Spanish Style Meatballs
Small pork meatballs simmered in a rich and slightly spicy tomato sauce. Delicious served as an appetiser or slimming friendly snack!
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NutritionPer Serving
- Calories312
- Carbs19g
- Protein34g
- Fat8.5g
- Saturates1.1g
- Sugars14g
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For the full list of ingredients and comprehensive instructions, please see the recipe card at the end of this post. Before you scroll, there’s important stuff to know in the blurb!
Bring a taste of Spain to your dining table with these delicious Spanish Style Meatballss! These meatballs are smaller than typical meatballs and simmered in a rich and slightly spicy tomato sauce to allow the flavours to develop.
In Spain, these meatballs would be served as a snack or as part of a tapas or “small plate” meal, and they’re so versatile you could enjoy them in a number of ways! They’re also perfect for freezing, so why not make a large batch and freeze for another day?
Serve alongside a wholemeal roll for a lighter snack, or if you’d prefer something more substantial you can try them on top of your favourite pasta or with rice and a large salad.
What diets is this Spanish Style Meatballs recipe suitable for?
This Spanish Style Meatballs recipe can be made gluten free as long as you swap out the following ingredients for gluten free versions:
- Wholemeal breadcrumbs
Please make sure to double or triple check all of your ingredients if you’re cooking for people with allergies.
Do you need any special ingredients to make Spanish Style Meatballs?
Nope! All of the ingredients are easily found in supermarkets, and you may find you’ve already got most of the spices in your store cupboard. You can adjust the spice if you like, by increasing the amount of hot pepper sauce.
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‘Family favourite. All plates cleared. Leftovers for tomorrows dinner’
How many calories are in these Spanish Style Meatballs?
There are 312 calories per portion in this Spanish Style Meatballs, which means it falls into our Everyday Light category.
To cut down the amount of calories even more, you can simply halve the portion size and serve with a healthy accompaniment!
This Spanish Style Meatballs is perfect if you’re following a calorie controlled diet and fits well with any one of the major diet plans such as Weight Watchers.
As a guide, an average man needs around 2,500kcal (10,500kJ) a day to maintain a healthy body weight. For an average woman, that figure is around 2,000kcal (8,400kJ) a day. Obviously, if your goal is to lose weight then you might want to adjust these slightly! You can read more about these recommendations on the NHS website.
For the meatballs
Step 1
To make the meatballs, place the pork, breadcrumbs, garlic, onion granules, paprika, salt and pepper in a large bowl and mix together.
Step 2
Add the beaten egg a little at a time, mixing with clean hands, until a consistency is reached that will form a small ball.
Step 3
Divide the mixture into 16 small meatballs and set aside.
Step 4
Spray a large frying pan with low calorie spray and place over a medium heat. When the frying pan is hot, add the meatballs, and fry for about 5 minutes, turning carefully, to seal on all sides. When they are sealed, place on a plate and set aside.
For the sauce
Step 5
Spray a little more low calorie spray into the frying pan and place over a medium heat. Add the onions and fry for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened and golden brown.
Step 6
Add the garlic and continue to cook for a further 3 – 4 minutes.
Step 7
Add the tomatoes, fennel seeds, oregano, bay leaves, hot pepper sauce, sweetener and tomato puree. Stir well.
Step 8
Add the meatballs to the tomato sauce. Cover and simmer over a low heat for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the juices in the meatballs run clear when a knife is inserted. If the sauce is becoming too thick, add a little water.
Step 9
Remove the bay leaves. Stir in the chopped flat leaf parsley and serve at once.
What could I serve with these Spanish Style Meatballs?
Serve with a simple wholemeal roll or your favourite accompaniments. Why not try a tapas table with these other small plates?
How do you know when Spanish Style Meatballs are cooked?
You should cook these Spanish Style Meatballs until the juices run clear when a knife is inserted. This will take around 25 minutes.
Standard advice here in the UK is to cook food until it has reached 70°C and stayed at that temperature for 2 minutes. This is to keep your family safe.
How long can you keep Spanish Style Meatballs in the fridge?
Once you’ve put it out, ideally you should eat it within 4 hours.
If you allow any leftovers to cool, make sure to refrigerate in a container with a lid and chill. You can keep leftovers of Spanish Style Meatballs in the fridge for approximately 3 days or so.
Can I freeze Spanish Style Meatballs?
Yes you can! This recipe can be frozen, but please remember to do the following;
- Freeze it as soon as it is cold enough.
- Use a container or bag that is suitable for freezing.
Don’t forget to add a label with what it is, and on what date you put it in the freezer!
How do I reheat Spanish Style Meatballs?
From chilled: Place in a microwave proof container with loosely fitting lid and heat for 4-7 minutes until piping hot.
From frozen: Allow to defrost, and heat covered in the microwave for 3-5 minutes then stir. Cook for a further 5-7 minutes until piping hot.
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Spanish Style Meatballs
Small pork meatballs simmered in a rich and slightly spicy tomato sauce. Delicious served as an appetiser or slimming friendly snack!
-
Prep Time
15 MINS
-
Cook Time
45 MINS
- KCals 312
- Carbs 19G
Instructions
To make the meatballs
- Place the pork, breadcrumbs, garlic, onion granules, paprika, salt and pepper in a large bowl and mix together.
- Add the beaten egg a little at a time, mixing with clean hands, until a consistency is reached that will form a small ball.
- Divide the mixture into 16 small meatballs and set aside.
- Spray a large frying pan with low calorie spray and place over a medium heat. When the frying pan is hot, add the meatballs, and fry for about 5 minutes, turning carefully, to seal on all sides. When they are sealed, place on a plate and set aside.
To make the sauce
- Spray a little more low calorie spray into the frying pan and place over a medium heat. Add the onions and fry for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened and golden brown.
- Add the garlic and continue to cook for a further 3 - 4 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes, fennel seeds, oregano, bay leaves, hot pepper sauce, sweetener and tomato puree. Stir well.
- Add the meatballs to the tomato sauce. Cover and simmer over a low heat for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the juices in the meatballs run clear when a knife is inserted. If the sauce is becoming too thick, add a little water.
- Remove the bay leaves. Stir in the chopped flat leaf parsley and serve at once.
Looking for Slimming World Syns or Weight Watchers (WW) Points?
With ever-changing plans and point calculations, we have made the decision to remove WW Points from the website - referring to your individual plan or advice from your consultant is always going to give the most accurate results.
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Recipe notes
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4 comments
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EileenTuesday 5th July 2022
Can you tell me what book this recipe is in please
SharonWednesday 6th July 2022
Hi Eileen, the Spanish Meatballs recipe isn’t in any of our books and is exclusive to our website.Hope you enjoy the recipe!
Sue RobjnsonMonday 18th April 2022
Made the meatballs but sauce a little to hot what can I add to cool it down please
HollyTuesday 19th April 2022
Hey Sue, One of the best ways to cool down a sauce that is too spicy is to add a dairy product, yoghurt or cream cheese would work great. If you make this recipe again try adding the hot sauce to taste, hope that helps!
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