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You are here: Home » Recipes » Beef

Chipotle Sauce Meatballs

Published: Oct 17, 2014 · Updated: Aug 27, 2019 by Mely Martínez

JUMP TO RECIPE

This is Chipotle Sauce Meatballs (Albondigas al Chipotle) are one of the most popular and favorite ways of eating meatballs in Mexico. The mild spiciness and smoky taste of the Chipotle peppers are the key ingredients of this dish. It’s hard for my mouth to not start watering just by looking at this picture. If you love meatballs and Chipotle peppers, you’re definitely going to love this recipe. It’s very easy to make and takes meatballs to a whole other level.

Chipotle Sauce Meatballs | Albóndigas con Chipotle

Mexican Chipotle Sauce Meatballs | Learn how to cook your traditional Mexican dishes with Mexico in my Kitchen.

You’ll be gathering bread just to soak up the remaining sauce. The quality of the ingredients you use is very important in order to get great results. I know that not everyone can go to a Latin food store or a Wal-Mart to buy a can of La Morena Chipotle peppers, but you can buy them online and store them for whenever you need them. There are many uses for Chipotle peppers, and I’ll be posting another really easy recipe using Chipotles in the weeks to come.

Mexican Chipotle Sauce Meatballs | This dish is easy to make, a traditional Mexican home style meal.

When cooking Mexican meals, I prefer to buy products from Mexico, there’s nothing more authentic than that.

How to make Chipotle Sauce Meatballs

JUMP TO FULL INSTRUCTIONS

Chipotle Sauce Meatballs | A classic homestyle Mexican dish "albondigas con chipotle"

DIRECTIONS:

Mexican Chipotle Sauce Meatballs | Instructions step by step to prepares this delicious Chipotle albondigas.
  • Place the slice of bread and milk in a large bowl. Mash bread until smooth and add ground meat. egg, salt, garlic, and pepper. Knead the mixture with your hands until it is well combined. (Please check the ingredients list below)
  • Form 1 ½-inch meatballs, rolling a small portion of your hands. You should have 16 meatballs. Wet your hands with cold water before forming the meatballs to avoid the meat from sticking to your hands.
  • Many cooks in Mexico like to stuff the meatballs with a small piece of boiled egg or cheese. Others even add a small piece of a Serrano pepper. To do this, press the small piece of egg or cold cheese into the meatball and seal by rolling the meatball again between your hands.
Chipotle Sauce Meatballs | Mexican Recipes
  • Place tomatoes and Chipotle Peppers in your blender and process until you have a very smooth sauce. The amount given renders 2 ½ cups of sauce.
Chipotle Sauce Meatballs | Authentic Mexican Food Recipes
  • Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook onion until transparent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, stir, and keep cooking for 3 more minutes.
  • Stir in tomato sauce and simmer for 5 minutes. Add chicken broth or water if needed. Transfer meatballs to saucepan, cover, and cook for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove lid and keep simmering for 10 more minutes. If your sauce is too watery, remove the already cooked meatballs and place them in a warm oven, covered with aluminum foil, while you keep simmering the sauce until the desired thickness is achieved.
Chipotle Sauce Meatballs | Quick and Easy recipe tutorial to make Mexican albondigas.

To serve, garnish with cilantro or parsley, and add a serving of rice and salad.

¡Buen provecho!
Mely,

Leave a comment and share your experience with the recipe.

More recipes:
Beef Tostadas: a Comfort Food 
Beef Tongue In Tomato Sauce Recipe

Chipotle Sauce Meatballs

Mely Martínez
Chipotle Sauce Meatballs, This is one of the most popular and favorite ways of eating meatballs in Mexico. The mild spiciness and smoky taste of the Chipotle peppers are the key ingredients of this dish. It’s hard for my mouth to not start watering just by looking at the picture above.
4.95 from 19 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 25 mins
Total Time 35 mins
Course Beef
Cuisine Mexican
Servings 6
Calories 266 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1 Slice of sandwich bread
  • 2 Tablespoons of milk
  • 1 Pound ground beef 85/15%fat
  • 1 whole egg
  • 1 garlic clove finely chopped or ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Optional boiled eggs or small cubes of cheese

