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!
These were easy to make, moist and flavourful! I used the cornmeal idea instead of panko or crushed chips. I forgot to buy jalapeño, fortunately had some of the pickled in a jar type that I used up. Turned out great. I made a 1.5x batch due to the amount of meat I had so we’ve eaten them on rice, with soft shell tortillas like tacos, and on pasta. Thumbs up!
Hi Nagi,
Another wonderful recipe from you, this must be the 3rd or 4th of your recipes i have made and once again absolutely fantastic.
Thankyou so much and keep giving us these gems.
Kind regards
Geoff
Hi Nagi,
I got a can of chipotle exactly the same as yours in a food hamper and have been wondering what to do with it for over a year… just wanted to say the kids and hubby loved the strong, spicy flavours of the chipotle and adobo sauce and everything tasted super nice with a coriander/lime guacamole and loads of sour cream and grated cheese.. delish..thanks for the recipe!
Which Chipotle powder do you use., I live in Brisbane where it is difficult to find. The two I have found to date taste different to each other and both dreadful. Thanks
Hi Serena, you can find it in Harris Farm here, just check you don’t have chipotle seasoning which is a blend of different spices. N x
OMG Nagi! Sunday lockdown meal and it was amazing. Corn chips are inspired! Semi cooked the meatballs in my air fryer so even less fuss. Another one for my recipe folder.
Sounds perfect Amanda!! N x
Yum! Very easy to make, and just the perfect amount of heat ( for us). Clean plates all around.
Nagi,
My wife requested your Mexican meatballs for her birthday. They were 5 stars. I made a double batch using 1lb of beef and 1lb of pork. Knowing your secret of grating the onion into the bread crumbs from your other meat ball recipes I’ve made, I knew a whole red onion would take some time. My solution was to blitz the corn chips in the food processor dump the crumbs and blitz the onion until pretty liquid. I put the chip crumbs back in and blitzed them and the onion together. Worked like a charm, nice and creamy to mix with the meat. Thank you Chef for a most excellent meal.
Best meatballs ever!!! You are a legend.
I’m so happy you love them Kavi – thanks so much!! N x
Hi Nagi, I can imagine how delicious this is already and I’m planning to add this to spaghetti. Do you think it’ll work with the pasta or will it be too strong of flavors / doesn’t match?
Hi Paul, it will be like a Mex-Italian fusion! I think these meatballs will be great over pasta, Enjoy!! N x
The Mexican meatballs were SOOOOO delicious. I served them up with rice, guacamole (your recipe, which is fabulous), sour cream and fresh coriander. This one is definitely a keeper!
Totally delicious and not overly spicy. Another winning recipe to add to the list!
We just had your Mexican Meatballs for dinner, and it has been a tremendous success.Thanks for another great recipe, Nagi!
Mireille
OMG Nagi, these were the ‘BOMB’ , made these last night when my sister came over for dinner. She apprenticed for me while I cooked (not that much) but we did it together which is just so much more fun, especially when your in your 60’s. It was so good but it doesn’t say when to add the cumin etc. I put them into the sauce because I had already half cooked the meatballs but next time I will add them to the meatballs but apart from the it was fantastic and all of us enjoyed it throughly. Just another fantastic recipe from you as expected, appreciated and loved. Thank you my guru Nagi. Love your work
Absolutely brilliant! Made your Mexican red rice to go with the meatballs. So tasty. Thank you Nagi 👋👋👋
Yummy Nagi, though I admit to changing a tad, and served with linguini and a sprinkling of parmigiana, as well as the coriander. It was absolutely delicious. The meatballs I made exactly like yours, just used pasta instead of rice. Thanks for another winner! Kate xx
Sounds great Kate!! N x
Hi, Nagi. I always make Japanese hamburg steak but this was a good change. What a clever idea to add some corn chips instead of bread crumbs. My whole family loved this dish. Arigatou.
Ridiculously good! I’m beyond thrilled with this recipe, and so very happy I doubled the batch. The sauce is magic – and the crushed corn chips gave these a delicious masa flavor. These meatballs are my new favorite. Many thanks Nagi!
I’m so happy you enjoyed them Lorelei, thanks so much for letting me know! N x
this was a hit but i made refried beans and yellow rice. big hit with kids
When is the spice mix added? Looks like it’s added to the meatball mixture, but recipe doesn’t say. Sounds very yummy!
Hi Mary, I’ll update this – yes it’s the meatball mix including the spices that are added in step 3. N x
Thanks, Nagi – your recipes are amazing and I can’t wait to make this recipe. I’m a huge fan of chipotles in adobe and of meatballs so perfect combination for me – yum, yum, yum!
Hey Nagi!
Your recipes have always been a staple in my household but WOW. My partner and I cooked this tonight with your Mexican Red Rice and it was the best meal we’ve made in a while!
Thank you for your wonderful recipes 😊 x
P.S I highly recommend sprinkling some crumbled jalapeño Mersey Valley cheese over the top 👌
Wahoo, I’m so glad you enjoyed it Dana, I love hearing this!!! N x