Puerto Rican meatballs or albóndigas guisadas (think carne guisada but with meatballs!) are flavorful beef meatballs cooked in a savory sofrito sauce. This recipe was passed down to me by my mom, who in my opinion is the best cook in the world. Mami’s meatballs are a favorite in my household and I’m sure they will be in yours too!
Puerto Rican meatballs include flavorful ingredients like sofrito, Spanish olives, herbs and spices. I form the meatballs and cook them in a pan for just a few minutes until they are brown on all sides. Remove them from the pan and set aside. Please note, the meatballs will not be fully cooked. They will continue cooking in the sauce later.
To make the sauce, I add sofrito, tomato paste, onions, peppers, herbs and spices to a large pot. Then I add the meatballs and cook on low heat for about 20 minutes or until the sauce has thickened and meatballs are cooked through. For the full detailed recipe click here: Puerto Rican Meatballs.
You can’t make Puerto Rican meatballs without sofrito, the true star of this recipe. Sofrito is an aromatic blend of vegetables, herbs and spices which serve as a base to flavor meats, rice, beans and stews. It’s literally crack and once you start using it in your dishes, you’ll never go back to whatever you were using before. I like to add sofrito to my meat mixture because it adds so much flavor to the beef and I also use it as the base of the sauce. Check out my Puerto Rican Sofrito recipe to add mind-blowing flavor to all of your dishes!
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