter and was ready to go but I was struggling to show any signs of enthusiasm. I apologize to all of the meatloaf fans out there, but I just can’t get excited about it, even when it’s Mexican inspired.
So instead I created something that makes me very excited, meatballs! Yes they contain all of the ingredients I had planned on putting in the meatloaf, but come on, meatballs are just so much more fun (and kid friendly too!).
Ok so what makes these meatballs Mexican? They contain red onion, jalapenos, cilantro and lots of cumin, paprika and chili. I find that using a combination of meats makes the meatballs much more tender and soft, so I used a 50/50 mix of ground beef and either ground pork, turkey or chicken, whichever you prefer.
To keep the meatballs as healthy as possible, I baked them in the oven for 30 minutes until lightly golden on the outside and perfectly cooked in the center.
Although the sauce is tomato based, it is also Mexican inspired with the rich spice of ancho chilli and cumin. It is cooked down for 30 minutes until it’s thick and incredibly rich in flavour. To keep this recipe SCD legal I used dried ancho chillies, which I soaked in hot water for 10 minutes and then pureed, but you could also use ancho chili paste or alternatively chipotle peppers in adobo sauce.
I served the meatballs smothered in the sauce on top of Mexican Cauliflower Rice and it was sooooo good. This recipe makes a big batch of meatballs (approx 25-30) so there will be more than enough leftover to freeze coated in the sauce, perfect for an easy mid week dinner.
Here are a few other meatball recipes that you might enjoy:
- Asian Pork Meatballs
- Turkey & Cranberry Meatballs with Cranberry Orange Dipping Sauce
- The Best Italian Meatballs
- Eggplant Polpette (aka Meatless Meatballs)
- Greek Lamb Meatballs
If you make this recipe let me know in the comment section below, I would love to hear what you think or take a photo and tag me (@everylastbite_) on Instagram, I love seeing your photos!
Mexican Meatballs
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound ground pork or chicken/turkey
- 1 small red onion finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 green pepper grated
- 2-3 tbsp finely diced jalapeños
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 1/2 tbsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup almond flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Sauce
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp oil
- 2 14- oz cans chopped tomatoes
- 1 1/2 cups beef stock
- 1 1/2 tbsp cumin
- 1 dried ancho chili or alternatively 1 tbsp chipotle paste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit)
- In a bowl combine all of the ingredients for the meatballs. Using your hands work the ingredients together until they are well combined.
- Roll the mixture into balls approximately the size of a golf ball (4cm in diameter) and place the rolled meatballs on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. The recipe should make approximately 25 meatballs.
- Bake the meatballs in the oven for approximately 25 minutes, flipping them half way through cooking to ensure they brown evenly.
- While the meatballs are cooking prepare the sauce. Heat the oil in a pot and cook the onion and garlic for 3 to 4 minutes until the onion becomes translucent. Add in the tomatoes, beef stock and cumin.
- If using dried ancho chili, let them soak for about 5 minutes in boiling water and then transfer to a blender along with a splash of the soaking water and blend into a puree.
- Add 1 tbsp of the blended ancho chili paste or chiptole paste to the sauce and let simmer for 30 minutes until the liquid has reduced and the sauce has thickened. Taste the sauce and adjust the flavour by adding more chili paste or cumin if desired.
- Serve the meatballs coated in the sauce and sprinkled with fresh cilantro. Enjoy!
Nutrition
I was about to make (regular) meatballs and found this! What a fun twist, would be perfect for a party. Yum!
Thanks Caitlin! I think these would definitely be a crowd pleaser 🙂
Yes to meatballs! These look amazing, especially with the unique flavors. Well done!
OMG!!! LOVE THIS THANK YOU!!
Thank you Angel!!!
Good recipe, as a Mexican I would recomend to add a spring of fresh peppermint instead of cumin. as a nutritionist i would ask, how many meatballs per serving are? 157 kcal are for 3 may be?
Made them they were great!
So happy to hear they turned out well!
25 meatballs yields 15 servings???
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Not gonna lie – I love meatballs! And I love Mexican cuisine. This was such a unique combination of flavors. I stopped at my local Latino market to see if I could find readymade ancho chili paste because I never seem to have success starting with dried peppers. No luck, but I did discover they carry a canned chipotle sauce (as opposed to the more common chipotle in adobo) which has ancho in it so that is what I used. I am not on keto so served over yellow saffron rice. Amazing dish! I thought I might freeze some but don’t think they will last very long! Thank you for sharing.
This recipe was delicious! Great flavor in the meatballs with the peppers & spices & the sauce was simple but flavorful too. I used chipotle in adobo from a can (about a 2 Tbsp’s) for the spice in the sauce, ground chicken for all of the meat & no almond flour for the meatballs (they held together fine without it). Served them over rice & topped guacamole. And you must have a larger scoop than me because I got 45 meatballs with the scoop I have😆 Will definitely make again.