Albóndigas

Name: Albóndigas
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Spanish
Ingredients: 1 lb ground beef; 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs; 1/4 cup whole milk; 1/2 yellow onion, finely minced; 2 cloves garlic, minced; 1 large egg; 1/2 tsp smoked paprika; 1/4 tsp ground cumin; to taste salt and black pepper; 2 tbsp olive oil; 1.5 cups tomato sauce; 1/2 cup chicken broth

Tender Spanish meatballs simmered in a rich tomato sauce with onion, garlic, and warm spices. Serve as a tapa or hearty main course.

50 minMediumServes 4310 cal/serving

SpanishDinnerStovetopStandard

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/4 cup whole milk
1/2 yellow onion, finely minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large egg
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp ground cumin
to taste salt and black pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
1.5 cups tomato sauce
1/2 cup chicken broth

Instructions

1

Combine 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs and 1/4 cup whole milk in a small bowl and let sit for 1 minute.
2

In a large bowl, combine 1 lb ground beef, soaked breadcrumbs, 1/2 finely minced yellow onion, 2 cloves minced garlic, 1 large egg, 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, 1/4 tsp ground cumin, and seasoning. Mix gently until just combined.
3

Form mixture into 12-16 meatballs and place on a plate.
4

Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown meatballs for 2-3 minutes per side until golden. Transfer to a plate.
5

In the same skillet, combine 1.5 cups tomato sauce and 1/2 cup chicken broth. Bring to a simmer.
6

Return meatballs to skillet, nestling into sauce. Simmer on low for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until cooked through.
7

Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve hot with crusty bread or rice.

Questions

Can I make Albóndigas dairy-free?

Yes. The dairy in this entry is 1/4 cup whole milk. Swap the milk for unsweetened oat or soy milk. The richness shifts slightly, but the method does not change.

Can I make Albóndigas gluten-free?

Yes. The gluten in this entry is 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs. Swap the bread or crumbs for a gluten-free loaf or gluten-free panko. Everything else proceeds as written.

How long does Albóndigas keep?

Refrigerate leftovers within two hours and eat them within three days. Reheat gently on the stovetop.

Can I halve or double Albóndigas?

Yes. As written it serves 4. Every ingredient in this entry carries precomputed half and double quantities, and the app's batch dial rewrites them inside each step. When doubling on the stovetop, use your widest pan or work in two batches so the food sears instead of steaming.

Serve it with

Cook this free in the app

Textual Chef is 4,517 plain-text recipes, free to read and free to cook from. No account, no paywall, no ads, no life stories. Open this one in the app and each quantity sits inside the step that uses it, so you read once and cook.

Every recipe is curated or public-domain sourced, written to one template and checked before it publishes. Nothing here is a scraped blog post.

Cook this free in the appNo download needed. It opens in your browser. The kitchen tools (planner, shopping list, pantry, import) are $5.33 a month billed annually; the first 30 days are free.