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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, 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.)
Buen provecho!
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!