Chef John's Ricotta Meatballs

These ricotta meatballs use plenty of ricotta cheese to give these Italian-inspired meatballs a tender texture. Serve over spaghetti with sauce.

• Preparation Time: 20 mins
• Cooking Time: 40 mins
• Total Time: 60 mins
• Calories: 331 Calories

Ingredients

• 1 cup water
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pound ground beef
• 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 (28 ounce) jar marinara sauce
• 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
• 0.5 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1.5 teaspoons kosher salt
• 0.5 onion, minced
• 0.33333334326744 cup dry bread crumbs
• 0.25 cup packed chopped Italian parsley

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Pour marinara sauce and water over meatballs in skillet. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until meatballs are cooked through and no longer pink in the center, about 30 minutes.

Step 2

Sauté onion in 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet over medium heat until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir garlic into onion and turn off heat. Transfer onion mixture to a large mixing bowl.

Step 3

Stir ground beef, ricotta cheese, parsley, egg, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper with onion mixture until almost combined; stir in bread crumbs and continue to mix until thoroughly blended.

Step 4

Roll about 2 tablespoons of mixture into a 1-inch ball for each meatball. Pour remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in same skillet used to cook onions. Place skillet over medium heat and brown meatballs on all sides in hot oil, about 5 minutes. Hold a crumpled paper towel in tongs and use it to remove excess grease from skillet.