Gingery Meatballs in Tomato Sauce Recipe (2024)

Made it as the recipe was written. Used soy sauce option. Absolutely delicious! Easy to make. Was able to use a surplus of garden tomatoes in this dish. Will be putting it into regular rotation.

I like making meatballs ahead to allow flavors to meld, and I’d make it through step 3 and then fridge it. I’d finish it up by reheating and doing step 4 when I actually wanted to eat them.

Flat leaf parsley. It looks almost identical and will give an herby flavor without the soapy taste cilantro gives off to certain individuals. I would just double the quantity as parsley has a much milder flavor\herby-ness than cilantro.

It's June and I'm in NJ so I don't have summer tomatoes just yet. I do have an impulse buy of way too many Costco roasted tomato packets that were loudly shaming me with their best by date. Happened to have started to make meatballs when seeing this and also happened to have all the other ingredients on hand. Took that as a sign. Voila, dinner we both enjoyed. Thanks, Melissa.

Or, try putting the meat mixture into the fridge for a little while, then roll the balls with wet hands and cook before they get all soft again. haven’t made this recipe but that’s what I do when my meatballs crumble.

I would think an egg mixed in the meatballs would make them more tender and hold together better.

Made this tonight and it was delicious. Used ground turkey and threw the balls in the freezer for a few minutes to firm up. They browned up beautifully and didn’t fall apart. Used the full amount of freshly grated ginger and thought it was perfect. Served with basmati rice - very good!

The best way to "gently mix everything together, making sure not to overwork the mixture. (Otherwise, the meatballs get tough.)" is to use a Danish dough whisk. I made 6 little "burgers" from this mixture and 2 greedy people enjoyed 4 for dinner and 2 for lunch the next day.

Can this recipe be made ahead and reheated?

I made this exactly as written—with pork and fish sauce. It was great. I refrigerated the meatballs for a couple of hours before cooking them, although I am not sure this is necessary. I don't think it would work well with anything but pork. Really good tomatoes, lots of fresh ginger, and a bunch of fresh cilantro seem to be key.

This turned out great with turkey. Followed as written, but went wild and used 1 t fish sauce plus 1 t soy sauce. Wonderful recipe and will definitely repeat.

Delicious - I finished through step three and then reheated about 2 hours later. The tomatoes had really cooked down and were delicious, but I would not hesitate to add more tomatoes for more sauce.

Using panko bread crumbs in a ground meat recipe is like using castor sugar in a sauce: It's a showy way to accomplish nothing. Once they absorb liquids and cook in the dish, they break down completely. They cost a lot more, so why not use them where they count? Kind of like using Malton salt flakes in a soup. Do the experiments yourself, and if you can tell the difference in a meatball, then hats off to you.

Delicious!!!! I made them with ground chicken and less oil in the pan and added a very small egg but otherwise stuck to the recipe - no very ripe tomatoes so used a 14 ounce can of chopped tomatoes and it came out great. So tasty and light. A keeper for sure

I am going to try it with mint.

Replaced over ripe tomatoes with canned FTR tomatoes. It was delicious and a quick sub for not having tomatoes.

In case helpful to others, this tastes great without the garlic and green onions. The ginger, cumin, cilantro, tomatoes etc are great flavors. I’m sure garlic adds something too, but if you need to avoid it, this recipe is still for you. We love it.

I was surprised how well this came together! I recommend serving with wild rice or black rice, the tomato sauce mixture really soaked into the grains and added something. Will add to my rotation.

One of my favorites. I cook this in a large Dutch oven and added in kale with the scallions at the end for added greens. I used 3 large Roma tomatoes—it could have been doubled for a more saucy situation. Yum!

This was delicious but the meatballs lost their crustiness when I added the fresh tomatoes. Will definitely try it again but may prepare the tomatoes separately. We served this over ginger rice.

I love this recipe. I tried it with turkey before I splurged on some lamb and both versions were delicious. Knowing I like my meatballs saucy I added some canned crushed tomatoes along with the tomatoes called for in the recipe and am happy I did. Otherwise followed to a T.

Fan favorite with my family, omitted coriander when I don't have it. Used ground turkey, a can of diced tomatoes instead of fresh and use the soy sauce option. I also put the meatballs in the freezer for a few minutes after making them to allow them to firm up. Have also done a made ahead option of making more meatballs (3 lb of turkey) and froze them on baking sheet then put them all in a zip lock bag. Left in fridge that morning to defrost and cooked starting on step 2. Easy freezer meal.

I made with chicken and used 28oz can of fire roasted chopped tomatoes. Served over jasmine rice and with gai lan dressed with oyster sauce. As a ginger lover think I actually would have gone up a bit on the ginger! And also would maybe add a pinch of sugar to the tomatoes. But lovely simple meal that gives you a warm belly in the cooling weather

Really good flavor- I doubled the ginger on the meatballs and added some microplaned lemongrass. I used gluten free panko for a gf friend and was disappointed with the texture, but flavor was good.

Great meal. Followed instructions exactly. Used ground chicken. Poured over a bed of spinach, which wilted nicely. Will happily do again!

This was a disappointment. Made with beef. Halved the recipe but kept the spices more or less the same. It is fall so no summer tomatoes- used canned. Very bland. Weird with rice - think it would be better with couscous. Lime added weird tang. Not good. It’s like Melissa wants to split the difference between Asian and Italian.

Made this with ground turkey. Used soy instead of fish sauce. Had frozen tomatoes from my garden. Added a squeeze of tomato paste. My husband thinks he ate ground beef. Just kept avoiding the question. Will make this again but add water as it was a bit dry. 😊

Followed the recipe mostly but I did skip the lime. I tasted a little of the sauce with and without and decided it was acidic enough from the tomato. Also I didn't have any cilantro so I used rosemary. I know, but it worked. I used a mix of fresh and canned tomatoes and adjusted with sugar and salt for taste. I was great but it does need texture. Added a little chicken stock to thin out. I did say mostly.

Served this several times to guests and everyone has loved it. I put it over somen noodles and served with roasted carrots and a salad.

This was so good!! I sort of wish I cooked the tomato broth more and took the meatballs out and put them in later in the cooking process.