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Made with just 8 ingredients, these Mexican Meatballs are hearty, delicious and so versatile! This Mexican Meatball recipe is the only one you’ll need for Albondigas Soup, burrito bowls and more.
Who doesn’t like meatballs? There’s really just one, two-word rule to follow when it comes to great meatballs: flavor explosion. They need to deliver far more flavor than their tiny size suggests.
These Mexican Meatballs are a riff on my Albondigas soup, baked instead of boiled and served in sauce instead of soup.
I love that I end up with 60 meatballs and plenty of sauce with this recipe. That may sound like a lot, considering that only two people live in our house. But these are so versatile: serve them over rice (like Mexican Brown Rice), beans (like my Slow Cooker / Crock Pot Pinto Beans) or pasta; add water and more seasoning to make soup; melt some Manchego over them and serve with toasted bread slices. Point being, you can make them once and eat on them for days. (Also true of these Spanish Meatballs.)
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Mexican Meatballs
Ingredients
For the Meatballs
- 2 eggs beaten
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 pound uncooked ground chorizo sausage
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 cup cooked rice I used brown basmati
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
For the Sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 28- ounce can crushed tomatoes with juice
- 4 small zucchini diced
- 2 cups cooked pinto beans or 1 14 1/2-ounce can pinto beans, drained
- ½ teaspoon to 1 fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- To make the meatballs, add all ingredients (eggs through pepper) to a medium bowl and mix with your hands until combined. (Don’t overmix or your meatballs will be tough!)
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat.
- With a 1 tablespoon scoop or standard tablespoon, scoop out meatball mixture on to a baking sheet – into ragged little mounds that are close to the same size. Now pick up one mound and gently roll it into a ball between your palms. Repeat with remaining mounds, arranging the meatballs very close together, but not touching.
- Bake 15-20 minutes until cooked through.
- In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat until hot. Add onion and a pinch of salt; cook and stir until onion is translucent. Add cumin, oregano and tomatoes; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Add zucchini and pinto beans; cook 5 to 10 minutes more, to desired doneness. Remove from heat.
- When meatballs are cooked through, remove from oven and, with a slotted spoon transfer cooked meatballs to sauce. Gently stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and, if necessary, reheat over medium-low heat.
- Serve alone or over rice, beans or pasta.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Looks delicious! I can’t wait to try these.
These meatballs sound so good! I love the whole “giant batch in the oven” aspect a lot — especially since it makes it super easy to store half a batch in the freezer for future delightful dinners.
I absolutely love how chock full of veggies this dish is! I could definitely eat this for days (or weeks!) without getting sick of it.
So sweet of you, Faith! Thank you.
This is wonderful for so many reasons, not least the fact that you end up with 60 meatballs! I like your way of thinking, Marissa!
Thanks, Helen!
This sauce sounds SUPER. Flavor explosion is right!! I’m going to have to try it with my eggplant balls!
Thanks, Joanne! I’ve got to try those eggplant meatballs of yours – they look amazing!
I love having meatballs in the freezer. It means dinner is only a few minutes away. A nice meatball sandwich with melted cheese from toasting in the oven. Food of the gods.
But, your Mexican meatballs – this is a really big dinner and fancy at that.
I do to, Maureen! It’s a comfort to know that you can throw dinner together easily when you need to. 🙂
Hehe 60 meatballs isn’t too much for the two of us. We love them too! 😀
You crack me up, Lorraine! 😉
These look delicious and full of flavor Marissa! Can’t wait to try them! I’ve been craving meatballs for a while! Pinned 🙂
Thanks so much, Mira!
Marissa, these meatballs are amazing!!! and I agree!! People forget how versatile meatballs are!! Melt some Manchego over them and serve with toasted bread slices. . oh my gawd, you’re speaking my food love language right there! 🙂 love!!
We’ve got to have a meal together sometime, Alice! It seems our tastes are alike!
Chorizo and cumin flavored meatballs? Lady – sign me up for thirds!
Come on over, Shashi. I’ll even dish up fourths for you! 😉
Mmmmm.. this looks and sounds so good. Beautiful. Love the versatility and ideas for the 60 this batch makes!
Thanks, Kevin. Don’t you love big batch cooking – at least once in a while? I love the next day when you can just throw something delicious together in no time!
Mmm…. I LOVE meatballs! These look and sound out of this world and such wonderful flavor profiles!
Thank you, Kathleen!
YES! They definitely need to be a flavor explosion. You totally rocked it with these Marissa! Pinned!
Thanks, Kristi! 🙂
Ok this is going to sound ridiculous, but every single time I say albondigas, I make up some weird song in my head, I think it’s because I just love saying the word, and it just sounds so much better than meatballs. Regardless of my strange tendency, these look delicious!
That’s so funny! I want to hear the song!!! 🙂
Have I ever told you that you rock? Honestly Marissa. Your food. Amazing. You have the best taste and you are one helluva classy lady too 🙂
aww, Nagi, you’re too sweet to me. Thank you! 🙂