Mexican Meatballs

Recipe video above. The best Mexican Meatballs are spiced with Mexican flavours and made with:1. crushed corn chips instead of breadcrumbs (more flavour!);2. a combination of beef AND pork (softer and tastier); and3. are browned in the oven then simmered in the chipotle tomato sauce for a winning flavour exchange: meatball juices leech into the sauce, and the meatballs absorb the sauce flavour. Win win!Spiciness: Chipotle powder and fresh jalapeno in meatballs gives it a warm buzz but definitely not spicy. Same for chipotle chilli in sauce. Feel free to reduce both and add a pinch of paprika in its place.

Prep time: PT20M

Cook time: PT25M

Total time: PT45M

Rating

4.99 stars (56 reviews)

Keywords

beef mince recipe, Ground beef recipe, meatballs recipe, mexican meatballs

Ingredients

250g / 8oz beef mince ((ground beef))
250g / 8oz pork mince ((ground pork), or more beef (Note 1))
1/2 red onion (, grated using a standard box grater)
50g / 1.75 oz plain corn chips (, sub breadcrumbs + 1/4 tsp salt (Note 2))
1 egg
3 tbsp coriander/cilantro (, finely chopped (sub chives or parsley))
3 tbsp parsley (, finely chopped (optional))
2 tsp fresh jalapeño (, seeds removed and finely minced (reduce/omit for not spicy))
Oil spray ((preferably olive oil))
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chipotle powder (, sub more smoked paprika, reduce for less spicy (Note 3))
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp garlic powder ((sub 1/2 fresh garlic clove, finely grated))
1/2 tsp paprika (, hot for spicy or sweet for not (or sub more Chipotle powder))
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic (, finely minced)
1 chipotle from a can of Chipotle in Adobo (, finely chopped - add another for extra flavour! (Note 4))
1 tsp Adobo Sauce from a can of Chipotle in Adobo ((Note 4))
800g / 24 oz crushed tomato
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp coriander/cilantro (, roughly chopped)
Coriander/cilantro leaves (, whole)
Shredded cheese
Sour cream
Guacamole ((or just diced, sliced or mashed plain avocado))
Rice, for serving ((Note )

Cuisine

Mexican
Tex-Mex

Steps

Preheat oven to 220°C/390°F (200°C fan). Place a rack over a tray. Spray rack with oil.
Blitz corn chips: Place corn chips in a Nutribullet or food processor. Blitz until they become fine crumbs. (Else put in a ziplock bag and bash!)
Meatball mixture: Place meatball ingredients and meatball Mexican spices in a bowl and mix well with your hands.
Roll meatballs: Roll into 3 - 3.5cm / 1.2 - 1.4" balls. Place on rack. Should make around 20 - 24 meatballs.
Bake 10 minutes: Spray meatballs generously with oil. Bake 10 minutes until browned (they will still be raw inside, we finish cooking them in the sauce).
Sauce:
- While the meatballs are in the oven, start the sauce.
- Sauté garlic and chipotle: Heat oil over medium high heat in a large skillet. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add chopped Adobo Chile and sauté for 20 seconds.
- Simmer 5 minutes: Add tomato, Adobo sauce and sugar. Bring to simmer, then turn heat down to low and cook, stirring every now and then, for 5 minutes.
Finish Meatballs:
- Cook meatballs in sauce: Remove meatballs from oven and transfer into sauce. Continue to cook the sauce for another 10 minutes, rolling meatballs every now and then, until the sauce is thickened and the meatballs are cooked.
- Fresh coriander: Sprinkle with chopped coriander/cilantro.
- Serving: Serve over rice or stuff into tortillas with toppings of choice!

Nutitrion

Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 401 kcal
Carbohydrates: 22 g
Protein: 24 g
Fat: 25 g
Saturated Fat: 7 g
Trans Fat: 1 g
Cholesterol: 101 mg
Sodium: 808 mg
Sugar: 9 g

