Neapolitan Meatballs

From EatingWell: March/April 2008 — Subscribe Now!

A touch of cinnamon distinguishes these delicious tomato-sauced meatballs. Adding whole-grain bulgur allows you to use less meat, resulting in meatballs with less than half the total fat and saturated fat of the original. Plus a vibrant-tasting combination of fresh and canned tomatoes in the sauce helps reduce the sodium by two-thirds. Serve with pasta, polenta or even on a whole-grain roll with a bit of melted part-skim mozzarella for a meatball sub.

READER'S COMMENT:

"Wonderful!!! Wasn't sure about the meatballs with cinnamon added, but it all came together deliciously... the sauce was fantastic, & so fresh & different from scratch recipe. We had creamy polenta & roasted zucchini with it....

Comments

Comment	Posted
Good recipe, however, the meatballs could stand to be kicked up a few notches. I would add some salt and a little cayene pepper to the meat mixture next time. Possibly even sub half the beef for hot italian sausage. I made the meatballs as written, but only made half the amount of sauce, thinning it a little with beef broth, and it was plenty. I used crushed tomatoes instead of stewed, and some Panko breadcrumbs I had on hand instead of the wheat bread cubes. The sauce was a little bitter, possibly because my fresh tomatoes were not ripe, but the sugar at the end helped. I served it with some pan-seared polenta slices. Chandra, Seattle, WA	8 weeks 5 days ago
I thought the meatballs were good, but I don't know if I'd make them again. They required quite a bit of work. Not sure that they were two hours of cooking good. Sarah, ND	8 weeks 5 days ago
Wonderful!!! Wasn't sure about the meatballs with cinnamon added, but it all came together deliciously... the sauce was fantastic, & so fresh & different from scratch recipe. We had creamy polenta & roasted zucchini with it. Jacqueline, Buffalo, NY	8 weeks 5 days ago

Comment

Posted

Good recipe, however, the meatballs could stand to be kicked up a few notches. I would add some salt and a little cayene pepper to the meat mixture next time. Possibly even sub half the beef for hot italian sausage. I made the meatballs as written, but only made half the amount of sauce, thinning it a little with beef broth, and it was plenty. I used crushed tomatoes instead of stewed, and some Panko breadcrumbs I had on hand instead of the wheat bread cubes. The sauce was a little bitter, possibly because my fresh tomatoes were not ripe, but the sugar at the end helped. I served it with some pan-seared polenta slices.

Chandra, Seattle, WA

8 weeks 5 days ago

I thought the meatballs were good, but I don't know if I'd make them again. They required quite a bit of work. Not sure that they were two hours of cooking good.

Sarah, ND

8 weeks 5 days ago

Wonderful!!! Wasn't sure about the meatballs with cinnamon added, but it all came together deliciously... the sauce was fantastic, & so fresh & different from scratch recipe. We had creamy polenta & roasted zucchini with it.

Jacqueline, Buffalo, NY

8 weeks 5 days ago