Citrus Free Sunday Sauce with Herb-Spiced Meatballs

Total time2 hr

Prep time30 min

Cook time1 hr 30 min

Citrus Free Sunday Sauce with Herb-Spiced Meatballs

Few things hit the way a slow-simmered Sunday sauce does — the kind that fills the whole kitchen with the smell of garlic, fennel, and deep tomato richness for hours. This version builds serious depth by blooming tomato paste until it turns brick-red before the San Marzano tomatoes ever hit the pot, which gives the sauce a complexity that tastes like it took all day even before the long simmer begins. The meatballs themselves are a blend of beef and pork, seasoned with crushed fennel seeds, turmeric, and fresh parsley, then roasted at high heat for a proper brown crust before they finish low and slow in the sauce. Almond flour stands in for breadcrumbs as the binder, keeping the texture tender without any grain-based fillers. For anyone avoiding citrus, this recipe is naturally in the clear — no lemon juice, no zest, no orange-spiked shortcuts hiding anywhere in the ingredient list, just tomatoes, aromatics, and good olive oil doing all the work. After 45 to 60 minutes of gentle simmering, the meatballs are fall-apart tender and the sauce clings to everything. Tear some fresh basil over the top, drizzle with a little extra olive oil, and serve it over whatever you like — this is the kind of meal that earns a permanent spot in the weekend rotation.

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Ingredients

6 servings

For the meatballs

1 lb ground beef (85% lean)
½ lb ground pork
½ cup almond flour
Bob's Red Mill Super-Fine Almond Flour Bob's Red Mill Super Fine Natural Almond Flour - 16 Oz Bob's Red Mill Super Fine Almond Flour - 32 Oz Blue Diamond Almond Flour Finely Sifted - 1 Lb King Arthur Gluten Free Almond Flour - 16 Oz
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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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