Everybody else is making Spaghetti Bolognese with their weekly beef mince purchase yet again. But you? You’re making plump Mexican Meatballs, smothered in a chipotle tomato sauce and served over rice, with a dollop of guacamole and sour cream.
How smug do you feel? (Answer: VERY!)
Mexican Meatballs
I probably shouldn’t admit this, given I run a recipe website and I feel like I’m expected to have a positive attitude to all things food. The truth is I don’t really have the patience for meatball rolling. I’ve previously whined that someone really needs to invent a meatball rolling device. I picture some tube-like thing into which meat is stuffed, then perfectly shaped meatballs come plopping out the other end.
Not the best image, perhaps!! 😂 But imagine how fast it could be to make 100 meatballs using such a contraption!!!
Anyway, in the absence of such a device, the point of sharing this musing is so you know that any meatball recipe you see on this website exists because I deem it totally worthy of the rolling effort! And today, such a recipe is Mexican Meatballs.
Powered by classic Tex-Mex spices, these pork and beef beauties are everything you love about Mexican and everything you love about meatballs all in one, and all bathed in a smoky, chipotle-accented tomato sauce.
Ingredients in Mexican Meatballs
Here’s what goes into these Mexican Meatballs. There’s a few “secret ingredients”!
The “secret ingredients” in these meatballs are:
Corn chips that are used in place of the usual breadcrumbs! They add extra flavour into the meatballs, that distinct corn flavour, as well as salt. Substitute with breadcrumbs;
Beef AND pork mince (ground meat) – For the best flavour and lovely soft meatballs. Feel free to just use all beef. Super tasty, just that they are not quite as soft. And if you use all pork, the meatballs will taste, well, porkier; and
Chipotle powder – This is smoked, dried and ground jalapeño chilli that has a bit of a spicy kick to it as well as being beautifully smoky. Sadly it’s not yet widely available in Australia but you can find it in Harris Farms (Sydney) and anywhere that stocks a good variety of spices. Substitute with more smoked paprika and a pinch of cayenne pepper or pure chilli.
Also used in: Prawn/Shrimp Tacos, Chipotle Lime Roasted Cauliflower (this is so good!), Cowboy Bean Salad, Fish Tacos, Mexican Shredded Beef, Chicken Tacos, Cowboy Rice Salad.
Ingredients for sauce for Mexican Meatballs
And here’s what you need for the sauce:
Chipotles in Adobo – Now available in the Mexican food section of large grocery stores in Australia (Coles, Woolworths, Harris Farms), this is the key flavouring element for the sauce. We don’t use loads – there’s enough flavour in the meatballs themselves, so we only add a subtle amount in the sauce.
Chipotles are dried and smoked jalapeno peppers. In tinned formed, they usually come in a tangy and spicy red sauce called adobo, hence the name Chipotles in Adobo. You get smoky flavour and heat from the chipotle along with a good kick of spices, garlic and other flavourings from the adobo.
In this recipe, we are using both the chipotle chilli as well as a bit of the sauce.
Freeze leftover chipotles: Use a small ziplock bag, arranging chillies in one layer so it’s easy to break a bit off to use as needed. Use for Beef Barbacoa, Mexican Shredded Chicken, Mexican Corn.
How to make Mexican Meatballs
To make life easy and keep your meatballs nice and round, I like to par-bake them in the oven then finish them off in the sauce. Great flavour exchange – tasty juices from the meatballs leeches into the sauce, and the sauce keeps the meatballs nice and juicy!
Blitz corn chips until they become fine crumbs. Obviously skip this if you’re using breadcrumbs instead!
Mix with all the other meatball ingredients. Use your hands for speed and ease, else use a wooden spoon;
Portion the mixture using an ice cream scoop. The perfect meatball scooping device for even portioning and making them semi-round! I use my 3 tablespoon ice cream scoop and filling it about 3/4 full. This makes 20 meatballs;
Roll into meatballs then place onto a rack set over a tray. Why a rack? Keeps the balls round and allows hot air to circulate under the meatballs so they brown nicely underneath too. Without a rack, the underside doesn’t go brown;
Spray generously with oil then bake for just 10 minutes to get some colour on the outside. They will still be raw inside which is what we want because we will finish cooking them in the sauce;
Make sauce while the meatballs are in the oven. We only simmer for 5 minutes to start with;
Simmer meatballs in sauce: Then once the meatballs come out of the oven, transfer them into the sauce. Simmer for 10 minutes, rolling them occasionally, to finish cooking the meatballs and to thicken the sauce; and
Sprinkle with fresh coriander/cilantro to finish them off just before serving!
What to serve with Mexican Meatballs
These meatballs are delicious served plain, straight out off the stove, served over a bowl of rice or with some warmed tortillas for stuffing/slopping (that’s a technical term!😂). However, as with all things Mexican, toppings are a bonus. Here are some options.
