Chorizo meatballs bring a sorta indescribable, sorta highfalutin flair to everyday cooking. They’re foolproof, flawless, and intensely flavorful. Made with pork sausage and, well, we’re gonna let you find out the rest when you read the recipe. Not your typical meaball. Not at all. Undeniably a game changer…as well as a keeper.–Renee Schettler Rossi
Chorizo Meatballs
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 medium red onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 3/4 cup fresh store-bought or homemade bread crumbs*
- 1/2 cup grated Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
- 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/2 pound ground chorizo, (the Spanish sort and not the Mexican kind)
- 1 teaspoon salt, or less to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C). Slick a rimmed baking sheet or a roasting pan with 2 tablespoons of the oil.
- In a skillet over medium heat, warm the remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is translucent, about 3 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl, beat the egg and milk together. Add the bread crumbs, cheese, cilantro, chili powder, cumin, and oregano and combine.
- Add the sautéed onion and garlic to the egg mixture along with the beef and chorizo. Add the salt and mix thoroughly.
- Using dampened hands, roll about 1 tablespoon chorizo mixture into balls about 1 1/2 inches (4 centimeters) in diameter, taking care not to squash the mixture too much. Take care that the meatballs are all the same size to ensure they cook evenly. Arrange the meatballs on the baking sheet, spacing them evenly.
- Roast for 12 to 18 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through. Serve immediately.
Notes
Chorizo Meatballs Variation
Cocktail Party Chorizo Meatballs For chorizo meatballs that are daintier—and easier for your guests to manage as they juggle a cocktail in one hand and a toothpick, napkin, and party nosh in the other—simply use half the amount of chorizo meatball mixture as directed in the recipe above when you shape the meatballs and bake for a shorter amount of time. Begin checking on the meatballs after 8 minutes.*What You Need To Know About Making Homemade Bread Crumbs
To make homemade bread crumbs, use 2- to 3-day-old stale bread of any sort and pulse it in a food processor until crumbs form. For softer bread crumbs, use bread that’s been soaked in milk or water.Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
Foolproof, flawless, flavorful. One bite of these chorizo meatballs was all it took to confirm that this was a winning recipe. Juicy, delicate texture, brimming with bold flavors—I could devour a boatload of these.
Since the recipe called for 1 teaspoon chili powder, my natural instincts made me add Indian hot chili powder—oh yeah, so worth it! I added approximately 1 teaspoon salt to the mix. And then 12 minutes in my Viking rendered these beautiful babies! I dig flavors that don’t require the extra elevation of frying or oil.
One can serve these as appetizers or, like me, you can make chorizo meatball gyros with them. Throw some pickled onions on top, smash the beautiful babies, and it’s a party in your mouth!
If you’re looking to whip up some spicy meatballs for tonight’s dinner, this is your recipe. Indeed, I saw this chorizo meatballs recipe in the morning and made these meatballs the same afternoon. I had all the ingredients on hand except the chorizo and bread, which I picked up in the meantime.
As a bonus, the meatballs are baked, not fried, so they can be cooked up all at once. The chorizo enhanced with chili powder gives these quite a kick. They looked and smelled so fabulous coming out of the oven, it was hard to resist eating one right away. (I withstood temptation and waited until the rest of the meal was finished and on the table.)
After I turned on the oven, I prepped, mixed, and formed the meatballs and put them on the sheet pan to go into the oven, yet the oven still wasn’t preheated—they come together that quickly.
My bread crumbs were from a baguette and I used Monterey Jack cheese. I did not add salt because of the chorizo and cheese. There is so much heat and flavor going on, it seemed unnecessary to add more salt.
I served the meatballs alongside a planned (ahem) vegetarian main dish of spinach lasagna. We also had baguette slices from the same bread I used to make the fresh bread crumbs, along with a dipping sauce of peppery extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar with some fresh herbs.