FOR THE SALSA

  • 1 ½ Tablespoons vegetable oil
  • ¼ cup white onion finely chopped
  • 2 garlic clove finely diced
  • 3 Large tomatoes chopped (22 oz)
  • 1-2 Canned Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce “La Morena”*
  • ½ Cup Chicken broth or water if needed**
  • Salt and pepper to taste.
  • Chopped parsley or cilantro to garnish

Instructions
 

  • Place the slice of bread and milk in a large bowl. Mash bread until smooth and add ground meat. egg, salt, garlic, and pepper. Knead the mixture with your hands until it is well combined.
  • Form 1 ½-inch meatballs, rolling a small portion of your hands. You should have 16 meatballs. Wet your hands with cold water before forming the meatballs to avoid the meat from sticking to your hands.
  • Many cooks in Mexico like to stuff the meatballs with a small piece of boiled egg or cheese. Others even add a small piece of a Serrano pepper. To do this, press the small piece of egg or cold cheese into the meatball and seal by rolling the meatball again between your hands.
  • Place tomatoes and Chipotle Peppers in your blender and process until you have a very smooth sauce. The amount given renders 2 ½ cups of sauce.
  • Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook onion until transparent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, stir, and keep cooking for 3 more minutes.
  • Stir in tomato sauce and simmer for 5 minutes. Add chicken broth or water if needed. Transfer meatballs to saucepan, cover, and cook for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove lid and keep simmering for 10 more minutes. If your sauce is too watery, remove the already cooked meatballs and place them in a warm oven, covered with aluminum foil, while you keep simmering the sauce until the desired thickness is achieved.

To serve, garnish your Chipotle Sauce Meatballs with cilantro or parsley, and add a serving of rice and salad.

    Notes

    * Adding two Chipotle peppers will give a mild spiciness to this Chipotle Sauce Meatballs. 
    ** In case your tomatoes render a dry sauce, add chicken broth or water as needed.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 266kcalCarbohydrates: 6gProtein: 15gFat: 19gSaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 81mgSodium: 223mgPotassium: 407mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 615IUVitamin C: 11.1mgCalcium: 38mgIron: 2mg
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Diana P

      May 12, 2022 at 6:25 pm

      Thank you for sharing
      Was easy and delicious.
      Made it with ground turkey. The only thing my cheese melt out of the meatballs. But is ok. Made a thicker consistency. Love it!. Definitely a keeper recipe!.

      Reply
    2. Virginia H.

      August 28, 2021 at 11:33 am

      5 stars
      This is a great recipe--thank you so much, Mely! I followed it exactly, other than adding a couple of minced green onions and a teaspoon of ground cumin to the meat as I was mixing it up. What with homegrown tomatoes, I don't see how this could be better. It was easy and fabulous! Served it with Mexican red rice (as in the photo) and Cuban-style black beans. Will make this again soon with ground turkey instead of beef.

      Reply
    3. Elvia Herrera

      August 08, 2021 at 2:37 pm

      Can the beef be substituted for ground turkey?

      Reply
      • Mely Martínez

        August 08, 2021 at 6:05 pm

        Hello elvia,
        Yes, you can use ground turkey.

        Reply
    4. Marjolein van Ammers

      May 01, 2021 at 10:30 am

      5 stars
      Thank you for sharing your recipes!
      My husband and I loved the albondigas al chipotle.
      It brought back memories of our Mexico tour little more than a year ago.
      I feel so lucky to be able to buy the La Morena products in our supermarket and keep Mexico in my Kitchen!

      Reply
    5. Pamela

      October 13, 2020 at 1:20 pm

      5 stars
      I used to live in San Antonio, TX and loved going to a restaurant called Guajillo's. They were one of the few "authentic" Mexican restaurants amidst the sea of Tex-Mex places. They had albondigas with the spiciest chipotle sauce, and it was amazing! What I find different in their execution is that they used egg and rice in their meatballs (instead of bread), so I make that addition. I don't live close to SATX anymore, but thanks to your recipe, I can have amazing albondigas without having to make the long drive!

