Barley Free Sunday Sauce with Herb-Spiced Meatballs
This is the kind of slow-simmered, Sunday-afternoon cooking that fills the whole house with an aroma you want to bottle. A rich tomato base built from San Marzano whole peeled tomatoes and deeply caramelized tomato paste forms the backbone of the sauce, while fennel seeds, turmeric, and fresh parsley give the meatballs a warmth and complexity that goes well beyond the ordinary. The meatballs themselves use almond flour as the binder instead of breadcrumbs, which means there's no grain filler sneaking in — just beef, pork, and bold seasoning doing all the work. That swap matters more than you might think, since traditional meatball recipes almost always call for breadcrumbs that can contain hidden grain ingredients. Roasting the meatballs at high heat before they ever hit the sauce locks in a gorgeous browned crust, and then the long, low simmer in the Dutch oven makes them impossibly tender. Finishing with torn fresh basil and a drizzle of good olive oil keeps things bright against all that deep, savory richness. Serve it over pasta, polenta, or whatever you love — this sauce plays well with just about everything.
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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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