Reviews

KimK on 2026-02-17 (5 stars):
Amazing flavours. As Nagi says not too spicy, just right. I served with extra corn chips as well.
Chris on 2026-01-28 (5 stars):
This was amazing! I made it (almost) exactly as written. Added the optional tomato to the guacamole, what a great recipe! Also added onion to the chipotle sauce as I had some leftover from the guacamole. I tested the fresh jalapeño bought from supermarket to make sure it was hot before I used it (it actually was). If your jalapeño is not hot I suggest using a hot chilli. We love spicy and the amount of chilli in this was perfect, hot but not too hot! Also it was a great way to use up lots of coriander without it being overpowered by it. If you don’t have the corn chips, don’t stress. Just use the breadcrumbs. There’s so much flavour in the sauce already. I found the chipotle powder at our local fish/meat market and yes it can be hard to find. Definitely be making this again. Thanks Nagi
Tara on 2025-11-06 (5 stars):
These meatballs were great! We had them last night for dinner along with rice and corn tortillas. We didn’t have any ground pork on hand, but we did have a tube of Mexican pork chorizo. It turned out so well we plan to keep making them this way. We kept the spice lower with just one of chipotle peppers and a tsp of the adobo sauce. That was plenty of heat for our younger boys, but if you’re someone who doesn’t like spice, I’d replace sweet smoked paprika for the chipotle in the sauce. I LOVED the addition of the corn chips in place of breadcrumbs. My husband, who rarely cooks, made these and said they were easy and he’d be happy to make them again. Win win for me! Thanks, Nagi!
Miranda on 2025-10-28 (5 stars):
This was truly delicious. I didn’t have the chipotle so I just followed the suggestions for substitutions… I also added a yellow pepper to give a bit more veg and to be honest I added a teaspoon of salt because well I love salt!
Tiana on 2025-08-10 (5 stars):
Tried it for the first time tonight and all I can say is wow, this will be a regular dinner.
afra on 2025-08-06 (5 stars):
Loved this! Used corn chips (but a bit less) More abodo chili and added a can of black beans. But these were only tiny tweaks. Your basic recipe is fantastic!! I already know now that I will make it over and over again!! Thank you so much
Louise Christy on 2025-07-06 (5 stars):
Nagi I love your meatballs so much. I've made the Thai meatballs more times than I can count. Tonight I'm using these Mexican meatballs in Albondigas soup. Thanks again for your terrific recipes. I've never made one that didn't turn out great.
Lauren on 2025-07-05 (5 stars):
The most amazing meatballs! Definitely cook them!
patricia b on 2025-05-06 (5 stars):
Make per recipe without thepork, didn't have it. Excellent taste and easy to make! Cant believe i taste the corn chip flavor which was very nice. Definitely a keeper!
Kathleen Wagner on 2024-02-28 (5 stars):
I finally got everything together for this recipe, and it turned out splendidly. I like doing the meatballs first on the rack in the oven; they kept their shape better than any other MBs I've made in forty years of keeping house. I finely chopped some onion for the sauce; I can't imagine making a tomato sauce without onion. The chipotles are a completely new venture for me, and I'm pleased - they're not as terribly hot as I anticipated. One was just right for the sauce with a spoonful of the adobo. Altogether, a great success!
Carol on 2024-01-28 (5 stars):
Very tasty and easy . Yum. Another Nagi recipe for my “Love it “ list.
Nicole on 2024-01-18 (5 stars):
Yummy, easy, delicious! Bit of left overs for lunch tomorrow yay
Sheila on 2023-12-08 (5 stars):
Love this meatball variation, so tasty and makes a lovely mildly spicy saucy portion. Cooking the meatballs on a rack in the oven is so much easier than trying to roll them around to cook evenly in a frying pan. Thanks Nagi for another family favourite.
Andrew Snoke on 2023-07-22 (5 stars):
Unbelievably good, so light and yummy, grinding tortilla chips brilliant, now a family favorite.
Clare on 2023-07-19 (5 stars):
This dish was amazing! I’m highly critical of my cooking but I even impressed myself with this. Will definitely be making this again. Thank you for re-inspiring me to cook as I’d been stuck in a loop.
Maria on 2023-06-08 (5 stars):
Made this tonight and it was really delicious! Could have added more Chipotle as it was only mildly spicy for us but would definitely make this again!
Leta Maloley on 2023-05-21 (5 stars):
Fantabulous, yum and thank you!!
Brenda on 2023-03-05 (5 stars):
So delicious! I had planned on making these a couple of nights ago and came down with a head cold. I made the meatballs but didn’t cook them and my husband said to just put them in the freezer and we can just eat leftovers so me not feeling good did that . Well I took the meatballs out tonight reread the recipe and realized I didn’t put the spices in as they were in a separate category so I thought they went into the sauce. So I just mixed everything back out and redid the meatballs. I thought for sure they would be crappy . Nope they were fantastic! My husband loved them , served over Mexican rice. So even though I messed up to begin with they turned out great