      Reply
      • Mely Martínez

        October 13, 2020 at 1:49 pm

        Hello Pamela,
        Egg and rice are common in some albondigas recipes. There is another recipe here in the blog that has rice.

        Reply
        • Ophelia

          October 17, 2021 at 4:45 am

          Hi there,

          What type of cheese is best to stuff the meatball with? Could I use cheddar?

        • Mely Martínez

          October 18, 2021 at 3:12 pm

          Hello Ophelia,
          I will use the Mexican panela cheese, but if there is not a Latin store near you, cheddar or Monterey Jack will do.

    6. Kat

      May 21, 2020 at 6:51 pm

      5 stars
      This is a great recipe. I've made it twice, once with beef and once with 85/15 turkey. It was fabulous both times. If anyone else substitutes turkey in this recipe, just know that the meatballs are very delicate and might fall apart if you treat them too roughly.

      Reply
      • Mely Martínez

        May 22, 2020 at 10:14 am

        Hello Kat, thank you for such a great tip using Turkey meat.

        Reply
    7. Carlos Velez

      November 08, 2019 at 1:54 pm

      4 stars
      delicious ….

      Reply
    8. Glen Spencer

      October 25, 2019 at 7:05 pm

      5 stars
      Hello mrs. Martinez on the Chipotle peppers I have dried I used three and it was kind of intent was still good though but I'm wondering 2 Chipotle peppers how much does that equal in powder is that like a teaspoon or tablespoon anyway I have your recipe now so I'll be back for more thank you

      Reply
      • Mely Martínez

        October 26, 2019 at 6:06 pm

        Hello Glen,
        Dried chipotle pepper will be about 1 teaspoon for 1-1/2 chipotle pepper.

        Reply
    9. Maria

      October 02, 2019 at 10:02 pm

      Can I use anything else as substitute for the bread?

      Reply
      • mmartinez

        October 03, 2019 at 9:16 am

        Hello María,
        You can skip the bread. The bread gives a light and spongy texture to the meatballs.

        Reply
        • Maria

          October 21, 2019 at 4:56 pm

          Thank you 🙏🏼

    10. Brandon J. Li

      January 30, 2019 at 4:46 pm

      5 stars
      These are absolutely wonderful and we always have to make a huge batch in order to enjoy having some leftovers. Even our twins Nonna, Poppa, and Dad (born in Sicily) give these 2 thumbs up and love them 🙂

      Reply
      • mmartinez

        January 30, 2019 at 4:59 pm

        Hello Brandon,
        Wow! this is a huge compliment, so nice to hear they like it. Thank you!

        Reply
    11. Rocio Valencia

      December 06, 2017 at 4:07 am

      My mom used to cook this albondigas, with a slightly change, we boiled two eggs and we added them, chopped, to the mix of meat, just the whites, and then we made the meat balls. I still cook this recipe the way my mom did it. And my family loves them.

      Reply
    12. Anonymous

      January 15, 2017 at 11:05 pm

      5 stars

      Made exactly as instructed. Perfecto! Thank you!

      Reply
    13. Daily Baez

      November 05, 2014 at 3:02 pm

      This look so delicious, thanks for sharing #client

      Reply
    14. Nammi

      October 18, 2014 at 5:29 am

      Hi Mely!, yumm, that sauce looks delicious, bet it pretty spicy :). have a nice weekend

      Reply
    15. Gina

      October 17, 2014 at 10:11 pm

      I married a Mexican and I loved my sister-in-law's albondigas so much that I insisted we have them at my wedding!

      Reply

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    ABOUT ME

    Mexico in my kitchen | Mely Martinez

    Hi, I'm Mely Martinez, a former Mexican school teacher, home cook, and food blogger. I moved to the United States about ten years ago, after living in Mexico my whole life. Now I love to share home-style recipes for authentic Mexican food.

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