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You are here: Home / Beef / Albondigas Mexicanas

Albondigas Mexicanas

Lori Alcalá, This blog generates income via ads and affiliate links which earn us a small commission.

Authentic Mexican Meatballs

Mexican meatballs are a hot, hearty meal easy enough to pull together on any day of the week. Albondigas, which is the Spanish word for meatballs, are the stars of this dish, bathed in a thick, smoky chipotle salsa that will have everyone coming back for seconds.

Authentic Mexican Meatballs

How Is This Recipe Different from Mexican Meatball Soup?

While there are many albondigas soup recipes out there, our Mexican meatballs are meant to be eaten as an entrée, alongside rice, vegetables or other side dishes of your choice. That’s because the sauce is thicker than a typical soup broth.

What to Expect from This Recipe

For this recipe, you’ll pan roast and blend a few veggies, then cook the salsa to a smoky perfection. Next, mix up and roll the meatballs. Finally, you’ll cook the meatballs in the sauce, serve with your favorite side dish, spoon on some extra sauce and dig in. The flavors of the roasted vegetables, chipotle and cilantro will take you directly to the streets of Mexico!   

A Surprise Inside!

We add a surprise inside our meatballs for extra flavor and protein—hard boiled egg! Note that we don’t include rice inside our meatballs because it tends to soak up too much of the salsa, giving the meatballs a sticky texture.

How the Recipe Is Structured

The recipe is broken down into three simple sections:

  • Preparing the Salsa
  • Making the Meatballs
  • Serving and Savoring

Let’s make a batch of albondigas!

Albondigas with Salsa

Recipe Video

Learn How to Make Albondigas

Ingredients

For the Salsa

  • 5 tomatoes
  • 2 garlic cloves, skin removed
  • 4 cups beef broth (or chicken broth)
  • ¼ white onion
  • 1 chipotle chili (from a can of chipotle chilis)
  • ¼ cup water
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil

For the Meatballs

  • 1 ¾ lbs. ground beef
  • 3 hard boiled eggs, chopped into ¼-inch pieces
  • 1 large egg
  • ¼ cup breadcrumbs
  • ¼ white onion, finely chopped
  • ½ cup cilantro, finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper

Mexican Meatballs Ingredients

Prepare the Salsa

Roast the Vegetables

First, we’ll roast the vegetables. Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat and add the tomatoes, onions and garlic.

Vegetables Roasting in Pan

Roast the vegetables for 10 minutes, turning so that each side is evenly roasted. Be sure to only roast the garlic for two minutes. Any longer and it will taste bitter. Once each side has blackened and the skin on the tomatoes has blistered, remove from the heat.

Roasted Vegetables in Pan

Blend the Salsa

Place the veggies into your blender, along with ¼ cup of water and one chili from a can of chipotle chilies.

Vegetables in Blender

Blend for 30 seconds or until very smooth. You shouldn’t be able to see any pieces of tomato skin. Important: Cover the top of the blender with a kitchen towel and hold the top in place as you blend. Because the vegetables are hot, the pressure could cause the top to pop off and splash the hot ingredients.

Blending Salsa

Cook the Salsa

Pour ¼ cup of vegetable oil into a large pot heated over medium-high heat.

Pouring Oil into Pot

Once the oil is very hot, slowly pour the blended salsa into the pot. The salsa might splatter as you’re pouring, so work carefully.

Pouring Salsa into Pot

Next, pour in the beef broth (or chicken broth).

Pouring Broth into Salsa

Stir constantly and bring to a boil. Then lower the heat to medium and simmer until the tomato sauce darkens but doesn’t reduce. Meanwhile, make the meatballs.

Stirring Salsa

Make the Meatballs

Make the Mixture

Dice ¼ onion and finely chop the cilantro. In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, large raw egg, diced onions, breadcrumbs, cilantro, salt and pepper.

Meatball Ingredients in Bowl

Mix all ingredients using a wooden spoon or combine with your hands. Don’t overmix, as this will make the meatballs tough.

Stirring Meatball Mixture

Roll the Meatballs

Break off a chunk of ground beef and roll into a rough ball.

Forming Meatballs

Make a well with your finger in the meat.

Making Well in Meatball

Place a chunk of hard-boiled egg in the well.

Hard Boiled Egg in Meatball

Close the well and roll into a ball.

Rolling Meatballs

Repeat until you’ve rolled all the ground beef into balls. These are ready to cook!

Meatballs Ready to Cook

Cook the Meatballs

Using kitchen tongs, place the raw meatballs into the hot salsa.

Adding Meatballs to Salsa

Cook for 20 minutes, turning over halfway through so the meatballs are evenly cooked.

Cooking Mexican Meatballs

Now you’re ready to eat!

Mexican Meatballs in Pot

Serve and Savor!

Place your meatballs on a plate and spoon over the salsa.

Spooning Salsa Over Meatballs

Serve with a side of rice, bread or tortillas. So tasty!