I loved this chorizo meatballs recipe. Maybe it’s because it’s so similar to German-style meatballs—well, not really ingredient-wise, but using pork and beef, bread, egg, onion, garlic, and parsley (ah, cilantro).
They were very nicely browned, juicy, and great-tasting meatballs. Since I had no Cheddar or Jack, I used Gruyère, which worked great. I served the meatballs with some spaghetti squash sautéed with garlic and scallions and a lemony mayo-based sauce on the side. As it turned out, these meatballs didn’t need any sauce. This recipe is a keeper.
I am always looking for new ways to make meatballs, and I must say that I enjoyed this chorizo meatballs recipe a lot. It was easy to find all the ingredients, and it came together ever so quickly. I liked the flavor of the chorizo sausage in the meatballs.
I made a fresh tomato sauce and homemade pasta to go on the side of the meatballs. I added 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. I ended up with 20 meatballs, so if you’re serving 4 meatballs per person, you could feed 5 people.
Once you have all the ingredients, these chorizo meatballs are very easy to throw together.
Whenever I make meatballs, I always grab a small chunk of the meat mixture, and cook it in a skillet so I can taste for seasoning. I cooked my sample meatball in the skillet I had cooked the onions and garlic in. Why dirty another pan? My sample meatball was actually prettier and tasted better than the rest of the meatballs that baked in the oven. That was due to the crisp outside achieved by sautéing it in the skillet. The meatballs that baked in the oven swam in the fat that was rendered as they cooked, so they had a dull finish to them.
Before serving the meatballs that had baked in the oven, I took the time to crisp the outside by sautéing them in a skillet. I’m sure that some would find that unnecessary, but I did have the taste of the sample meatball in my mind. I can see making these to serve to folks as an appetizer or as part of a Mexican buffet—perhaps at a taco party. I served them with a cheesy Tex-Mex rice dish with some slices of avocado. If I do make these again, I will cook them on top of the stove to achieve the crisp outside crust.
This recipe definitely has a Mexican flavor profile so I don’t think you should plan to have spaghetti with this dish. That said, they’re flavorful and delicious with lots of spice. I thought that serving them with migas would be a good idea for next time I make them.
I didn’t add any salt at all because I thought the chorizo had enough already. I found the timing was right, although I turned them down about halfway through cooking to make sure they browned evenly.
You don’t include any convincing explanation as to why I need Spanish chorizo here. There’s plenty of Mexican style at all my local mercadosfor about $5 forafresh 1.5 lbs.
Amazon tells me Spanish chorizo is about $14/lb.
Gary, we’ll correct that. But Mexican chorizo is raw and heavily seasoned. Spanish chorizo is cured and smoked. It has a very different flavor profile than the Mexican type. But if that’s what you can get your hands on, go for it! It’ll just be a different final dish than the recipe.
I love making meatballs but I have never come across a recipe like this. Well I tried it and it is amazing. Walking away from the traditional Itallian style, this might be the very best alternative recipe I have ever tried for a meatball. I thought the ingredients were odd but I stuck to the recipe and the results speak for themselves. I put together some fine diced garlic, onion and diced cherry tomatoes in butter and sautéed them and then added a half cup of white wine. Then I added the al dente pasta and the meatballs from this recipe. Just a little more butter and tossed it around in a stove top pot on low heat. Perfection. I will certainly share this with others and most certainly make this meatball recipe again and again. I can’t wait to try this meatball recipe with different sauces and now I’m thinking about using the recipe to make a delicious meatloaf.
Seamus, your meal looks amazing! We’re delighted you took a chance on the recipe and stuck with it and are even more pleased at how much you loved the results. Thanks so much for sharing with others and with us! We can’t wait to hear what you try next.
Has anyone made these with Mexican Chorizo?
Yes, Pamela, several of our readers have, and the results are great. Looking forward to hearing about yours!
Awesome. I might make them for the super bowl.
Fantastic idea, Pamela. Do let us know how they turn out.