Ricotta meatballs are soft, tender meatballs lightened up with ricotta cheese for an authentic Italian meal. I’ll show you how to serve them the way they do in Italy.
These ricotta meatballs are pure heaven. It’s one of those dishes that might feel modern and trendy but actually has deep Italian roots. In Italy they’re known as polpette di ricotta e carne (or sometimes just polpette morbide ~ soft meatballs). Adding ricotta cheese to meatballs is a traditional Italian way to:
- keep meatballs tender
- stretch meat economically
- lighten the texture
- boost the protein
my method for prepping tender ricotta meatballs
- I love to blend meatloaf and meatball mixtures in my stand mixer. It does a faster, more thorough job than I can do with my hands, and there’s no mess.
- I use an ice cream scoop to portion out the balls. Again, mess free.
- You can do this up to a day ahead of time, simply wrap in plastic and refrigerate or freeze.
ricotta meatballs are braised in sauce like dumplings!
I don’t brown these delicate meatballs, instead they’re dropped right into a best quality jarred marinara sauce (like Rao’s or similar) to bubble away gently in the oven until they’re cooked through. It’s completely hands off and they stay soft and moist. It’s all about the pillowy texture.
I can slide them into the oven half an hour or so before dinner and go relax with a glass of wine.
enjoy your ricotta meatballs served the Italian way
Ricotta meatballs are traditionally served 2–3 meatballs in a small shallow bowl or dish with enough tomato sauce to coat the meat and puddle in the bowl. Bread alongside to sop up every last bit, and a light salad. That’s it. So these meatballs are a cozy main course all by themselves, rather than a pasta topping like we use them here in the US.
Salads I’d love to have with these meatballs include a Chopped Italian Salad (and its cousin the Italian Chop Chop Salad) or maybe a simple Caesar Kale Slaw. But many nights I’ll just do a bagged salad from the grocery store. No shame.
Bread can be a store bought baguette, or if you’ve got extra time make an Easy Focaccia Bread.
Freeze your meatballs
Once you’ve scooped the balls, arrange them on a lined baking sheet and flash freeze until solid. Then you can pack them in heavy duty freezer bags for storage up to 3 months. Pull them out as needed.
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Ricotta Meatballs
Equipment
- stand mixer optional
- ice cream scoop or 1/3 cup measure
- braising pan to fit 18 large meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
- 1 lb ground beef, I use 80/20
- 1 lb ground pork
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 large shallot, finely minced
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 2 Tbsp fresh rosemary, finely minced
- 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 Tbsp Italian herb seasoning
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
sauce
- 1 qt your favorite marinara sauce*
- 1/2 cup dry wine, optional, red or white
garnishes for serving
- Parmesan cheese
- minced parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F
- I prefer to use a stand mixer for my meatballs, but you can also use a large bowl and your clean hands. My instructions will be for the mixer but you can follow along with the bowl if you like. Place the 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese and the 1 lb ground beef, and 1 lb ground pork in the mixer. Break apart the meat as you add it ~ this will help get everything well combined without excess blending.
- Add the 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs, 1 large shallot, the large beaten egg, 2 Tbsp fresh rosemary, 4 cloves minced garlic, 1 Tbsp Italian herb seasoning, 2 tsp sea salt, and finally 1 tsp fresh cracked black pepper to the bowl.
- Turn the mixer on low and blend everything together. Make sure the blade is catching everything from the bottom of the bowl, and if necessary stop and rearrange to ensure an even mixture. Keep mixing until you're sure everything has been evenly dispersed and incorporated.
- I use an ice cream scoop to portion out my meatballs, mine holds about 1/3 cup. Scoop out the meatballs onto a baking sheet. Be sure to pack the meat mixture well into each scoop. I get about 15 meatballs. Note: If you want to do this ahead you can wrap the tray in plastic and refrigerate for up to a day.
- Combine the prepared marinara sauce and wine (if using) in a braising pan and bring to a simmer on the stove. Place the meatballs into the sauce. The sauce should come up about halfway on the meatballs, ideally.
- Cover with foil and bake for about 25 minutes covered, then remove the foil and bake another 10-15 minutes uncovered until the meatballs register 165F in the center.
- Serve the meatballs in small bowls topped with a ladleful of sauce and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and parsley.
Notes
Nutrition
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VERY rosemary forward. It’s like eating a ball of rosemary. I would cut the amount in half if not more.
These meatballs are BIG and delicious. We loved them. I really liked just cooking them in the sauce and not having to brown them first. They were so moist and tender. It makes a lot, so we had leftovers.
I’m glad you loved these Carla. I was taught to always brown meat before cooking, so this method is a revelation for me too, so easy!
Loved this recipe! The rosemary and ricotta made these meatballs. Overall a fairly simple recipe, and I made a few extra to freeze.
Thanks Amy, I’ve got a batch in my freezer now 🙂