Low Sugar Sunday Sauce with Herb-Spiced Meatballs
Few things hit the way a slow-simmered tomato sauce does on a Sunday afternoon, and this one earns every minute on the stove. The meatballs are a blend of ground beef and pork, seasoned with fennel seeds, turmeric, fresh parsley, and garlic — roasted at high heat first so they develop a deep, caramelized crust before ever touching the sauce. Almond flour stands in for breadcrumbs, keeping the texture tender and the ingredient list clean without any hidden sweeteners. The sauce itself builds flavor the old-school way: tomato paste cooked down to a brick-red, hand-crushed San Marzano tomatoes, and a long, low simmer that does all the heavy lifting. Jarred sauces and store-bought meatballs almost always sneak in added sugar, so making this from scratch is the only way to know exactly what's in the pot. After an hour of gentle bubbling, the sauce thickens into something rich and deeply savory, and the meatballs turn fall-apart tender. Finish with torn fresh basil and a drizzle of good olive oil, and you've got a bowl that tastes like it took all day — because it kind of did, and that's the whole point.
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Learn more →Ingredients
6 servings
For the meatballs
- 1 lb ground beef (85% lean)
- ½ lb ground pork
- ½ cup almond flour
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp fennel seeds, lightly crushed
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
For the sauce
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
- 5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
- 2 cans (28 oz each) whole peeled san marzano tomatoes
- 1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
For serving
- ¼ cup fresh basil leaves, torn
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, ground pork, almond flour, eggs, parsley, minced garlic, fennel seeds, turmeric, dried oregano, salt, and black pepper. Mix with your hands until just combined — stop as soon as no streaks remain.
- 2
Roll the meat mixture into balls about 1½ inches in diameter (roughly 24 meatballs) and arrange them in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with 1 tbsp of the olive oil and roll to coat.
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