Calabrian Meatballs

By Anna Francese Gass

Updated June 12, 2026

  • Kelly Marshall for The New York Times. Food Stylist: César Ramón Pérez Medero. Prop Stylist: Melina Kemph.
Media 1 of 2
Total Time
2 hours
Rating
4(1,435)
Comments
Read comments

Featured in my cookbook, “Heirloom Kitchen: Heritage Recipes and Family Stories from the Tables of Immigrant Women” (Harper Design, 2019), this polpette recipe comes from my grandmother’s Calabrian kitchen. The sugo di pomodoro, or tomato sauce, delivers complex flavor, serving as the poaching liquid for the delicate meatballs and as an essential ingredient in the meatballs themselves, adding both flavor and juiciness. Lightened further with milk and Italian bread crumbs, the meatballs are incredibly tender, bursting at the touch of your fork. The recipe yields a crowd-serving portion, perfect for Sunday dinner, but also freezes beautifully. Though the sauce may be tossed with your favorite pasta, this dish is the ideal version of a traditional platter of meatballs, covered in sauce and garnished with cheese and basil.

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: Give recipes to anyone

    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.

    Subscribe

  • Share this recipe

  • Print this recipe

    or to print this recipe.

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:About 16 meatballs and 7 cups sauce

FOR THE SAUCE

  • 10 fresh basil leaves

  • ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled and lightly smashed

  • 1 teaspoon red-pepper flakes (optional)

  • 2 (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes (8 cups)

  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste

  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)

  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

FOR THE MEATBALLS

  • ½ pound ground pork

  • ½ pound ground veal

  • ½ pound ground beef (preferably 15-percent fat)

  • 1 cup finely grated Pecorino Romano cheese, plus more for serving

  • 1 cup seasoned Italian bread crumbs 

  • ½ cup whole milk

  • ½ cup tomato sauce (reserved from recipe above), cooled

  • 2 large eggs, beaten

  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves (optional)

  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)

  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving

16 grams carbs; 60 milligrams cholesterol; 277 calories; 9 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 18 grams fat; 3 grams fiber; 489 milligrams sodium; 14 grams protein; 7 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Powered by

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Prepare the sauce: Tear 5 basil leaves in half; reserve the rest. Combine the torn basil, olive oil, garlic and red-pepper flakes (if using), in a small saucepan over very low heat for 10 minutes, allowing the basil and garlic to steep in the oil. (Do not let the garlic get beyond medium brown in color.) Remove from the heat, strain the oil, discard the solids and set aside.

  2. Step 2

    In a large pot, combine the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, salt and pepper with 2 cups water and the infused oil. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then immediately reduce to a simmer. Remove ½ cup of the sauce for the meatballs, setting aside to cool.

  3. Step 3

    Partially cover the pot and simmer the sauce, undisturbed, while you prepare the meatballs.

  4. Step 4

    In a large bowl, hand mix all the meatball ingredients (including the reserved ½ cup sauce) until combined. (The mixture will be quite soft.) Wet your hands and pinch off approximately ¼-cup portions and roll them into balls between your palms. (They should each be about 2 ¼-inches wide.) Place each meatball on a baking sheet and repeat with the remaining mixture, making about 16 meatballs.

  5. Step 5

    Once all the meatballs have been rolled, carefully drop them into the simmering sauce. If the pot seems too full, shimmy the pot back and forth gently to make more room to simmer the meatballs in an even layer. Do not stir, as the meatballs will break apart.

  6. Step 6

    Cover the pot partially with a lid and gently simmer the meatballs in the sauce for 1 hour (or up to 2 hours) until they are firm and cooked through. Carefully remove the meatballs to a plate, adding spoonfuls of sauce, or transfer the meatballs and sauce to a shallow serving bowl. Chop the remaining basil and sprinkle on top, and garnish with more grated Pecorino.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Ratings

4 out of 5
1,435 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Comments

Christine

This is very much like my Sicilian mother-in-law’s recipe, except she uses fresh breadcrumbs and broils the meatballs before adding them to the sauce. The fresh crumbs makes them tender and the broiling keeps them from breaking up in the sauce.

andrew

No need to use veal if you don’t want to - beef and pork 1/2 and 1/2 mix works great

Nichole

This is very much like Daniele Uditi’s recipe, though I believe he adds calabrian chili paste to his. I do the same, and they are superb! I don’t do Italian breadcrumbs, just panko they’re superior imo. I also add pecorino AND parm.

Don’t Think Twice

This is a delicious recipe deserving of five stars in my opinion, but mind the salt. I am not a salt scold but there are a number of ingredient variables to consider along the way. If you are using prepared, seasoned bread crumbs it’s likely that salt is high on the ingredients lists. If you are making your own, then not so much. The saltiness of pecorino varies a lot, so check it out and proceed accordingly. Salted tomato sauce is add to the mix. The recipe calls for salt on top of all this. My advice is to hold off on the salt addition until you’ve cooked up a little meat patty and tasted it. When I did this I found the seasoning just a tad light and so I sprinkled in a little more - maybe a teaspoon for a doubled recipe - and did another test patty. Just right!

AM

@Broccoli Brian Think of it as caramelization. I remove the meatballs, add half a cup of pasta sauce to the sauce pot, stir up all the delicious browned tomato sauce, and then toss the pasta in the sauce. Deeeeelicious.

s. sullivan

LOVED these! Due to poor planning, I had to use ground meat i had on hand which was 3/4 lb 80/20 beef + 3/4 lb pork I was a little nervous but the results = fall-apart tender, scrumptious meatballs!

Private comments are only visible to you.

Recipe Tags

or to save this recipe.