Meatballs and Potatoes

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Meatballs and Potatoes combine 2 kinds of comfort food into one delicious casserole dish! A creamy, cheesy, tomato-saucy meat and potato meal!

Prep Time20

Cook Time1 20

Rest Time15

Total Time1 55

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Calories: 356kcal

Author: Jennifer Fishkind

Ingredients

Meatballs

1 pound lean ground beef I used 90/10
½ cup finely chopped sweet yellow onion
⅓ cup plain panko bread crumbs
1 extra large egg beaten
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoon fresh chopped parsley I used curly parsley, but you can substitute flat leaf parsley (Divide 1 teaspoon for the meatballs and 1 teaspoon for garnish)
½ teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper

Potatoes

5 medium size Yukon Gold potatoes or 6-7 if you have the smaller size, washed and dried (You can peel the potatoes if you prefer, I left my skins on)

Tomato Sauce

1½ cups crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon cracked black pepper

Bechamel (Cream) Sauce

4 tablespoons salted butter sliced into pats
5 tablespoons all purpose flour
2¼ cup whole milk warmed to room temperature
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup freshly shredded mozzarella
2 teaspoons freshly chopped parsley for garnish

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375*. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Add the ground beef, finely chopped onion, bread crumbs, egg, Italian seasoning, fresh chopped parsley,kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper to a medium (2-3 quart) size mixing bowl. You can either use a spoon, or your hands to knead the meatball mixture. (I prefer to use my hands to mix the meatball mixture. If you do choose to use your hands, since you are handling raw meat, I strongly recommend that you use nitrile disposable gloves. This will help keep down any chance of cross contamination)
1 pound lean ground beef, ½ cup finely chopped sweet yellow onion, ⅓ cup plain panko bread crumbs, 1 extra large egg, 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 2 teaspoon fresh chopped parsley, ½ teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
Use a 1 ½ tablespoon scoop to scoop out the meatball mixture. Roll the meat into a ball and set on the prepared baking sheet. Space the meatballs 2 inches apart. You should end up with 22-23 meatballs
Bake the meatballs for 15 minutes. While the meatballs are baking, prepare the potatoes.
For the potatoes, you will need to boil the potatoes (you can peel the potatoes or leave the skin on. I prefer to leave the skin on) for 15-20 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork tender. Immediately drain and rinse the potatoes under cold water to not only stop the cooking process, but to cool the potatoes so you can slice.
5 medium size Yukon Gold potatoes
For the tomato sauce, add the crushed tomatoes, Italian seasoning, kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to a small mixing bowl. Stir to combine.
1½ cups crushed tomatoes, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
Next comes the cream sauce. Add the sliced butter to a 2-3 quart heavy bottom saucepan over medium high heat.
4 tablespoons salted butter
Once the butter has completely melted, whisk in the flour. Whisk continuously until the flour and butter are completely combined. Allow the flour mixture to cook for about 1 - 1 ½ minutes. Keep whisking.
5 tablespoons all purpose flour
Slowly whisk in the milk, whisking constantly until all of the milk has been added. Keep whisking constantly until the cream sauce has thickened to just about the consistency of white gravy (Sawmill or milk gravy). Remove from the heat, and whisk in the kosher salt, fresh cracked pepper and nutmeg.
2¼ cup whole milk, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper, ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Once the meatballs have baked, remove them from the oven.
Slice the potatoes ⅛ inch thick. (Be sure to remember that the potatoes may still be a bit hot, also keep the ends that you cut, just in case you need them)
You can use either a 9-10 inch cast iron skillet, 9x9 baking dish or a 3-3 ½ quart casserole pan. (I have used both a 10 inch cast iron skillet and a 3 ½ quart casserole pan for this recipe. It comes down to your personal preference) Generously spray your baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
Line the bottom and up the sides of the baking dish with a single layer of sliced potatoes.
Place the meatballs on top of the bottom layer of potatoes. Make a circle that shrinks to a bullseye in the center of the pan.
Next fit the remaining slices of potatoes in between the meatballs. Making sort of a meatball/sliced potato fort.
Next, spoon all of the tomato sauce over the tops of the meatballs.
Spoon the cream sauce over the layer of tomato sauce. (You will need to stir the cream sauce before spooning it over the tomato layer. You should use all of the cream sauce)
Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella cheese over the top of the cream sauce. Bake for 45 minutes, or until the top begins to turn golden brown.
1 cup freshly shredded mozzarella
Allow the meatballs and potatoes to rest for about 10-15 minutes before serving. The meatballs and tomato sauce will release a bit of liquid, and allow the dish to rest for 10-15 minutes. This lets the potatoes relax and soak up all the meatball and tomato goodness. Garnish with the remaining fresh chopped parsley. Serve immediately after the rest time.
2 teaspoons freshly chopped parsley

Notes

Storage:

To Store: Store any leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
To Freeze: You can freeze the baked meatballs and potatoes for up to 1 month. Allow the dish to thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating and serving.
To Reheat: Reheat in the microwave or oven until heated through.

Tips:

You can substitute ground turkey, ground chicken or ground pork for ground beef. Please remember that ground beef has a higher fat content than ground turkey and ground chicken. This means that you can reduce the panko crumbs to ¼ cup, or add 2 eggs instead of 1.
If you prefer the skins to be removed from the potatoes before slicing, simply peel off the skins after you have microwaved them. If you decide against pre-microwaving the potatoes and prefer to use raw sliced potatoes, you will need to add 30-45 extra baking minutes. The raw potatoes take much longer than the microwaved potatoes. You can also peel and parboil the potatoes before slicing.
You can use either a 9-10 inch cast iron skillet, 9x9 baking dish or a 3-3 ½ quart casserole dish. I have used both a 10 inch cast iron skillet and a 3 ½ quart casserole pan for this recipe. It comes down to your personal preference. Make sure to spray your baking dish with nonstick cooking spray before assembling.
You can use frozen meatballs if you’re short on time and need a shortcut, but I highly recommend making fresh meatballs from scratch.

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