Coconut Free 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 its name. A blend of ground beef and ground pork gives the meatballs serious depth, while fennel seeds, turmeric, and fresh parsley make them anything but ordinary. Almond flour stands in as the binder, keeping things tender without any breadcrumb filler that might sneak in unwanted additives. The sauce itself is built low and slow — San Marzano tomatoes crushed by hand, tomato paste cooked down to a deep brick-red, and a long simmer that pulls everything together into something rich and glossy. Every single ingredient here is straightforwardly free of coconut in any form, so there's no label-scanning required, just cooking. Serve it over pasta, a grain, or straight from the bowl with torn basil and a drizzle of good olive oil. This is the kind of recipe that makes the whole house smell incredible and earns you serious points at the table.
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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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