Baked with a wonderful tomato sauce, stale bread meatballs give new life to bread that still tastes good but no longer has an appealing texture. The bread helps tenderize the meatballs, making them melt-in-your-mouth tender. Served over pasta or potatoes, these bread meatballs would be a delicious part of a main meal, even for those who are vegetarian.
To make the stale bread meatballs, bread gets re-hydrated in water before being mixed with the cheeses, eggs, parsley, salt, pepper, and breadcrumbs. Then, the mixture gets assembled into meatballs before being fried and cooked with tomato sauce.
What are Stale Bread Meatballs?
Stale bread meatballs actually don’t contain any meat. Instead, they are mainly made up of stale bread that has been re-hydrated and seasoned with pecorino, parmesan, salt, pepper, and parsley. The results are tender “meatballs” that are suitable for plant-based diets, and can be a replacement for your usual meatballs in tomato sauce.
Pro Tips
- After soaking the bread, squeeze out as much water as possible so that the bread meatballs aren’t too wet.
- If you find that the meatball mixture is too wet, you can add more breadcrumbs so that they reach a dry enough consistency to shape into meatballs.
- Feel free to use seasoned breadcrumbs rather than plain breadcrumbs if desired.
- If you like, you can add other herbs to the bread meatballs such as thyme, rosemary, or basil.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it Better to Soak Bread in Milk or Water for Meatballs?
This recipe calls for soaking the bread in water since most of it will be squeezed out of the bread once it has been re-hydrated. However, you could definitely soak the bread in milk if you prefer, which some people claim will tenderize the meatballs even more.
How Can I Serve Stale Bread Meatballs?
Just like regular meatballs in tomato sauce, these meatballs are great served over pasta to make a complete meal. However, you could also serve them over potatoes or rice if preferred.
Can I Add Other Ingredients to Meatballs?
Absolutely! If you would like to modify this recipe, you could add whatever seasonings you prefer to the meatballs. For example, you could stir in some cumin, coriander, and curry powder if you would like to made a curry-inspired meatballs. In this case, you shouldn’t cook them in the sauce. Alternatively, you could add chili powder and cumin to the meatballs for a Tex-Mex inspired meatball.
How to Store Stale Bread Meatballs
Leftover bread meatballs can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 4 to 5 days. It isn’t recommended to freeze them as they will likely become soggy.
Ingredients
How to Make Stale Bread Meatballs
In a bowl, soak the bread in water for 10 minutes. Squeeze out the excess water and place it in a bowl.
In a bowl, soak the bread in water for 10 minutes. Squeeze out the excess water and place it in a bowl.
Add the eggs, parsley, pecorino, parmesan, breadcrumbs, salt, and pepper.
Add the eggs, parsley, pecorino, parmesan, breadcrumbs, salt, and pepper.
Divide the bread mixture into meatballs.
Stir until combined.
Heat the olive oil in a pan on the stove. Add the meatballs and fry them until they are golden.
Divide the bread mixture into meatballs.
Add the tomato sauce and salt, and simmer until the sauce has thickened.
Heat the olive oil in a pan on the stove. Add the meatballs and fry them until they are golden.
Serve immediately!
Add the tomato sauce and salt, and simmer until the sauce has thickened.
Add the basil.
Serve immediately!
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