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Meat · Campania

Polpette al Sugo – Italian Meatballs in Tomato Sauce

Polpette al Sugo are the ultimate Italian comfort food — soft, flavourful meatballs that simmer gently in a deeply fragrant tomato sauce until they practically melt in your mouth. This is the recipe handed down from generation to generation in Italian kitchens, where Sunday lunch is sacred and the smell of sugo fills every room. Serve them with plenty of crusty bread to mop up every last drop of sauce.

20Prep (min)
35Cook (min)
55Total (min)
4Serves
EasyDifficulty
Polpette al Sugo – Italian Meatballs in Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

  • 500 g (1 lb) ground beef (or half beef, half pork)
  • 60 g (2 oz) stale breadcrumbs, soaked in milk and squeezed dry
  • 1 large egg
  • 50 g (½ cup) Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
  • Salt and black pepper, to taste
  • 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 700 g (24 oz) good-quality tomato passata
  • 1 small white onion, finely diced

Method

  1. Soak the breadcrumbs in a splash of whole milk for 5 minutes, then squeeze out all excess liquid between your palms.
  2. In a large bowl, combine the ground meat, squeezed breadcrumbs, egg, Parmigiano, minced garlic, parsley, a generous pinch of salt, and a few grinds of black pepper. Mix gently with your hands until just combined — do not overwork the mixture or the meatballs will become tough.
  3. Roll the mixture into balls roughly the size of a golf ball (about 40 g each), placing them on a tray as you go. You should get around 16 meatballs.
  4. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a wide, heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat. Brown the meatballs in batches, turning carefully, until golden on all sides — about 4–5 minutes per batch. Do not crowd the pan. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
  5. In the same pan, add the remaining olive oil and reduce the heat to medium. Sauté the diced onion gently for 5–6 minutes until soft and translucent.
  6. Pour in the tomato passata, season with salt, and stir to scrape up any caramelised bits from the base of the pan. Bring to a gentle simmer.
  7. Return the meatballs to the pan, nestling them into the sauce. Cover with a lid slightly ajar and cook on low heat for 25–30 minutes, turning the meatballs once halfway through, until the sauce has thickened and the meatballs are cooked through.
  8. Taste the sauce, adjust seasoning, and serve hot with a few torn basil leaves and plenty of crusty bread for la scarpetta.

Tips from the kitchen

💡 For extra-tender meatballs, use a mix of 70% beef and 30% pork — the pork fat keeps them moist during the long simmer.
💡 Never skip the browning step: searing the meatballs before adding them to the sauce builds deep flavour and helps them hold their shape.
💡 If the sauce reduces too quickly during cooking, add a small splash of water or passata — you want a generous, saucy consistency, not a dry pan.

Frequently asked questions

Can I make the meatballs ahead of time?

Yes — you can shape the raw meatballs and refrigerate them covered for up to 24 hours before cooking. The finished dish also tastes even better the next day, as the flavours deepen overnight.

Can I use ground turkey or chicken instead of beef?

You can, though the flavour will be lighter. If using poultry, add an extra tablespoon of olive oil to the mixture to compensate for the lower fat content and prevent them from drying out.

Should I add fresh or dried herbs to the sauce?

A few fresh basil leaves added at the very end of cooking are traditional and ideal — they keep their aroma bright. Avoid cooking basil for a long time as it turns bitter. A pinch of dried oregano can be added to the sauce at the beginning for depth.