Mexican meatballs, Albóndigas en Chipotle, are the perfect fall meal. They can be made ahead of time, frozen, and then cooked or reheated as needed. A mix of pork, beef, seasonings, panko, cheese, and crema form the most tender and juicy meatballs. Serve over rice or with beans and tortillas.

The kitchen has been demolished. The flooring is going in today. EEEee! 

I made a few meals and baked cookies ahead of time too.

Minestrone soup and sandwiches are on the menu for the next 3 weeks.

I have a few Instant Pot meals lined up too.

One of my new favorite cookbooks by Rick Martínez, Mi Cocina, has been helping me out too.

I made a bunch of his salsas, beans, and rice.

This way, I can just pop it all in the microwave when we want a hearty, home cooked meal.

Mexican meatballs also known as Albóndigas en Chipotle are super tender and filled with the following:

• Panko breadcrumbs
• Cilantro
• Onion
• Queso Fresco
• Garlic
• Pepper
• Cumin
• Mexican Oregano
• Cream or Sour Cream
• Ground Beef
• Ground Pork

The salsa is made from tomatoes, garlic, onion, oregano, and canned chipotles in adobo.

I have a lot of fresh Roma tomatoes, but if you want to save time, use a large can of crushed tomatoes or two small cans of fire-roasted diced tomatoes.

Mix the meatballs together by gently pulling the meat apart and folding in the ingredients.

Then we brown the meatballs.

This chunky, red salsa cooks down and can be made hotter by adding more chipotle peppers.

Mix the salsa with some chicken stock.

Add in the browned meatballs and let them simmer until cooked through, about 30 minutes.

I have browned the meatballs, then cooled them down, and then froze them on a baking sheet.

Once they are frozen, you can take them off a baking sheet, and transfer them to a freezer storage bag.

This way you can just worry about making the sauce/salsa to cook the meatballs in later.

I love to serve these over rice.

We also ate them smashed up on tortillas with beans a different time.

Albóndigas en chipotle are not that complicated to make and cook. Not anymore than any other meatball.

Flavor wise though, these are money!

It is a different entree for your weekly Mexican night.

Albóndigas en Chipotle

Yield: Serves 4-6

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Mexican herb and cheese meatballs cooked in a tomato-chipotle sauce. Perfect over rice, in tortillas, or on a sandwich.

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Ingredients

• 10 large roma tomatoes*
• 2-5 canned chipotle peppers in adobo PLUS 2 tbsp adobo sauce
• salt
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1/3 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 cup crumbled queso fresco
• 1/2 large white onion, grated on the large holes of a box grater
• 5 garlic cloves, grated
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 cup crema or sour cream
• 1 pound ground beef (80/20)
• 1 pound ground pork (80/20)
• 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp dried mexican oregano
• 1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken stock

Instructions

1. Line a large cast iron skillet with foil. Place over high heat. Roast and char the tomatoes on all sides, 16 minutes.
2. Transfer the tomatoes to a blender along with 2 chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, 1 1/2 tsp salt. Puree on medium until a chunky salsa consistency. Taste and adjust the chipotle peppers or salt as needed. Set ff to the side.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the panko, queso fresco, cilantro, 1/4 cup grated onion, half the garlic, 1 1/2 tsp salt, black pepper, and cumin. Stir in the crema/sour cream.
4. Add the meat to a large mixing bowl. Use two forks to pull the meat apart, like you would for pulled pork, until the meat becomes consistently mixed. Add the crema mixture and continue the fork method to keep the meat airy, until all it is evenly combined.
5. Use a large ice cream scoop to portion the meat into meatballs, about 1/4 cup scoops. Roll the meat gently into a ball and set off to the side on a large baking sheet until all the meatballs have been formed.
6. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large deep sided skillet over medium/high heat. Add half the meatballs and brown on each side, turning occasionally with tongs. Once all the meatballs are browned, transfer them to the same but now clean baking sheet off to the side.
7. Reduce the heat to medium/low. Add the remaining tbsp oil. Cook the remaining onion, garlic, and oregano for a minute or two. Add the tomato chipotle sauce and stock. Scrape up any brown bits stuck to the pan. Cook sauce for 3-5 minutes.
8. Add the meatballs back to the pan. Cover with a lid and bring to a simmer. Simmer meatballs for 30 minutes until cooked through.
9. Serve meatballs hot with a few spoonfuls of sauce on top over rice or with corn tortillas. Top with more queso fresco and chopped fresh cilantro.

Notes

If you are making this not in the height of tomato season, feel free to substitute 2, 14oz cans of diced fire-roasted tomatoes or 1 28oz can crushed tomatoes and then skip to pureeing the tomatoes and chipotles.