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Pasta with Meatballs & Beans in Tomato Ricotta Sauce

Pasta with Meatballs & Beans in Ricotta Sauce
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That’s a long name for an easy, one-dish dinner.

I often use ricotta as an addition to pasta dishes. Unless I’m making lasagne, that means I usually have leftover ricotta in the fridge. I use half and save half for another dish.

I have also gotten in the habit of dividing a package of ground beef and only using 8oz (240gr) in pasta dishes, enchiladas, etc.

It all depends on if we want leftovers for lunch or another dinner.

My favorite way of controlling my diet / weight is to control what I cook.

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Pasta with Meatballs & Beans in Tomato Ricotta Sauce

Pasta with Meatballs & Beans in Ricotta Sauce
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I cook the pasta separately – it’s faster. This easy one-dish dinner is easily doubled or tripled.

  • Author: Kate
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 2 servings 1x
  • Category: Pasta

Ingredients

Scale
  • Meatballs:
  • 8oz (240gr) ground beef
  • 2 tbs dry bread crumbs
  • 1 tbs Dijon-style mustard
  • 1 tbs ketchup
  • 1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • Sauce:
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
  • 15oz (450gr) whole tomatoes, roughly chopped, juices reserved
  • 1 1/4 cup (10oz, 300gr) white beans, rinsed, drained
  • 1 tbs paprika
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tbs olive oil
  • 1/2 cup (4oz, 120gr) ricotta
  • 1 1/4 cup (4oz, 120gr) bite-size pasta

Instructions

  • Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain
  • Meatballs:
  • In medium bowl combine egg, bread crumbs, mustard, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and oregano.  Mix well.
  • Add beef and mix well, hands work best.
  • Form into small meatballs, about 1″ (2.5cm) in diameter.
  • Sauce:
  • Heat a large skillet over medium heat.
  • When hot, add oil, paprika, chili powder and sauté briefly.
  • Add onion, pepper, garlic, and sauté until onion is transparent, about 5 minutes.
  • Add the tomatoes, juices, and stir to combine.
  • When simmering, add the meatballs, being careful that they don’t touch.
  • Cover, reduce heat and continue to simmer until done, stirring and turning the meatballs once or twice, about 10 minutes.
  • To finish:
  • Add ricotta, stirring well to combine.
  • Add beans, cover and heat through.
  • Add pasta, stir well and serve.

Notes

Make larger meatballs if you like.
You could substitute Italian sausages, cut into 1″ (2.5cm) slices for the meatballs.

Pasta & Meatballs in Ricotta Sauce

A little more traditional: Spaghetti with Pesto Meatballs

I have also decided that I’m going to do more ‘recipe only’ posts.

2 reasons:

1. I absolutely hate the current trend of multiple page recipe posts (5 or 8 or 50 pages). Even with the ‘Jump to Recipe’ option I find them irritating. They’re usually filled with repetitive information and not the least bit interesting. I refuse to join the trend.

2. I’ve been giving serious thought to hanging up my keyboard. Then it occurred to me that if I just posted the recipe I could cut my ‘typing’ time in half… and maybe keep posting recipes a bit longer.

I’ll see how it goes..