Topping options
Sour cream (or yogurt)
Shredded cheese
Avocado in any form – diced, sliced, smushed, or if you’re going for gold, Guacamole
Your favourite hot sauce
Jalapeno slices
Coriander/cilantro leaves
Rice options
Note: The Mexican Green Rice is buried in a Mexican Beef Ribs recipe. I will pull it out and add a video one of these days!
Enjoy! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Mexican Meatballs
Ingredients
Meatballs:
- 250g / 8oz beef mince (ground beef)
- 250g / 8oz pork mince (ground pork), or more beef (Note 1)
- 1/2 red onion , grated using a standard box grater
- 50g / 1.75 oz plain corn chips , sub breadcrumbs + 1/4 tsp salt (Note 2)
- 1 egg
- 3 tbsp coriander/cilantro , finely chopped (sub chives or parsley)
- 3 tbsp parsley , finely chopped (optional)
- 2 tsp fresh jalapeño , seeds removed and finely minced (reduce/omit for not spicy)
- Oil spray (preferably olive oil)
Meatball Mexican Spices:
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp chipotle powder , sub more smoked paprika, reduce for less spicy (Note 3)
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder (sub 1/2 fresh garlic clove, finely grated)
- 1/2 tsp paprika , hot for spicy or sweet for not (or sub more Chipotle powder)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Chipotle Sauce:
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic , finely minced
- 1 chipotle from a can of Chipotle in Adobo , finely chopped – add another for extra flavour! (Note 4)
- 1 tsp Adobo Sauce from a can of Chipotle in Adobo (Note 4)
- 800g / 24 oz crushed tomato
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp coriander/cilantro , roughly chopped
Toppings & garnishes (pick & choose):
- Coriander/cilantro leaves , whole
- Shredded cheese
- Sour cream
- Guacamole (or just diced, sliced or mashed plain avocado)
- Rice, for serving (Note
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 220°C/390°F (200°C fan). Place a rack over a tray. Spray rack with oil.
- Blitz corn chips: Place corn chips in a Nutribullet or food processor. Blitz until they become fine crumbs. (Else put in a ziplock bag and bash!)
- Meatball mixture: Place meatball ingredients and meatball Mexican spices in a bowl and mix well with your hands.
- Roll meatballs: Roll into 3 – 3.5cm / 1.2 – 1.4" balls. Place on rack. Should make around 20 – 24 meatballs.
- Bake 10 minutes: Spray meatballs generously with oil. Bake 10 minutes until browned (they will still be raw inside, we finish cooking them in the sauce).
Sauce:
- While the meatballs are in the oven, start the sauce.
- Sauté garlic and chipotle: Heat oil over medium high heat in a large skillet. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add chopped Adobo Chile and sauté for 20 seconds.
- Simmer 5 minutes: Add tomato, Adobo sauce and sugar. Bring to simmer, then turn heat down to low and cook, stirring every now and then, for 5 minutes.
Finish Meatballs:
- Cook meatballs in sauce: Remove meatballs from oven and transfer into sauce. Continue to cook the sauce for another 10 minutes, rolling meatballs every now and then, until the sauce is thickened and the meatballs are cooked.
- Fresh coriander: Sprinkle with chopped coriander/cilantro.
- Serving: Serve over rice or stuff into tortillas with toppings of choice!
Recipe Notes:
- Plain white rice
- Green Mexican Rice (coriander/cilantro rice)
- Mexican Red Rice
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
That time I burnt my hand grabbing the handle of a searing hot cast iron skillet. It was stinging so badly I had to keep it submerged in ice cold water, while I continued working with my other hand!
No sympathy from Dozer. All he cared about was the one little treat left on the table!
I think I need to go on a meatball rampage. I was totally planning ony making IKEA meatballs next week, and now This recipe shows up! Looks delish
Make both Lucinda!! 😂 N x
Hi Nagi, love Dozer and hope your hand is healing. This is a great recipe and for those who don’t like to roll meatballs (and don’t want to spend money for an official one from Amazon) you can add one scoop of meat from a cookie scoop into a lightly floured glass measuring cup (1 cup or 2 cup if you wish). Hold onto the handle and rapidly rotate the cup, which spins the meat into a meatball and lightly covers it with flour for adherence of sauce. You will need to replenish the flour as you continue to process, but it’s kind of an easy way to get those meatballs done. If you use the same amount in the scoop, they should all come out to be the same size. Thanks, as always, for the great recipes, tips, and a chance to share Dozer’s adventures.
I hadn’t even thought of this method Anne! Great tip – you’d just need to watch the amount of flour as it’s going to affect the consistency of the sauce and thicken it slightly. N x
Is there a substitution for MEAT? Daughter is vegan. Her loss.
