Kitchen notes · a little help before you start
Good and Spicy Meatballs
These meatballs come with a sweet, tangy sauce that deserves a place in every spoonful. A little pickle relish gives the tomato sauce an extra bite, while the browned beef makes it a hearty dinner. Spoon them over rice or egg noodles if that sounds good tonight.
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 30 min
- Total
- 60 min
- Original yield
- Serves 6
- Ingredients
- 11 listed
Make it part of your week
Recipe categories & planning details
- Meal type
- Main course
- Primary protein
- Beef
- Cuisine
- American · Italian
- Cooking method
- Baking · Baked & roasted
- Preparation & total time
- Prep: 16–30 minutes · Total: 31–60 minutes
A few quick notes
1. Mix the cereal base first
Combine the corn flakes, the first ketchup portion and egg before mixing in the ground beef and shaping the meatballs.
2. Arrange a single layer
Put the shaped meatballs in one layer in the sprayed shallow baking pan so they're ready for browning in the oven.
3. Simmer the sauce on its own
Give the sauce its first low-heat simmer before adding the browned meatballs for the second cooking stage.
Get to know the ingredients
Ketchup in two places
The smaller ketchup portion goes into the meatball mixture; keep the remaining portion for the tomato sauce in the saucepan.
Finely chopped onion
Use finely chopped onion in the sauce mixture. It goes into the saucepan with the other remaining ingredients.
Firmly packed brown sugar
Measure the brown sugar firmly packed, as listed, before adding it to the simmering sauce mixture with the tomato sauce.
Let’s make it
Choose your servings, then check things off as you go.
Original recipe: Serves 6. Original quantities shown.
Check ingredients as you prepare them. These checks stay on this page.
How to make it
0 of 3 steps completeMake room for Good and Spicy Meatballs
Review ingredients in your pantry before anything is added. Meal plans use your household size; grocery-only additions use the servings selected above.
The last little job
Let the meatballs finish in sauce
Continue cooking the browned meatballs in the sauce, then serve them over rice or egg noodles if you like.
A little more help as you go
Stir the sauce frequently
Keep stirring during the sauce's low simmer before the meatballs go in, following the two separate cooking stages.
Shape evenly
Form the beef mixture into the specified small meatballs before arranging them in the pan for their oven browning.
A few questions you might have
Does the pickle relish go into the beef?
Keep the pickle relish for the saucepan sauce. The beef mixture starts with cereal, the smaller ketchup portion and egg.
Are the meatballs cooked entirely in the saucepan?
Brown them in the oven first, then add them to the already-simmered sauce for the final cooking stage.
How big should I shape them?
Make the meatballs one and a quarter inches across, then arrange them in a single layer in the prepared shallow pan.
When does the Worcestershire sauce go in?
It belongs in the saucepan with the tomato sauce and remaining sauce ingredients, before the first low simmer.
Can I serve them over noodles?
Egg noodles are suggested alongside rice as an optional base for the meatballs and their sweet, tangy tomato sauce.
Storage & reheating safety
For cooked, perishable leftovers, refrigerate within 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F), using shallow containers for prompt cooling. Keep the refrigerator at 40°F or below, use refrigerated leftovers within 3–4 days, and reheat hot leftovers to 165°F, checked with a food thermometer. Follow any shorter package limit.
These are general safety limits, not a tested storage or freezing recommendation for this particular dish. USDA leftovers guidance · Safe cooking temperatures
Recipe source: fromvalerieskitchen.com. Ingredient names and quantities may be adapted for the pantry.
Preparation notes follow the recipe shown here.
