Pork and Ricotta Meatballs Recipe (2024)

Cooking the meatballs in a marinara sauce on the stove is much tastier. It also means fewer dishes. Arrange the meatballs in a large skillet or Dutch oven, pour sauce over, and *do not stir.* Just leave them be or else they fall apart. 30 mins or so, covered.

Very good meatballs but too salty. With Parmesan cheese no need to add the 2 tsp kosher salt. Will try again without added salt

Out of room in previous comments to add that the pork mixture is easier to handle to form the meatballs if you have the time to cover it and put in in the fridge for 30 - 60 minutes first. Just that little bit of time to let the mixture 'rest' makes a difference.

Cooked with ground turkey instead of pork and reduced salt per the comments - resulting meatballs were delicious, tender, and super quick. Served with polenta, roasted broccoli, and a little marinara - dinner was done in an instant. Will definitely make again.

The thing that most impressed me about this recipe was the consistency of the meatballs. I've got a bit of thing about ratios and methods vs recipes and ingredients, so I did some maths and this is how it worked:10 parts mince to2 parts ricotta and1 part parmesan ANDone egg and 1/2 cup breadcrumbs (fresh) per 500g (about one pound) of mixtureThought this might be handy for other people who don't want to always remember where to find a recipe!

Added garlic, basil, oregano, majorum to give a bit more flavor. Delicious!

Delicious easy recipe. Second time I made these I added grated garlic and grated onion. After forming into balls, I refrigerated for 45 minutes, baked 20 minutes at 400 degrees then simmered gently in sauce 10 minutes. Served over faro, great tender and light meatballs, a big hit.

NYT agrees: "...or simmer the meatballs in tomato sauce for serving over spaghetti."

Just made these to go with tomorrow night's dinner of David Tanis's Pasta w/ Fresh Tomato Sauce & Ricotta. It's for a first date - I'm cooking. He hasn't had a kitchen in months (renovation delayed b/c Covid) so I thought I'd make him a bowl of homemade pasta. It's June, so I needed something light. These meatballs are so airy & spring-like (ricotta) - just perfect. They were so incredibly simple to make & are absolutely delicious. With good cheese, add'l seasoning isn't needed. Wish me luck!

Here in Italy meatballs are never served over pasta, which would be like plopping a T-bone steak on a pile of spaghetti. Why? Please serve the pasta first, as a primo piatto. Then serve the meatballs separately, as the secondo. Tante grazie!

Fabulous! Dinner in the table in 45 minutes from walking in the door. I’d use 1/2 the salt and would put the meatballs on a rack in the pan so the fat drained off. The foodie and the 14 year old both loved these

Salt complaints may be the common diff--table salt, Morton, Diamond. When measuring by volume (teaspoon) not weight (1/2 ounce), the saltiness is considerably different. On a saltiness scale, Diamond is 1, Morton is 1.5, table is 2, so a teaspoon of each will result in considerably different "saltiness." Guessing most NYT recipes are Diamond, so using Morton--saltier taste See https://www.cooksillustrated.com/articles/1946-our-favorite-kosher-salt?incode=MCSCD00L0&ref=new_search_experience_1

Made these this weekend. I have been making meatballs all of my adult life. I tried this recipe because I was curious what the addition of ricotta would do for meatballs. This definitely makes a meatball with a nice texture, however there is no flavor in this recipe at all. There are MUCH better meatball recipes out there.

Cook meatballs on a rack over foil.

I made this with, brace yourself, vegan "ground beef" and it turned out perfectly. After I pulled from the oven I simmered them in Julia Moskin's classic marinara sauce while the spaghetti cooked and it turned out great.

These are absolutely the best meatballs I've ever tasted. And I agree, poaching them in red sauce is by far the easiest (and best texture!) I just open a jar of passata, add a hunk of butter, a chopped leek or small onion, and some salt and pepper. Simmer them all together and you have fast and fabulous meatballs to serve with pasta, polenta or even garlic mashed potatoes. Delish!

Have made many times and always add 1/4 c panko for a slightly softer meatball. Recently had to give up gluten and they come out perfectly with GF breadcrumbs (and the additional GF panko, if desired). They freeze really well!

Was looking at this as a way to eat down the fridge / freezer. Found that I could skip the ricotta and instead use cream cheese (my kids eat bagels faster than the cream cheese lasts) While blasphemy in terms of being proper good and economic way to use what’s on hand. Agree with previous comment about serving meatballs on their own rather than dumped over pasta!

I’ve made these often with ground pork, but this time I’m trying turkey. Made 2 batches, one with “green stuff” (as in: “What’s this green stuff?”)— spinach, cooked and squeezed dry— one without. We’ll see. Note: plan other ways to use up the leftover ricotta. It spoils pretty quickly.

Made these tonight and they were excellent! Light and fluffy and full of flavor. I made three changes - used egg whites instead of a whole egg [because I had made pasta with the yolks), used only 1 teaspoon of salt, and added about a teaspoon of Italian seasoning. Per the recommendations here I formed them and dropped them directly into the tomato sauce (linked in the recipe description) which I had cooked down earlier. Simmered with the lid on for about 40 minutes (do not stir). Delish!

I made these using beef (80/20) as it was what I had to use up, otherwise the same. Absolutely delicious! Tender and browned nicely even in the oven. My toddler loved them, and the rest of us found them super tasty too. Nice family friendly recipe.

Made the recipe with a teaspoon of lemon rind and a little less salt. Very good texture but a bit bland. Next time, more tomato sauce and I'll heat the meatballs in the sauce. And may add some garlic and herbs. Meatballs have very good texture and very easy to make

Tragically bland, these need spices to help them along. I had to repair them on reheat.

You must (yes, must) brown the meatballs all around before either baking or cooking in whatever sauce you're using. For color and for the maillard reaction.

2 oz Parmesan produced closer to a cup of cheese for me. So these were cheesy, but very good! Broil once they are cooked if you want them browned.

I have been making these for years and they are delicious! My recipe has the addition of ground fennel seeds and toasted pine nuts. I always double the recipe and freeze half the meatballs for later. Superb.

Love this delicious and easy recipe! I usually hate making meatballs, chopping onions, oil splattering, but this recipe was great, fast, no mess with cooking them in the oven, and so delicious! I made them the first time exactly per recipe and, because I avoid commercial pork, I made them a second time with half ground pork, half ground turkey . . . no one noticed a difference! Salt: I used slightly less salt and mixed well since I suspected one salty meatball may have been a mixing issue.

Made exactly as the recipe directed and they were spectacular!

Followed recipe, except, used Italian flavored bread crumbs. Came out light and delicious. Might back off salt a bit as suggested. Excellent easy peasy recipe.

I doubled the entire recipe by adding a pound of 80/20 hamburger to the one pound of ground pork. And I cooked them 30 minutes, but kept an eye on them the last ten minutes. They were excellent!