Cinnamon Free Sunday Sauce with Herb-Spiced Meatballs
This is the kind of slow-simmered Sunday sauce that makes the whole house smell incredible — rich, deeply savory, and built on a base of crushed San Marzano tomatoes coaxed into something truly special with caramelized tomato paste and sliced garlic. The meatballs are a blend of ground beef and pork, bound with almond flour and eggs, then seasoned with fennel seeds, turmeric, parsley, and oregano for a flavor that's complex without relying on any warm spice blends that can sneak cinnamon into the mix. For anyone who needs to avoid that particular spice, Italian-style sauces and meatball recipes can be a minefield — jarred sauces and pre-mixed seasonings often hide it in plain sight. Here, every ingredient is spelled out clearly, so there's no guesswork. The meatballs get roasted at high heat first, which locks in their shape and builds a gorgeous crust before they finish low and slow in the sauce for up to an hour. That long simmer is what transforms everything — the sauce thickens, the meatballs turn tender, and the flavors meld into something that tastes like it took all day (because it kind of did, in the best way). Finish with torn fresh basil and a drizzle of good olive oil, and you've got a bowl that's genuinely hard to stop eating.
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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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