These ricotta-spiked meatballs are so tender, so flavorful, and so delicious. There are hardly any ingredients. Throw them over some spaghetti for a hearty meal.
Ingredients
- onion: 0.5 piece (minced)
- olive oil: 4 Tbsp (divided)
- garlic: 3 clove (minced)
- ground beef: 1 pound
- whole milk ricotta cheese: 1 cup
- packed chopped Italian parsley: 0.25 cup
- egg: 1 piece (beaten)
- ½ teaspoons kosher salt: 1 piece
- black pepper: 0.5 tsp (freshly ground)
- pinch cayenne pepper: 1 piece (to taste)
- dry bread crumbs: 0.33333 cup
- marinara sauce: 1 jar (28 ounce jar)
- water: 1 cup
Metric Conversion
Stages of cooking
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Sauté onion in 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet over medium heat until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir garlic into onion and turn off heat. Transfer onion mixture to a large mixing bowl.
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Stir ground beef, ricotta cheese, parsley, egg, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper with onion mixture until almost combined; stir in bread crumbs and continue to mix until thoroughly blended.
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Roll about 2 tablespoons of mixture into a 1-inch ball for each meatball. Pour remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in same skillet used to cook onions. Place skillet over medium heat and brown meatballs on all sides in hot oil, about 5 minutes. Hold a crumpled paper towel in tongs and use it to remove excess grease from skillet.
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Pour marinara sauce and water over meatballs in skillet. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until meatballs are cooked through and no longer pink in the center, about 30 minutes. *Sherri*