Not really for this one Galina, I haven’t tried with any of the “vegan meat” either to be honest! N x
Here you go Nagi ! I would say it’s a bit pricy, haha
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B085KVWZFQ?pf_rd_r=NGZYWSZ7YXM4KK8MJ3RQ&pf_rd_p=5ae2c7f8-e0c6-4f35-9071-dc3240e894a8&pd_rd_r=f3694f09-cf0c-4c2e-b01c-f14132c1f41d&pd_rd_w=zxchZ&pd_rd_wg=Z4aho&ref_=pd_gw_unk
I’d need to make a LOT of meatballs to make that worthwhile Dave 😂 N x
Hi Nagi!
is there a substitution for the egg that I can use in the meatballs? I’m deathly allergic but would still love to try this and didn’t want to lose the integrity of the meatballs without it.
Maybe just try decreasing/eliminating the corn chips? I often find you don’t really need the egg to keep meatballs together.
Hi Nik, sorry I haven’t tried with any other egg substitutes, would love to know if you give it a go though! N x
Hi Nagi, Wondering if I could use chicken mince in place of the pork mince when I have Jewish friends to supper. The recipe looks great (though I have never seen chipotle in adobe). Sorry about your hand, Dozer was so good not to swipe the treat while you were working one-handed!
You sure could Dorothy, I hope they’re a hit!! N x
Next time try rinsing your burn under cold water and then covering it with salt. Instant pain relief and blisters don’t form. The skin is still just as fragile so needs to be protected as it heals. A doctor who had worked in the desert overseas (no handy ice water around) told me about this and I never do anything else now. CAN’T be used on third degree burns.
I’ve never heard of this Judith!! 😅 N x
SUGAG SUGAR pain gon in 30 seconds it was used to treat burns during Civil War have burned on 400 degree oven. quick wet then cover in sugar no water den lick and sugar I promise this works. never heard bout salt but I am good to try SUGAR
Hi Nagi, I love your blog and Dozer is SUCH a lovely boy! Could you use polenta instead of blitzed corn chips??
Now that’s an idea Cat – I’d need to test this one! N x
Oh my goodness, I cannot wait to cook these. They look so delicious.
All your recipes that I have tried have been awesome. Thanks Nagi 🙏🏾
I hope you love them Shingi!! N x
Nagi,
Having rolled a lot of Albóndigas Mexicanas ( Mexican Meatballs) I would never had thought of using Corn Chips. Nice touch.
I usually use cooked Rice instead instead of Bread Crumbs and Mint instead of Parsley.
Dozer needs a Treat, Just ask him!
Sounds great Mike!!! N x
I’ve been looking for those Chipotle Adobe chillies in Coles, Woolies and Harris Farm but no luck! Frustrating as I want to use them in a couple of recipes! Has anyone seen them anywhere?
I get them from Coles in a little jar. La Costena is the brand. A tbsp mixed into a chilli con carne adds complexity also.
Hi Jen, Woolies & Coles in the Mexican section as well as Harris stock them!! N x
Forestway Fresh in Terry Hills sell them. Bought them on the weekend.
Love your recepis and your reports on Dozer. People my say Dozer is nothing but a gimmick. But I can sense your deep love to the dog. Only a dog lover can understand the feeling.
There is something primeval
that we can be so attached to dogs! All the best to you and Dozer.
They truly are the best aren’t they Hottl ❤️ N x
I have a meatball press! I bought it off Amazon and it changed my friggin life, Nagi. I can do 9 meatballs in one press.
Can’t wait to use it to try these!
Game changer Sam!!!! I love this! N x
Have read the recipe yet, nor the next chapter in Dozer’s life. Those new floor boards are gorgeous!
You’ll have to wait to see the new floor Lynne! It’s still demo time! N x
You are pure awesomeness, Nagi!
Can’t wait to try these Mexi meatballs.
They are sure to be as great as the other recipes we have tried at home here from your site.
Love to Dozer!
I’m sure you’ll love them Nick – love to know what you think once you try them! N x
You are just gorgeous. Thankyou for your informative entertaining recipes/commentaries. Big kiss to Dozer…..Joan
Love having new ‘mince’ meat recipes like this one ! Yours has a great deal more to do with Mexico than ‘spag bol’ ever had with Italy !!! Have loved corn chips for eons but never used then thus ! Everything easily available locally, even if at times sourcing from abroad . . . what a tasty addition to one’s recipe page . . .
Mince in US is sold different I love combining also love Mexico flavors
Mince is so versatile, I love new ways to cook it Eha! N x
Thanks, Nagi! Son’s birthday dinner next week and he wants Mexican. We have been planning the menu and this dish completes it perfectly! Kudos to Dozer on saving the builder’s sandwich btw.
Wahoo! This will be great Jo! I hope he has a fabulous birthday!!! N x
Your recipe looks lovely! I always add a can of black beans or kidney beans to my Mexican Meatballs. I more often make them with chicken mince, its yummy.
You can definitely sub chicken mince Helen, although, I prefer beef and pork for the flavour 🙂 N x