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a plate full of cajun meatballs in fire roasted tomato sauce
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4.60 from 10 votes

Cajun Meatballs in Fire Roasted Tomato Sauce

Cajun Meatballs in Fire Roasted Tomato Sauce - delicious cajun spiced meatballs in a fire roasted tomato sauce that's a bit smoky, garlicky and sweet. A perfect comfort meal!
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 15 minutes
Total Time1 hour 35 minutes
Course: Dinner, Main Course
Cuisine: Cajun
Keyword: cajun, fire roasted, meatballs
Servings: 10
Calories: 258kcal
Author: Joanna Cismaru

Ingredients

For Meatballs

  • 1 pound ground chicken
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • ⅔ cup breadcrumbs
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 tablespoon tomato paste
  • ¼ cup fresh parsley chopped
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 2 tablespoon cajun seasoning
  • 2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper or to taste

For Sauce

  • 2 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 large onion chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 28 ounce fire roasted tomatoes (2 14oz cans)
  • 2 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cajun seasoning
  • ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper or to taste
  • 6 leaves basil chopped
  • ¼ cup fresh parsley chopped
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375℉. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl combine all the meatballs ingredients together, mix well. Form the meatballs into small 1 inch meatballs and place on prepared baking sheet. Mixture should yield about 50 meatballs, more or less depending on size of meatballs.
  • Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for about 40 minutes or until meatballs are golden brown. Alternatively you could fry the meatballs in a skillet with a bit of vegetable oil.
  • While the meatballs are baking, time to make the sauce. In a large Dutch oven or saucepan heat the olive oil over medium heat then add onion and garlic to the pan and cook until onion is soft and translucent.
  • Add the fire roasted tomatoes to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Add the fire roasted tomatoes to the pan and turn down the heat to medium low. Add brown sugar, cajun seasoning, salt, pepper and stir well. Simmer on medium-low heat for about 20 minutes.
  • Add the chopped basil and your meatballs to the sauce, stir and simmer for another 10 minutes.
  • Garnish with parsley and serve over cooked pasta or mashed potatoes. I also sprinkled some goat cheese over my meatballs, but Parmesan cheese would work as well.

Notes

  1. Recipe should yield about 50 meatballs, depending on size of meatballs. 
  2. If you can't find fire roasted tomatoes, a regular can of diced tomatoes will work.
  3. This recipe would also be great over rice or potatoes.
  4. Meatballs can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 – 4 days or up to 3 months in the freezer.
  5. This fire roasted tomato sauce will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 days and in the freezer for up 3 months. Pull the sauce from the freezer the day before you’d like to use it to allow it to thaw fully before reheating on the stove.
  6. Nutritional information does not include pasta and assumes 5 meatballs per serving.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 258kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 101mg | Sodium: 520mg | Potassium: 549mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 1504IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 80mg | Iron: 3mg