Artificial Food Coloring Free Sunday Sauce with Herb-Spiced Meatballs
This is the kind of slow-simmered Sunday sauce that fills the whole house with a smell so good your neighbors will start knocking. The meatball blend of ground beef and pork gets depth from fennel seeds, fresh parsley, and a touch of turmeric, while almond flour keeps everything tender without any fillers you'd have to second-guess. Jarred sauces and store-bought meatballs are notorious for sneaking in dyes and synthetic additives, so building this entirely from scratch means you know exactly what's going into the pot. The sauce starts with real San Marzano tomatoes crushed by hand, coaxed into something rich and brick-red with tomato paste, garlic, and dried herbs — no shortcuts, no mystery ingredients. Roasting the meatballs first at high heat gives them a gorgeous browned crust before they finish low and slow in the sauce, soaking up every bit of flavor as it thickens. Finished with torn fresh basil and a drizzle of good olive oil, this is the kind of meal that tastes like it took all day — because it kind of did, and it's absolutely worth it.
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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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