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Baked Pesto Meatballs (Perfect in sauce or as Canapé)

Published and updated on 8 Comments

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pesto meatballs

pesto meatballs

I love beef and I love pesto, so combining the two, much like our pesto panna cotta (image below), was an inevitable happenstance!

Baked pesto meatballs make a great alternative flavour to your regular meatball pasta dish but one of my favourite ways of serving them is also as a canapé, at the end of a cocktail stick, with either a piece of cheese, cucumber or marinated/roasted tomato.

Pesto Panna Cotta

Pesto Panna Cotta

Here, it’s been baked in a simple tomato sauce, with some peppers (capsicum) & tomatoes. I love adding chargrilled peppers and roasted tomatoes for added depth.

You’ll find the recipe for homemade pesto here, it’s a 5 minute job, so, please do make it yourself.

For more Italian recipes, head on over to the Italian page, for favourites like:

 

 

Baked Pesto Meatballs (Perfect in sauce or as Canapé)

Rate this recipe
20 ratings
Baked Pesto Meatballs (Perfect in sauce or as Canapé)
Prep Time:
20 minutes
Cook Time:
45 minutes
Total Time:
1 hour, 5 minutes

Delicious Italian meatballs with a twist - these ones are zinged up with pesto!

Yield: Serves 4-6
Category: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Baked Pesto Meatballs (Perfect in sauce or as Canapé)
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Ingredients

    The Meatballs
  • 500g (1.1 lb) minced beef
  • 100g (3.5 oz) pesto, preferably home made
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten
  • 80g (2.5 oz) white breadcrumbs, about 3 slices of bread
  • 60g (2 oz) Parmesan cheese, grated
  • small handful of flat leaf parsley, chopped
  • 1-2 Tbsp olive oil, depending on how fatty your meat is
    The Sauce
  • 400g (14 oz) can of chopped tomatoes
  • 1 large onion, sliced
  • half each, green and red capsicum, sliced, fresh or chargrilled
  • 2 tomatoes, in rounds, or handful roasted
  • 2 Tbsp sundried tomato paste
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil, if needed
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Mix all the meatball ingredients (apart from the oil) in a large bowl.
  2. Make medium sized balls, you should get about 2 dozen.
  3. Heat the oil on medium high heat and brown the meatballs, turning them, for about 2 minutes each side. Do this in batches, no overcrowding as you want the meatballs to fry not stew.
  4. Place all the meatballs, in a single layer, in a large, oven proof dish and turn the oven on to 180˚C (350˚F).
  5. We'll be using the same pan for the sauce. If there is much fat left, tip all but 1 tbsp of it out. Add the 1 tbsp of olive oil if not. Heat this on medium heat.
  6. Fry the onions for about 5 minutes until soft.
  7. Add everything else in and bring to a simmer. Check seasoning.
  8. Pour this sauce all over the meatballs and bake in the hot oven for 25-30 minutes, at which point the sauce will be bubbling at the edges.
  9. Serve with pasta, bread or rice.
  10. Some mozzarella will go very nicely if serving the Baked Pesto Meatballs with pasta or bread.

Nutrition information

4-6
Nutrition label for Baked Pesto Meatballs (Perfect in sauce or as Canapé)
https://www.linsfood.com/baked-pesto-meatballs/

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Comments

  3. I was on your pesto page, and had to come and look at this recipe, as I love meatballs! Well, I have to tell you that I made them last weekend for a party and everybody wanted the recipe. Thank you!

    Reply

  4. Wow, this is simply amazing, never thought to make meatballs with pesto. I bet they taste amazing, thank you, I’ll have to give these a go!

    Reply

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