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4.0 from 12 votes

Cinnamon Meatballs

These baked cinnamon meatballs with marinara sauce are comfort food at its best.

Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Total Time
1 hr 10 mins
Servings: 4
Calories: 528 kcal
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian

Ingredients

For the meatballs:
  • 6 tablespoons full-fat sour cream
  • 2 tablespoons whole milk
  • 2 cups white sandwich bread cubes (about 2 slices)
  • 1 pound ground beef (80 percent lean or up to 90 percent lean)
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 large garlic cloves, peeled and minced or pressed through a garlic press
  • ¾ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
For the marinara sauce:
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • ¼ cup finely diced white or yellow onion (you need about ⅓ of a small onion for that)
  • ½ cup dry red wine
  • 1 can crushed tomatoes (28 ounces)
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
  • salt and pepper

Instructions

For the meatballs:
    Cup of Yum
  1. Mix sour cream and milk together. Soak the bread cubes in the mix for about 10 minutes.
  2. In a separate bowl, mix beef, parsley, egg, garlic, salt and cinnamon with a large fork.*
  3. Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.
  4. Add the soaked bread cubes to the meat and mash everything together.
  5. Form the meat into 18 to 20 meatballs.** Set them directly onto non-stick baking sheets. (No need to grease the sheets.)
  6. Bake the meatballs for 20 minutes.
For the marinara sauce:
  1. Heat the olive oil in a pan or Dutch oven.
  2. Add the onions and saute for a few minutes, until they are starting to soften.
  3. Add wine, tomatoes and oregano.
  4. Add the meatballs to the sauce.
  5. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes, until the sauce has cooked down to the desired thickness.
  6. Stir in the parsley and season with salt and pepper.
  7. Serve the meatballs and sauce with spaghetti, crusty bread or in meatball sandwiches.

Notes

  • *I like to use a serving fork for this step. It's large and sturdy enough to mash everything together easily.
  • **Use about 2 tablespoons of the mix per meatball.
  • Storage instructions:
  • Store any leftover meatballs and sauce together in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. You can also transfer the meatballs and sauce into a freezer bag and freeze.