Chipotle Meatballs

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Last Updated on January 2, 2024

Who loves meatballs? These chipotle meatballs are the best way to make homemade meatballs with a simple and addictive chipotle sauce! These meatballs prove that you can make an easy meal that is delicious in a short amount of time!

Who loves meatballs? These chipotle meatballs are the best way to make homemade meatballs with a simple and addictive chipotle sauce! These meatballs prove that you can make an easy meal that is delicious in a short amount of time!

The great thing about making your own meatballs is that you can make this food as spicy or as mild as you want. When it comes to making a simple dinner, a serving of meatballs is a great idea. It’s the perfect way to add more protein with nutrition. For game nights, I love pairing this dish with truffle fries and spinach artichoke dip.

What is the best way to serve this meatball recipe?

This is the fun part of this recipe. Not only is the prep time minimal, but the cook time is short as well. This is one of those recipes that offer versatility in the way that it’s an easy food to pair with pasta, spaghetti, rice, or any other meal or dish.

Mix the meatballs with tomato sauce, or add some heat by adding some chipotle peppers in adobo as well. The adobo sauce is a great way to add even more chipotle flavor to an already delicious recipe.

Can I make meatballs without breadcrumbs?

Absolutely. You don’t need bread to make meatballs – this fresh and simple meatball recipe proves that!

You can easily have meatballs that mix well and hold together well without the need for breadcrumbs.

Do you add toppings to meatballs?

You can if you’d like. This all just depends on how you plan on serving them. Adding some tomato sauce on top is a great idea, or you can enhance that sweet flavor by drizzling on a little bit of BBQ sauce. It’s your menu, have fun with it!

If you want to add a few to a bowl and then add some toppings, you can easily make different servings taste different.

I also love mixing fresh cilantro in with all my recipes, too!

Who loves meatballs? These chipotle meatballs are the best way to make homemade meatballs with a simple and addictive chipotle sauce! These meatballs prove that you can make an easy meal that is delicious in a short amount of time!

Ingredients to make Meatballs with Chipotle Sauce

The good news is that making these meatballs isn’t hard to do at all. Just gather up the simple ingredients to get started.

For the meatballs

  • ¾ pound ground beef
  • ¾ pound ground pork
  • ½ cup onion, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons ghee, lard , or tallow

For the sauce

  • ½ cup chicken stock
  • ¼ cup raw honey
  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • ¼ teaspoon chipotle chili powder
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
  • ¼ teaspoon paprika
  • ¼ teaspoon dry yellow mustard
  • 3 green onions, optional, chopped, for garnish

How to make Chipotle meatballs

To make this recipe, follow the simple steps below. (and if you’re a fan, don’t forget to rate this recipe for others, too!)

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  2. Make the meatballs: In a medium-sized mixing bowl, mix the ground beef and pork, onion, garlic, egg, salt, and pepper with your hands until just combined. Form the mixture into meatballs 1½ inches in diameter.
  3. Melt the ghee in a large oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and cook for 5 minutes, turning frequently, until browned on all sides. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through.
  4. While the meatballs are cooking, make the sauce: Place all of the sauce ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and whisk to combine. Bring just to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 3 to 5 minutes, until the sauce has thickened, stirring occasionally. Taste and add additional chipotle powder or dry mustard if desired.
  5. Once the meatballs are done cooking, use a slotted spoon to transfer them to the pan with the sauce and toss to coat. Sprinkle with chopped green onion, if desired, and serve.

Can I cook the meatballs in oil?

I really prefer using tallow to make this simple recipe, but olive oil, vegetable oil, coconut oil, or avocado oil would all work.

The biggest thing to keep in mind is that you don’t want the ground meat to be soggy with oil, so after you cook them in the oil and bake them in the oven, you can put them on a plate with a clean napkin to soak up some of the extra greases.

How to store Chipotle meatballs

Meatball leftovers are the best! That means that you get to enjoy these meatballs again another time, which is always the best.

Anytime you can make a recipe that makes up several days of meals, you’re stretching the amount of money spent per serving while you’re also getting to enjoy the flavor and taste again.

Let the chipotle meatballs cool down all the way, then store them in an airtight container and keep them in the fridge. When you’re ready to eat and enjoy them again, you just need to reheat the recipe low and slow in the oven or pop them back in the microwave again.

How do I make the meatballs spicy?

To really add some heat to this dish, you can increase the spicy level of the sauce. This recipe isn’t really spicy on its own, but you can make it that way!

Chop up some chipotle peppers and add them to the sauce. You can also add some chili powder or even red pepper flakes to kick up the heat. This is easily accomplished and doesn’t really add extra steps to your total time.

Can I freeze chipotle meatballs?

Yes, you can. You can actually freeze them prior to baking them and when they’re already baked. Freezing meatballs, cooked or uncooked, is as simple as putting them in a freezer-safe container and keeping them in the freezer.

Don’t mix cooked with uncooked, as that is a really bad idea. When you’re ready to eat the uncooked, just thaw them and follow the recipe to cook them.

When you’re ready to eat the meatballs that are cooked, move them to the fridge to thaw and then reheat them in the microwave.

This recipe is from the following cookbook and it was shared with permission by the author.

The Paleo Cupboard Cookbook: Real Food, Real Flavor
  • Amazon Kindle Edition
  • Densmore, Amy (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 655 Pages - 11/17/2015 (Publication Date) - Victory Belt Publishing (Publisher)
chipotle meatballs in a bowl
Yield: 16 to 20

Chipotle Meatballs

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

There's nothing like biting into a juicy, satisfying Chipotle meatball. I especially love them when they're hot and crispy on the outside, but still soft and tender on the inside.

Ingredients

  • For the meatballs
  • ¾ pound ground beef
  • ¾ pound ground pork
  • ½ cup onion, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons ghee, page 320, page 322, page 324, lard , or tallow

For the sauce

  • ½ cup chicken stock, page 310
  • ⅓ cup tomato paste
  • ¼ cup raw honey
  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • ¼ teaspoon chipotle chili powder
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
  • ¼ teaspoon paprika
  • ¼ teaspoon dry yellow mustard
  • 3 green onions, optional, chopped, for garnish

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  2. Make the meatballs: In a medium-sized mixing bowl, mix the ground beef and pork, onion, garlic, egg, salt, and pepper with your hands until just combined. Form the mixture into meatballs 1½ inches in diameter.
  3. Melt the ghee in a large oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and cook for 5 minutes, turning frequently, until browned on all sides. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through.
  4. While the meatballs are cooking, make the sauce: Place all of the sauce ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and whisk to combine. Bring just to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 3 to 5 minutes, until the sauce has thickened, stirring occasionally. Taste and add additional chipotle powder or dry mustard if desired.
  5. Once the meatballs are done cooking, use a slotted spoon to transfer them to the pan with the sauce and toss to coat. Sprinkle with chopped green onion, if desired, and serve.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

16

Serving Size:

g

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 157Saturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 45mgSodium: 195mgCarbohydrates: 6gSugar: 5gProtein: 8g

Did you make this recipe?

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8 thoughts on “Chipotle Meatballs”

  1. Mmm…Swedish meatballs! I’ve never tried to make them because they’re a little intimidating, but I’d love to try! Sounds delish.

    Reply
  2. The Chipotle Shrimp Tacos sounds so delicious. It would be a toss up between them and the Honey Chipotle meatballs…they both sound yummy.

    Reply
  3. The one you made got my attention, so I know I’d make that one. But after looking, one of the first I’d make is Moroccan Chicken.

    Reply

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