Sous Vide Meatballs

Topped with pasta sauce and parmesan cheese, these hearty, savory sous vide meatballs will satisfy your comfort food cravings any day of the week.

Meatballs can satisfy the deepest craving for something warm, comforting, and savory. Imagine the combination of black pepper, herbs and spices, the soft texture and juicy tomato sauce topping with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and parsley… Is there ever a time that isn’t appropriate for sous vide meatballs? I didn’t think so.

If you have yet to try your hand at sous vide meatballs, the trick to making them successfully is to prep and then freeze them before placing them in the sous vide machine to cook. Then, after you place them in the vacuum-sealed bags and water bath, they will keep their round shape instead of flattening out. (Don’t make the same mistake as this chef did in the video.) Flat meatballs are not attractive in any way.

These Italian sous vide meatballs are also a great meal prep or quick weeknight dinner hack, although they’re sophisticated enough to serve during special occasions, such as Easter or the Christmas holidays.

Since they need to be frozen ahead of time, you can make a huge batch at once and leave them in the freezer. When you’re ready to cook the meatballs, there’s no need to thaw them first. Just place them in your sous vide bag, seal, cook, and serve!

If you have got leftover meatballs, you can put them in a spinach meatball soup or make a skillet meatball goulash. It’s delicious!

Table of Contents hide

• Sous Vide Meatballs
  • For the meatballs:
  • For finishing:
• About the Author
  • Sharon Chen

Sous Vide Meatballs

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• Author: Sharon Chen
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
• Yield: 30 Meatballs 1x
• Category: Main
• Method: Sous Vide
• Cuisine: Italian

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Description

Topped with pasta sauce and parmesan cheese, these hearty, savory sous vide meatballs will satisfy your comfort food cravings any day of the week.

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Ingredients

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For the meatballs:

• 2 slices white sandwich bread, without the crusts, torn into pieces
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 1 small red onion, very finely chopped
• 1 large egg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/8  teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

For finishing:

• 2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
• Pasta sauce
• Shredded parmesan cheese and chopped parsley for garnishing

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Instructions

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine ground meat and the rest of the meatball ingredients. Mix well with a spoon or fork. (I found that the most effective way is to use your hands.) Grab a small amount (about 1½ -2 tablespoons) of the meat mixture at a time, shape into meatballs, and place on baking sheet.
2. Freeze the meatballs in a single layer for an hour before vacuum-sealing them to keep their shape.
3. When ready to cook, preheat water bath to 145°F. (I use the Anova sous vide machine.)
4. Place frozen meatballs in multiple sous vide bags, keeping them at least 1 inch apart from each other. Seal each bag with a vacuum sealer or a hand pump.
5. When the water is ready, slowly drop the meatballs into the water bath and make sure all meatballs are covered by the water. Cook for an hour.
6. Once the meatballs are done, remove from the water bath. Use tongs to gently transfer the meatballs to a plate.
7. Heat butter in a cast iron skillet over high heat. Gently place the meatballs in the skillet, making sure meatballs are not touching each other. (Do it in batches.) Brown all sides to sear, about 5 minutes per batch.
8. Serve with pasta sauce, parmesan cheese, and parsley over pasta or zucchini noodles.

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Notes

• You can make more meatballs and leave them in the freezer. When ready to cook, follow steps 4 to 7 for a hassle-free meatball dinner.
• I used ground beef and ground pork for this meatball recipe, but you can use any meat mixture you’d like, such as ground turkey or lamb.

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Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 large Meatball
• Calories: 38
• Sugar: 0.4g
• Sodium: 47.7mg
• Fat: 1.1g
• Saturated Fat: 0.4g
• Carbohydrates: 1.4g
• Fiber: 0.2g
• Protein: 5.3g
• Cholesterol: 19.8mg

About the Author

Sharon Chen

Sharon Chen is an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach and author of the Complete Sous Vide Cookbook. She believes food not only brings healing but also connection. As the creator of StreetSmart Kitchen, she aims to make meal prep easier than ever and help you find balance, ease, joy, and simplicity in the kitchen as you improve your well-being.