Happy weekend all! Here’s the Saturday recipe of the day – Baked Tuna Meatballs – yes, baked not fried, but still juicy, amazingly delicious and super simple to make!
OK, so this was the first time I made meatballs from tinned tuna. I saw a few photos of tuna meatballs on the web and I thought that they looked quite delicious. So, I got all my ingredients and started cooking.
I chose to bake these simply because I’m not really keen in frying. Don’t get me wrong I love fried food too, it’s just the process I dislike. 🙂 I honestly fry food very rarely and almost every time regret it. 🙂 So I try to find alternatives(meaning cooking in the oven). 🙂
But as I mentioned, the meatballs were so succulent and juicy, you’d probably thought they were fried. Well, I guess that’s because of the tinned tuna and also I didn’t completely drain it, I saved just a tiny bit from the sunflower oil. Yes, probably that kept the meatballs moist and so appetizing.
Here’s how to make the Baked Tuna Meatballs.
- 3 tins of tuna in sunflower oil, drained, with a bit of sunflower oil left
- 2tbsp breadcrumbs
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1 egg
- 100g Parmesan cheese, grated
- fresh parsley, chipped
- salt and pepper
- Preheat the oven to 200°C.
- In a bowl, combine the tuna, egg, onion, garlic and breadcrumbs. Season with salt and pepper and mix well.
- Add the Parmesan cheese and parsley, mix and make small meatballs.
- In a greased baking tray arrange the tuna meatballs and cook in the oven for about 20 minutes or until ready.
Check out the recipe video here 👇
I served the meatballs with quinoa with peas and corn. My kids really enjoy quinoa and have it quite often. I often add some veggies inside like carrots, peas, small broccoli, etc..
The tuna meatballs work well with lots of stuff, like you can have them with veggies, rice, pasta, whatever you fancy really. Or simply by themselves, with some kind of sauce probably.
I think they would taste amazing in a creamy tomato sauce with some pasta so next time I might actually make this.
Oh, and they also make a great party food/canapes. Make them even smaller, prick them with cocktails stick and serve them to your guests. I’m pretty sure they would love them. 🙂
Did I say that the kids love them too? It’s really one of the few things they genuinely like and I was so surprised they actually licked their plates and asked for more.:-) That was a huge success. So looks like from now on I’ll be making these quite often. And another plus is, you probably got all the ingredients in your kitchen cupboard/fridge. I mean, I always stock up on tinned tuna. It’s great for quick and easy meals and I use it a lot – in sandwiches, pasta, wraps, salads and whatnot.
Tip: Why not try adding a splash of hot sauce in the tuna mixture for some extra heat. 🙂
