Mama’s Simple Sausage Meatballs is a paid collaborative post with Sacla. These simple sausage meatballs in a tomato sauce are deliciously tender and will become a family favourite meal asked for again. Tender, soft, flavorful meatballs, made with sausage and just a few other basic ingredients. Easy to whip up for a weeknight, and nice enough for weekend dinner. The ultimate food hug in a bowl.
What is it with kids’ and food. One week they love a meal you make and declare it to be their favourite and then the next time you make it they refuse to eat it? Even though I have pretty adventurous eaters this is something I have experienced on and off over the years with Mini. However, I always know that if all else fails I can rely on a bowl of pasta with basil pesto and broccoli. Pesto is a staple in our pantry and I am a big fan.
A lot of the time I find that it is the texture of foods that Mini has an issue with rather than the taste and when it comes to pasta he much prefers meatballs to meat in the sauce. My Dad introduced me to sausage meatballs when I was younger, super easy to make and most kids love sausages, so really they should be called papa’s simple sausage meatballs. To make this a bit more of a grown-up meal I love adding pesto to the meatballs. We decided to add Nduja pesto and this has become a huge family favourite here in The Mad House and made our meatballs perfect for everyone.
Yes, my secret ingredient for these meatballs is pesto and I love how versatile it is and how easy it is to change the flavour of your meatballs depending on your child’s preference. Younger children tend to LOVE tomato pesto and it makes the meatballs a great addition to your monthly meal plan. Another reason kids love these is that they are super soft meatballs and finer in texture than traditional meatballs.
Mama’s Simple Sausage Meatballs
Ingredients (scroll down for our printable version with measurements)
- Jar of Nduja Pesto
- 2 carrots – grated
- 2 Leeks finely chopped
- Jar of Pasatta or tin of chopped tomatoes (As mini prefers a fine texture we use pasatta)
- Pack of pork sausages
- Favourite pasta shape
How to make Mama’s Simple Sausage Meatballs
The sausage meatballs are best shaped in advance and left in the fridge for up to 24 hours.
Take the sausage meat out of the skins and add a jar of Ndula Pesto and mix together well. Shape into ball shapes of equal size and cover with clingfilm and place in the fridge for at least 3 hours.
Tip: cold wet hands stop the sausage meet sticking to you.
Prepare your ragu – for some reason, this tastes so much better it is slow cooked for approximately an hour, however, It is perfect just all bunged in the pan if you don’t have time! Add a tablespoon of rapeseed or olive oil and gently fry the leeks until soft (about 5 minutes) and then add the grated carrot for 2 minutes before adding the passata or tinned chopped tomatoes.
Meanwhile, fry brown your meatballs in a frying pan. You should not need any oil as the sausages will give up quite a lot. Once they are brown all over then slowly place into the ragu and cover. simmering on a low heat.
Tear up a ball of mozzarella and place on top of the meatballs and cook uncovered in a preheated oven (180 degrees centigrade) for 15 minutes whilst you cook your pasta of choice as per the instructions on the packet.
Serve and watch it all disappear! You can also make a great veggie option by using vegetarian sausages.
There is a Sacla pesto for everyone and it is available from most supermarkets or the Sacla shop.
Mamas Simple Sausage Meatballs
Delicious meatballs that will become a family favourite for years to come
Ingredients
- 1 Jar of Nduja Pesto
- 2 carrots - grated
- 2 Leeks finely chopped
- Jar of Pasatta or tin of chopped tomatoes As mini prefers a fine texture we use pasatta
- Pack of pork sausages
- Favourite pasta shape
Instructions
- Take the sausage meat out of the skins and add a jar of Ndula Pesto and mix together well. Shape into ball shapes of equal size and cover with clingfilm and place in the fridge for at least 3 hours.
- Tip: cold wet hands stop the sausage meet sticking to you.
- Prepare your ragu - for some reason, this tastes so much better it is slow cooked for approximately an hour, however, It is perfect just all bunged in the pan if you don't have time! Add a tablespoon of rapeseed or olive oil and gently fry the leeks until soft (about 5 minutes) and then add the grated carrot for 2 minutes before adding the passata or tinned chopped tomatoes.
- Meanwhile, fry brown your meatballs in a frying pan. You should not need any oil as the sausages will give up quite a lot. Once they are brown all over then slowly place into the ragu and cover. simmering on a low heat.
- Tear up a ball of mozzarella and place on top of the meatballs and cook uncovered in a preheated oven (180 degrees centigrade) for 15 minutes whilst you cook your pasta of choice as per the instructions on the packet.
- Serve and watch it all disappear!
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