The Best Meatballs with Creamy Tarragon Sauce

These meatballs are so deliciously delectable, and extremely versatile, making them a “must have” in your book of top recipes. In this particular recipe they’re paired with my crave-ably creamy Tarragon Sauce, but these meatballs can be inserted into a plethora of meal time combos such as Mediterranean Meatball Pitas (coming soon), Creamy Marinara and Meatballs (again, coming soon), and Meatballs and Mushrooms Over Rice (yep.. you guessed it…coming soon).

I also love prepping a double or triple batch of these then freezing them to have on hand for a quick dinner when life gets crazy, or appetizer for impromptu drop by visits or events.

However you choose to use them, this meatball recipe is a winner winner, meatball dinner (or lunch.. or even breakfast, why not?) and will be one you turn to for a variety of events and meals.

Meatballs

1 lb ground beef

1 lb Sausage

3/4 full fat ricotta cheese

1 egg

1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2-1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 cup panko bread crumb (for keto or carnivore eaters, substitute pork panko)

Tarragon Sauce

2 Tbl salted butter

4 oz cream cheese

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 teaspoons dried tarragon (1 Tablespoon if using fresh)

1/2 cup chicken stock

2 cups heavy whipping cream

3/4 cup parmesan cheese

pepper to taste

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees, and prepare a parchment lined baking dish.
Set the pork or panko breadcrumb aside. Add the remaining meatball ingredients to a bowl. Mix ingredients together until incorporated (I use my hands, but if this grosses you out, feel free to use the utensil that works for you….it’ll just take you way longer… just sayin.) Don’t over mix once the ingredients are spread throughout.
Once ingredients are mixed, use a cookies scoop to divide the meatballs into to equal amounts. When divided, use your hands (See, you’re going to have to use your hands anyway at some point, so you might as well get use to it.) to roll each scoop into a ball, then roll in panko of choice until the meatball is entirely coated, then place on baking sheet.
When all meatballs have been formed and coated with your panko, place in the oven and cook until reaching an internal temp of 145, about 22-25 minutes.

While meatballs are baking, prepare your sauce by adding the butter to a pan. Let butter melt. Add garlic and tarragon and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add in cream cheese and stir until the cream cheese has softened and is incorporated.

Whisk in chicken stock and heavy whipping cream. Whisk until the sauce begins to bubble, then let simmer on medium-low until thickened. (The sauce should coat the back of a spoon.) Be careful not to let the mixture scorch on the bottom.
Stir in parmesan cheese and season with pepper to taste. Between the salted butter and parmesan, you shouldn’t have to add salt to the sauce, but feel free to do so if it’s not meeting your preferred sodium intake level.

Finally, dish a spoonful of sauce onto your plate, top with meatballs, and serve with a vegetable of choice (feel free to add roasted or mashed potatoes, or rice as well), and enjoy!