This recipe was originally from one of the Frugal Gourmet books by Jeff Smith. Some of you may remember him from his cooking show on TV in the mid 1990′s. He created a lot of good recipes and published quite a few cookbooks which are available for a very reasonable price in paperback. I have 4 or 5 of his books that I bought 20 years ago.
This meatball recipe is extremely easy to make- the part that takes the longest is forming the meatballs with your hands!
This recipe is not dairy free- it has 1 cup of ricotta cheese in the meatballs.
The flavors in this recipe are pretty simple- Italian sausage, a whole 10 oz package of frozen chopped spinach, chopped onions, white wine and a little bit of nutmeg.
You can serve these Italian Sausage Meatballs by themselves as an appetizer or as a main course over pasta, rice or even over ribbons of zucchini for a low carb entree.
I shared this recipe with Twelve Days Of Bloggie-mas at A Moderate Life, Mouthwatering Monday at A Southern Fairy Tale, Homemaker Monday at 11th Heaven’s Homemaking Haven.
Italian Sausage And Spinach Meatballs
In a large bowl mix ingredients together thoroughly, adding Italian sausage last.
2 eggs, beaten
1 10 oz package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
1- 1/2 cups onion, chopped small
1/4 teaspoon pepper (no salt because the sausage can be salty)
1 cup ricotta cheese (1/2 of a 15 oz container)
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
2 pounds mild Italian sausage, removed from casing
Form sausage mixture into meatballs a little larger than the size of walnuts
(I ended up with 60 meatballs)
Brown meatballs in large frying pan in batches with a teaspoon or two of olive oil per batch. Roll meatballs around in pan so they brown on all sides. Since the sausage mixture is soft, my meatballs did not end up perfectly round.
When all of the meatballs are browned, add all of them back into your pan.
Add 1 cup of dry white wine (I used Pacific Rim Columbia Valley Riesling)
1- 1/2 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup fresh basil, finely chopped
Cover the pan and simmer for 20 minutes. Make sure not to cook all of the sauce away.
I thickened my sauce at the end with 1 Tblsp of gluten free flour.
I sprinkled the meatballs with some grated Reggiano cheese before serving.
Serve the meatballs by themselves as an appetizer or as a main course with pasta, rice or even over ribbons of zucchini for a low carb entree.
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These sound great, I remember his time in the cooking spotlight.
Hi Melynda! I think I have 5 of the different paperback Jeff Smith cookbooks! He had a nice way with traditional recipes.
Thanks for your comment!