Mexican Meatballs with Rice

Mexican Meatballs
Print Pin
4.2 from 5 votes

Authentic Albondigas Recipe (Mexican Meatballs)

Mexican meatballs are made with cilantro and hard boiled eggs, bathed in a thick, smoky chipotle salsa and served with a side of rice, tortillas or bread.
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Mexican
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 6
Author Lori Alcalá

Equipment

  • Cutting board
  • Kitchen knife
  • Blender
  • Large frying pan or skillet
  • Large pot
  • Mixing Bowls
  • Prep Bowls
  • Wooden spoon
  • Kitchen Tongs

Ingredients

For the Salsa

  • 5 Tomatoes
  • 2 Garlic cloves skin removed
  • 4 cups Beef broth or chicken broth
  • ¼ White onion
  • 1 Chipotle chili from a can of chipotle chilis
  • ¼ cup Vegetable oil
  • ¼ cup Water

For the Meatballs

  • 1 ¾ lbs. Ground beef
  • 3 Hardboiled eggs chopped into ¼-inch pieces
  • 1 Large egg
  • ¼ cup Breadcrumbs
  • ¼ White onion finely chopped
  • ½ cup Cilantro finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon Salt
  • 1 teaspoon Black pepper

Instructions

Prepare the Salsa

    Roast the Veggies

    • Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat and add the tomatoes, onions and garlic.
    • Roast for 10 minutes, turning so that each side is evenly roasted. Be sure to only roast the garlic for two minutes. Any longer and it will taste bitter.
    • Once each side has blackened and the skin on the tomatoes has blistered, remove from the heat.

    Blend the Salsa

    • Place the veggies into your blender, along with ¼ cup of water and one chili from a can of chipotle chilies.
    • Blend for 30 seconds or until very smooth. You shouldn’t be able to see any pieces of tomato skin. Important: Cover the top of the blender with a kitchen towel and hold the top in place as you blend. Because the vegetables are hot, the pressure could cause the top to pop off and splash the hot ingredients.

    Cook the Salsa

    • Pour ¼ cup vegetable oil into a large pot heated over medium-high heat.
    • Once the oil is very hot, slowly pour the blended salsa into the pot. The salsa might splatter as you’re pouring, so work carefully.
    • Next, pour in the beef broth (or chicken broth).
    • Stir constantly and bring to a boil. Then lower the heat to medium and simmer until the tomato sauce darkens but doesn’t reduce. Meanwhile, make the meatballs.

    Make the Meatballs

    • Dice the ¼ onion and finely chop the cilantro.
    • In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, large raw egg, diced onions, breadcrumbs, cilantro, salt and pepper.
    • Mix all ingredients using a wooden spoon or combine with your hands.

    Roll the Meatballs

    • Break off a chunk of ground beef and roll into a rough ball.
    • Make a well with your finger in the meat and place a chunk of hard boiled egg in the well.
    • Close the well and roll into a ball. Repeat until you’ve rolled all the ground beef into balls.

    Cook the Meatballs

    • Using kitchen tongs, place the raw meatballs into the hot salsa.
    • Cook for 20 minutes, turning over halfway through so the meatballs are evenly cooked.

    Serve and Savor!

    • Place your meatballs on a plate and spoon over the salsa.
    • Serve with a side of rice, bread or tortillas.

    Notes

    • Place any leftovers in the fridge in a sealed container for up to four days.
    • Freeze the meatballs and salsa together in a Ziploc bag for up to three months. Let thaw in the refrigerator and reheat on the stove or in the microwave.

    More Yummy Mexican Ground Beef Recipes from the Blog

    • Pan-Fried Meatballs
    • Mexican Picadillo
    • Mexican Turkey Stuffing
    « Queso Fresco Tacos
    Crispy Ribeye Tacos »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Stu says

      October 26, 2021 at 10:16 am

      4 stars
      I’ll make these soon. They look delicious. One change I will make is to fry the salsa in lard rather than vegetable oil. There is so much evidence that vegetable oils are terrible for your health.

      Reply
    2. Sylvia Escobedo says

      October 26, 2021 at 10:21 am

      5 stars
      Very authentic! Well presented!
      I have not added the hard boiled egg before..I’ll do next time.

      Reply
    3. Erin says

      November 02, 2021 at 4:59 pm

      5 stars
      Turned out delicious!

      Reply
    4. Barbara mendzer says

      March 07, 2022 at 6:18 pm

      3 stars
      I am from Guanajuato, I am aware that there are two methods for albondigas, the ones that I make are albondigones which are larger and have mint for flavor, along with , rice is added to mixture, thyme,garlic,onion, egg,salt, pepper and chicken broth, plus vegetables. we don’t serve with rice. The serving consist of meat and vegetables, of course hot tortillas are served when dished up.

      Reply
    5. Kimberly B says

      March 31, 2022 at 3:58 pm

      They were delicious. I did add the boiled eggs and that made everyone love the dish. I served with rice.

      Reply
    6. Laura says

      May 16, 2022 at 9:31 am

      4 stars
      These were good. I added some garlic powder to the meat mixture because it’s impossible to have too much garlic. When I make this again, I think I would bake the meatballs instead of cooking them in the tomato sauce. That way I could drain off any excess grease from the ground beef.

      The tomato sauce is good and if you have an abundance of late season tomatoes, can be made in a large quantity and frozen. It’s good on lots of things, egg, enchiladas, etc.

      Reply

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