Creamy Meatballs and pasta is like pasta with meatballs for grown ups! I made meatballs from scratch and flavored them with Dijon mustard!
If you are in a mood for pasta and meatballs, but want something other than a traditional tomato sauce, I highly recommend this creamy pasta made with homemade meatballs.
What kind of pasta do I need?
I used Pappardelle for meatballs and pasta here. I prefer pappardelle here because it is a large, very broad and flat pasta noodles. And they are also similar to wide fettuccine. But you can also make it with egg noodles, fettuccine or spaghetti.
I sauted onions before adding them to the meatballs and the sweetness of the caramelized onions was mouthwatering! Adding sauteed onions should be a requirement for all meatballs!
I also can’t skip talking about garlic here. First I added 3 cloves of freshly minced garlic, even though I could’ve gone as far as adding 5. Then I cooked them only for a minute and it just boosted the flavor even more. Garlic burns easily so you need to watch it carefully. But I’ve found smell to be the best indicator that it’s don. As soon as you smell that strong garlic scent – it’s ready. I usually let it cook for a few seconds longer until it’s slightly brown.
How to make meatballs
- First things first, start by soaking bread crumbs with milk in a medium bowl.
- While the bread crumbs are soaking, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in large pan. By the way I used cast iron one. You will use medium high heat.
- Next add chopped onions and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Then add garlic and oregano and sauté for another minute.
You will add this sautéed mixture to the bowl with the soaked bread crumbs. Then you will mix everything in with salt and pepper. Next add 1 egg and combine using a wooden spoon until you mixed in the entire egg. Lastly add ground pork and ground beef to that mixture and combine everything together.
How to make meatballs
- You will use a tablespoon for measuring and your hands for rolling. So let’s start making those meatballs! I just rolled them between my palms and got 18 average size meatballs. You can get anywhere between 12 (small) and 20 (large) meatballs here.
- Next you will reheat pan on medium high heat.
- Now add one half of the meatballs to the pan. You will carefully turn them so that they get a nice color on all sides and don’t break apart.
- We will cook them for about 10 more minutes, making sure they are not raw inside. Repeat with the second batch.
How to Make Creamy Meatball Sauce
- First, you will reduce heat to low.
- Then you will add 4 tablespoons butter to hot pan.
- Once butter is melted, you will whisk in 3 tablespoons flour
- Cook for 1-2 minutes until golden brown and bubbly.
- Next you will add in beef broth and simmer for 2 minutes.
- Finally, add in heavy cream, Worcestershire sauce and Dijon mustard. You will simmer until sauce thickens just a bit. Taste it and add salt and pepper if necessary (depends on whether your broth is sodium free or not).
Add your meatballs into sauce, cover and simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes. Make sure that meatballs are heated through.
While meatballs are simmering in creamy sauce, cook pasta in salty water according to the package instructions. You will drain pasta, but not rinse it. Add it to the pan with the meatballs and sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary.
It was so much fun to make and eat this pasta! The meatballs are simply irresistible in the creamy sauce!
If you enjoy creamy sauces with pasta you might like Spaghetti in Creamy White Wine Parmesan Sauce, Sausage Vodka Pasta and Creamy Chicken Pasta with Bacon.
Creamy Pasta with Meatballs
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
- ½ cup panko bread crumbs
- 2 tablespoon milk
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ large onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 egg
- 10 oz. ground beef
- 10 oz. ground pork
For the sauce:
- 5 tablespoon butter
- 3 tablespoon flour
- 2.5 cups beef broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Pasta:
- 8 oz pasta, (such as fettuccine, pappardelle or egg noodles)
Instructions
TO MAKE MEATBALLS:
- In a medium bow, combine panko bread crumbs and milk and allow bread crumbs to soak up milk.
- While the bread crumbs are soaking, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in large pan on medium high. Add chopped onions and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and oregano and sauté for another minute. Remove from heat.
- Add sautéed onion/garlic/oregano mixture from the step above to the bowl with the soaked bread crumbs. Add salt and pepper and 1 egg. Combine using a wooden spoon until the entire egg is mixed in. Next add ground beef and pork and mix everything well.
- Using a tablespoon for measuring and your hands for rolling, start making those meatballs. I just rolled them between my palms and got 18 average size meatballs. You should get anywhere between 12 small to 20 large meatballs.
- On medium high heat, brown meat balls on all sides, carefully turning so they don’t break apart. Reduce heat to medium and make sure to cook them for about 10 more minutes, making sure they are not raw inside. Remove meatballs and put them on a large plate.
TO MAKE SAUCE:
- Reduce heat to low and add 4 tablespoons butter to hot pan (same pan as before). Once butter is melted, whisk in flour and cook for 1-2 minutes until golden brown.
- Add in beef broth and simmer for 2 minutes. Next add in heavy cream, Worcestershire sauce and Dijon mustard. Simmer until sauce thickens just a bit. Taste it and add salt and pepper if necessary (depends on whether your broth is sodium free or not).
- COMBINING MEATBALLS WITH SAUCE: Add meatballs into sauce, cover and simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes.
PASTA:
- While the meatballs are simmering with the sauce, cook pasta in salted water according to the package instructions.
Add cooked pasta into the skillet with the sauce and meatballs. Stir to combine and serve hot.
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only. This information comes from online calculators. Although whatsinthepan.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
Ok, I’ve made this 4 times now in the last 2 months (the sauce only, I cheated with frozen meatballs twice and used patties/sausages deskinned and rolled into meatballs the others for time saving)… but the sauce is amazing! I do like to add sour cream sometimes as well….but this has definitely now become part of hubby’s repertoire of faves. Thanks for sharing!
I love adding sour cream to pretty much anything! So glad you made it four times!!!
Omg, so good. I did not do meatballs, I used a mix of ground beef and pork with my spices. Following your recipe as is and my husband and I loved it..
Sooo happy, you tried it, Jelena! Thank you!
trying your pasta and meat balls hope they are as lovely as yours
Delicious white sauce for my noodles! I actually bought meatballs and made the sauce for them with your recipe.
Sounds great and I’m going to try it soon. You might want to reverse the numbers for how many small and large meatballs can be made – I think you have them backwards. Anyway, thanks for sharing.