Orange Sauce Meatballs are packed with the holiday flavours like rosemary, ginger, nutmeg, and honey. And this sweet and salty luscious orange sauce with caramelized onions and orange liquor makes this a wonderful holiday recipe.
Jump to Recipe
Hello everyone – I hope this week has been treating you well so far.
As I mentioned this in my previous post, I am trying to have three recipes posted this week. So, I am going to keep it short and sweet again. Besides, who needs a long chat when there is something super delicious like these Orange Sauce Meatballs. Are you excited? If yes, please make sure to also check these Rosé Wine Sauce Meatballs (To be even more excited!)
Orange Sauce Meatballs
While the list of ingredients might look very long, this recipe is quite easy indeed and can be made under 60 minutes.
The meatballs are made with ground veal (or lean beef), herbs, seasonings, orange zest, and instant polenta (cornmeal) as the thickening agent that also keeps the moisture (In place of bread). Personally, I find cornmeal a great ingredient preventing meatballs from falling apart.
Honestly, the best part of this recipe is the orange sauce. It is complex, salty, sweet, and irresistibly delicious. You will need orange juice, light broth or water, herbs, honey, soy sauce, and spices like ginger and nutmeg. Do you smell Christmas here? Wait for this – there’s also a healthy amount of Cointreau in here! It definitely adds something extra special – beautiful aroma and subtle pleasant bitterness.
So, so festive!
More Recipes with Cointreau
Need more recipes infused with orange liquor? Here we go:
I hope you like these Orange Sauce Meatballs, and you will give them a try shortly. If you make it, let me know in this post or send me an Instagram message or share your photos adding the hashtag #havocinthekitchen.
Cheers!
Orange Sauce Meatballs
Course: Main4-6
servings10
minutes50
minutesOrange Sauce Meatballs are packed with the holiday flavours like rosemary, ginger, nutmeg, and honey. And this sweet and salty luscious orange sauce with caramelized onions and orange liquor makes this a wonderful holiday recipe.
Ingredients
- Meatballs
650 gr. ground veal (or lean beef)
1 egg
1 small shallot, minced
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
2/3 to 1 tsp. salt
1/2 tbsp. smoked paprika
about 1/2 tsp. chipotle powder
1 tbsp. Italian herbs (seasoning)
1/2 tbsp. minced rosemary
1 tbsp. orange zest
1/2 tsp. ginger or more
1 tbsp. instant polenta (cornmeal) or a little bit more
light oil, for frying
- Orange Sauce
2 large red onions, sliced
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. butter
1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (about 3 large oranges)
2/3 cup light broth or water
1 tbsp. minced fresh rosemary
~ 1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup Cointreau or other orange liquor, divided
2-3 tbsp. honey
1/2 tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce (optional)
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. grated nutmeg
Directions
- Meatballs
- In a small bowl combine the eggs with herbs, spices, and orange zest and whisk until well combined.
- Add the ground veal (or beef) in a large bowl along with the polenta (cornmeal), shallots, and garlic. Add the egg mixture and mix with your hands or wooden spoon until evenly blender. Do not overmix as the meatballs could turn dense – about 30 seconds should be enough.
- Shape the mixture into meatballs (~30-35 gr. each). I ended up with around 24 meatballs.
- Heat the oil in a pan cook the meatballs over high medium heat, in few batches, moving them, until nicely seared from all sides, for about 5-7 minutes per batch. Remove and transfer to a plate and cook the remaining.
- Orange Sauce
- For the sauce, place the butter and oil in a heavy-bottom pan over medium heat. Cook the onions for about 10 minutes, until soft and aromatic.
- Add in the orange juice along with the broth (or water), rosemary, 1/4 cup of Cointreau, salt, soy sauce (if using), honey, and spices. Simmer for about 10 minutes, occasionally stirring, until slightly thickened.
- Gently transfer the meatballs. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes.
- Add in the remaining orange liquor (Also it’s a good step to check and adjust the seasonings like salt.) Cook for extra few minutes and off heat. Enjoy with your favourite side.
Hi – I’m Ben, a blogger, recipe developer, and food photographer. I’m glad you’re here! I hope you will enjoy hundreds of delicious recipes and a pinch of havoc in the kitchen.
I love this combination of sweet and savory – especially at the holidays. And I think veal is the perfect meat for them. (I say this because I am working on a veal meatball recipe right now for my January 7 post!) I will definitely want to try yours!
Thank you, David!
Sweet, Tangy and Savoury this is just the perfect combo of flavours, complementing each other, very festive indeed
Raymund recently posted…Chinese Chive Pockets
Thank you Raymund!
What a festive dish, I just love the buffalo plaid bowl!
Thank you Eva
i really do like the sound of this one ben!
Thank you Sherry!
The orange sauce sounds incredible {and I can almost smell it}! The use of polenta as the “bread” is fantastic too. Sounds perfect for our Christmas Eve appetizer dinner!
Tasia recently posted…Orange Cranberry Cake
Thank you Tasia!
The orange sauce sounds delicious.
Tandy | Lavender and Lime recently posted…Pork Neck Melanzane
Thank you Tandy!
The orange sauce with Cointreau sounds heavenly and so perfect for the holiday table.
angiesrecipes recently posted…Chestnut Pear Soup
Thank you, Angie!
What fun! These really are full of flavors. Perfect for the holidays!
Thank you Mimi!
I do love homemade meatballs – they are just perfect for either eating by themselves as an appetizer or mixing into pasta or rice or something similar. These sound fantastic with the orange + holiday spices. I’m drooling over here!
David @ Spiced recently posted…Pecan Bourbon Balls
Thank you David!