Chef John's Ricotta Meatballs

Ricotta-spiked meatballs are so tender, so flavorful, and so delicious. There are hardly any ingredients. Of course we're going to throw this over some spaghetti, because we're Americans and that's what we do with meatballs.

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

Ingredients

• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 cup water
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pound ground beef
• ½ onion, minced
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
• ⅓ cup dry bread crumbs
• 1 (28 ounce) jar marinara sauce
• 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
• ¼ cup packed chopped Italian parsley

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Saute 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 2

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

Step 3

Roll about 2 tablespoons of mixture into a 1-inch ball for each meatball. Pour 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 a tongs and use it to remove excess grease from skillet.

Step 4

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.