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Meatballs Cuban Style served on a white platter in a red sauce and garnished with chopped parsley
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Meatballs Cuban Style

In this recipe meatballs are seasoned with a combination of traditional Cuban spices.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Cuban
Keyword cuban food, meatballs
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 4
Calories 526kcal
Author Elizabeth

Ingredients

  • 1 pound Ground Beef Chuck
  • 1 Medium Onion finely diced, divided
  • 1 teaspoon Salt
  • 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
  • ¼ teaspoon Ground Cumin
  • ¼ teaspoon Dried Oregano
  • ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
  • 1 tablespoon Parsley divided
  • 1 Egg slightly beaten
  • ¼ cup Bread Crumbs plain
  • Oil for Frying use a neutral oil with a high smoke point (we use canola oil)
  • 2 tablespoon Olive Oil
  • 3-4 Garlic Cloves minced
  • ¼ cup White Wine
  • 16 ounce Tomato Sauce
  • 1 tablespoon Ketchup
  • 1 Bay Leaf

Instructions

  • Place the ground beef in a large bowl. Add half of the diced onions, salt, garlic powder, cumin, oregano, black pepper, ½ tablespoon parsley, egg and the bread crumbs. Mix the ground beef with your hands until all of the ingredients are incorporated.
  • Form the ground beef into meatballs, roughly the size of a golf ball. Makes approximately 12 meatballs
  • Add enough oil to a large, deep skillet to cover the bottom by about ¼ inch. Heat the oil over medium-high. When the oil is hot, carefully add the meatballs. Fry them, turning occasionally to brown on all sides. This will take 5 minutes or so. When the meatballs are browned, remove them from the skillet to a plate or pan.
  • Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat, add the remaining onions. Cook the onions for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the minced garlic and cook another 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently. Next, add the white wine and cook for just a minute or so, stirring and gently scrapping any bits off the bottom of the pot. Add the tomato sauce, bay leaf and ketchup, stir well to combine.
  • Add the meatballs to the sauce, stir gently. Bring the sauce to a simmer, lower the heat to medium-low to low and cover. Cook for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • Taste the sauce and add salt, if needed.
  • Sprinkle the remaining parsley on the meatballs and serve with white rice.

Nutrition

Calories: 526kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 39g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 121mg | Sodium: 1252mg | Potassium: 816mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 880IU | Vitamin C: 15.6mg | Calcium: 77mg | Iron: 4.6mg