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Cheese-Stuffed Pork Meatballs in a Chipotle Tomato Sauce

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  • Prep 40 min
  • Total 1 hr 15 min
  • Ingredients 14
  • Servings 6
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Preparing homemade meatballs is very easy to do, and they taste so much better than the store-bought version. For this recipe, I used sweet pork sausage. I found that it adds much more flavor than plain ground pork, and the chipotle gives the dish a spicy kick. This is a great appetizer for family night or for game day.
by Sonia Mendez Garcia
Updated Aug 28, 2017
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Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 pounds ground sweet pork sausage
  • 1 small sweet onion, diced (about 2/3 cup)
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 to 3 chipotles in adobo, minced
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/3 teaspoon salt, plus 1/2 teaspoon more for the chipotle sauce
  • 6 oz Oaxaca cheese or mozzarella
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 (10 oz) cans of diced tomatoes with green chiles
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika

Directions

  •  
    1
    For the meatballs:
  •  
    2
    Combine the pork, 1/3 cup onions, 2 cloves minced garlic, and 1 minced chipotle together with the cilantro, egg, panko breadcrumbs, oregano, pepper and 1/3 teaspoon salt. Mix with your hands.
  •  
    3
    Slice the cheese into 3/4 to 1-inch pieces. You’ll need 18 pieces of cheese.
  •  
    4
    Roll 18 meatballs. If the meat is too sticky, you can add a bit of oil to the palms of your hands.
  •  
    5
    Take one meatball and flatten it slightly in the palm of your hand. Add one piece of cheese to the center and mold the meat around the cheese to cover completely. Repeat until all meatballs are done.
  •  
    6
    For the sauce:
  •  
    7
    Pour the olive oil into a large skillet and preheat to medium heat.
  •  
    8
    In a blender, add the diced tomatoes with green chiles, smoked paprika, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 chipotle in adobo, 1/3 cup onions and 2 cloves minced garlic. Blend on high until smooth, taste for salt.
  •  
    9
    Add all of the meatballs to the skillet and cook for 3 to 4 minutes per side. Pour in the tomato salsa from the blender to cover the meatballs. Reduce heat to medium/low and continue cooking for 30 minutes.
  •  
    10
    Transfer to serving dish and garnish with chopped cilantro. Pierce the meatballs with toothpicks for easy serving.

Expert Tips

  • tip 1
    You can prepare this meatball recipe ahead of time. Follow the directions up to where it directs you to brown the meatballs. Cool them completely before freezing on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Store in freezer bags. When you want to prepare them, add them to a crockpot and cover with sauce. Slow cook for 4 hours.

Nutrition Information

No nutrition information available for this recipe

More About This Recipe

  • Preparing homemade meatballs is very easy to do, and they taste so much better than the store-bought version. For this recipe, I used sweet pork sausage. I found that it adds much more flavor than plain ground pork, and the chipotle gives the dish a spicy kick. This is a great appetizer for family night or for game day.
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