Meatballs in the oven in tomato sauce

Step-by-step preparation

Cooking time: 1 hr

1. STEP 1

   

   How to make meatballs in the oven in tomato sauce? Prepare your food. For this dish, you can use any minced meat: pork, beef, chicken, turkey, rabbit, mixed. If you are using frozen minced meat, defrost it in advance using the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. Wash the carrots with a brush and peel them. Remove the skins from the onions.

2. STEP 2

   

   Fill the pan with two cups of water. Put it on fire. Place half a cup of washed rice in the pan. And cook it after boiling until half cooked, about 10 minutes.

3. STEP 3

   

   While the rice is cooking, chop the onion into small cubes. Grate the peeled carrots on a coarse or fine grater. I rubbed it on fine - I like it better.

4. STEP 4

   

   Place the undercooked rice in a colander and rinse under running water.

5. STEP 5

   

   Heat a frying pan on the stove. Pour in vegetable oil and add onions. Fry the onion, stirring, for 3-4 minutes until transparent.

6. STEP 6

   

   Add the grated carrots to the onions and continue to fry the vegetables for another 5 minutes, also stirring. Remove the pan from the stove.

7. STEP 7

   

   Stir the washed cooked rice into the minced meat.

8. STEP 8

   

   Add half of the onions and carrots fried in oil to the minced meat and stir.

9. STEP 9

   

   Leave the second half of the frying in the pan.

10. STEP 10

    

    Pour tomato juice (or tomato paste diluted with water) into the frying remaining in the pan. Place the pan back on the stove, turn the heat to low-medium and let the sauce reduce slightly. Let the mixture simmer for a while, uncovered.

11. STEP 11

    

    While the stove is busy, return to the mince. Beat an egg into it.

12. STEP 12

    

    Add salt.

13. STEP 13

    

    Add ground pepper.

14. STEP 14

    

    Add some dried basil (or other spices to taste).

15. STEP 15

    

    Mix the minced meat thoroughly.

16. STEP 16

    

    While you were doing the minced meat, the frying had already boiled a little. Add sour cream to it.

17. STEP 17

    

    Stir and leave to simmer for about 5 minutes, evaporating to the desired consistency, but keep in mind that after baking the sauce will thicken even without adding flour!

18. STEP 18

    

    Turn on the oven and let it preheat to 180°C. With wet hands, form round meatballs from the minced meat and place them in a fireproof dish at a short distance from each other.

19. STEP 19

    

    Top the meatballs with tomato sauce.

20. STEP 20

    

    Bake the meatballs in the oven for about 40 minutes, being careful not to burn the sauce. If this suddenly starts to happen, cover the pan with foil.

21. STEP 21

    

    Any side dish for meatballs in tomato sauce is suitable. The dish can also be served on its own. Bon appetit!

Comments on the recipe

Kyriena

16.12.2023

4.5

The best meatballs! You can bake them together with potatoes so that you have both meatballs and a side dish at once.

Natalia M

16.12.2023

4.5

What I liked about this recipe is that the meatballs do not need to be fried. After all, baking is always healthier. Besides, preparing this dish couldn’t be easier) For the minced meat, I used chicken breast and turkey breast. In tomato sauce, this somewhat dry meat became very juicy. I added a little less rice. I replaced the tomato juice with homemade tomato sauce, so I didn’t add basil, it was already in my sauce. Frying added to the minced meat makes it juicier. I noticed this when I was making pike cutlets. The meatballs turn out juicy and tasty. Very good recipe, I recommend it)