Lamb Meatballs with a Spicy Tomato Sauce

Delicious Tender Lamb Meatballs with a Spicy Tomato Sauce – a little bit of sweet with a slightly spicy kick. 

Lamb is a favourite of mine, whether it’s a roasted leg of lamb, a lamb curry, or some ground lamb in Shepherd’s Pie. There is just no denying the amazing flavour it can add to a dish.

I have to admit though, ground lamb I don’t tend to have very often, as it is near impossible to get extra lean ground lamb that is syn free unless you have one of these handy meat grinders and a KitchenAid mixer to go along with it. Then you could have a go at making your own with a lean cut of lamb, where you can remove any visible fat.

I do have the KitchenAid but have never gotten around to getting the meat grinder attachment for it, something I really should do.  Maybe I might be tempted after reminding myself tonight. Although I think the sausage maker attachment appeals to me more, can you imagine being able to make your own syn free sausages? Now there is a thought.

Anyway despite lamb or ground lamb should I say, pretty much always having a small syn value, most tend to avoid it. However, if you cleverly bulk the dish out with lots of sauce and veggies, you don’t need to use as much of it, and the syn value is not too bad then once divided into portions.

Of course, depending on where you buy the ground lamb from, it will vary in syns. Here in Canada, it tends to be around ? syn per 100g.

To make the meatballs in this Lamb Meatballs with a Spicy Tomato Sauce – it is really easy and basic ingredients. Just the ground lamb, fresh coriander, a red chilli, salt and egg, that’s it, no complicated ingredients.

The sauce that follows is pretty easy as far as ingredient’s go, most are ones that you will have in the store cupboard.

One thing I like to recommend when starting out any healthy eating journey is to build up a good spice and herb collection. You don’t need to go crazy, just buy 1 or 2 a week with your groceries until you have the basic selection, then you can just add to it, as a new spice appears in a recipe that you haven’t yet bought.

Those spices will be your saviour for making meals taste amazing. There is nothing worse than bland and boring food. Remember as this is a life long journey, you need to make your food interesting and spices will do that to even the basic of dishes.

I like to keep my spices in plain jars like these 156ml Nutley’s Jars which you can get on Amazon in packs of 6, 12, 24 and even 48.

As they are slightly bigger than your standard spice jar, they are better for storing larger quantities of spices. I don’t know about you, but I hate the little spice jars you get at most supermarkets, and many are overpriced. If you want to save money, try buying in bulk from local Indian grocers or similar, you can also buy from bulk spices on Amazon. Works out much cheaper all around.

Then I love these little chalkboard labels, which you can stick on the jars and write the name of the spice onto the label. I prefer ones with a chalkboard pen, as it doesn’t smudge off as easily as just plain white chalk.

A perfect storage solution for all your spices and they look quite neat and pretty too with the labels. I am a sucker for pretty things.

For the vegetables in the sauce, I must admit to sometimes being a bit lazy, and using my Nutri Ninja Food Processor with Auto IQ technology. It literally chops all the vegetables up in seconds, saving heaps of time. I use the chopping blade, just a couple of pulses of the blade and the vegetables are chopped finely – perfect!!

Click here to view the Nutri Ninja Complete Kitchen System on Amazon

If I can save a little bit of time cooking when I know the kids will be hungry and demanding food pretty soon, then I am taking those short cut believe me.

The sauce to these Lamb Meatballs with a Spicy Tomato Sauce is literally spoon worthy. I could literally eat that sauce in a bowl on its own, only trouble is, I would probably want lots of naan bread to go along with it. Which isn’t going to save my syns for that bit of chocolate I might want later.

If you really can’t do without the bread, you could always have a go at this Sweet Potato Flatbread. It’s gluten and dairy free and rather yummy. I often have a couple made in advance and in the freezer, so they are on hand when I might need one quickly.

For tonight though, I just fancied some good ole steamed jasmine rice to go with these Lamb Meatballs with a Spicy Tomato Sauce. You don’t need to stick to just rice though, these would pair up nicely with a variety of sides including these Perfect Syn Free Chips and if you are lucky enough to have any leftovers, you will be pleased to know, it freezes perfectly.

Looking for some other lamb recipes to try? Check out these:

• Instant Pot Bombay Lamb Curry
• Lamb Rogan Josh
• Lamb and Vegetable Curry
• Greek Style Lamb Burgers
• Rosemary Lamb Loin Chops with Mint Gravy
• Lamb Meatball and Bean Curry
• Lamb Meatballs with Mint Gravy
• Lamb and Mint Meatballs in a Sweet and Spicy Sauce
• Low Syn Moussaka Meatballs
• Baked Spicy Kibbeh
• Shepherds Pie
• Low Syn Moussaka
• Doner Kebab Fakeaway Night

and don’t forget my FULL RECIPE INDEX with over 500+ Delicious Slimming World Recipes.

Sprinkle these Lamb Meatballs with a Spicy Tomato Sauce with some freshly chopped coriander, and serve with a side of syn free onion bhaji and a drizzle of mint yoghurt (plain yoghurt, fresh mint, lemon juice and a little sweetener). If doing an SP day or are following a paleo diet, try serving with this Roasted Cauliflower Rice.

Made this Lamb Meatballs with a Spicy Tomato Sauce? Tag me at #slimmingeats on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram so I can see your pictures.

Lamb Meatballs with a Spicy Tomato Sauce

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

This recipe is dairy free, gluten free, paleo, Slimming World and Weight Watchers friendlyExtra Easy - 4.5 syns per servingOriginal/SP/Paleo - 4.5 syns per serving serve with cauli riceWW Smart Points - 8

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Ingredients

• For the meatballs:
• 400g (28oz) of lean lamb mince (18 syns)*
• fresh coriander
• 1 red chilli, finely chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp of fresh grated ginger
• salt and black pepper
• 1 egg
• For the sauce:
• 240ml (1 cup) of passata
• 240ml (1 cups) of lamb or chicken stock
• 1 tbs of tomato paste
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 large carrot, chopped
• 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 2 teaspoons of cumin
• 2 teaspoons of coriander
• 1 teaspoon of chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon of paprika
• ½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper (increase if you like spicy)
• 1 tablespoon of sukrin:1 (or other sweetner of choice)
• spray oil

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, add the lamb mince, a few tablespoons of freshly chopped coriander, 1 finely chopped red chilli, 1 clove of garlic, some freshly grated ginger, salt, pepper and 1 egg and bind it all together well.
2. Form into equal sized meatballs.
3. Spray a frying pan with some spray oil, and brown the meatballs. Then set aside.
4. Add the onion, garlic, some ginger, and the carrot to the frying pan and cook for 2-3 mins until softened.
5. Add the passata, tomato paste, stock, all the spices, and sukrin:1 (sweetener) and bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
6. Add the back in the meatballs and continue to simmer for an additional 20 minutes. 
7. Top with some freshly chopped coriander.
8. Serve with your choice of sides. 

Notes

Nutritional information is an estimate and is to be used for informational purposes only.

Ingredients can vary greatly from brand to brand and therefore it would be impossible to give accurate information. Also, double check syn values of synned ingredients as different brands can vary. 

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Nutrition Information:

Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1 serving
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 299 Total Fat: 18.9g Saturated Fat: 8.5g Cholesterol: 111mg Sodium: 250mg Carbohydrates: 12g Fiber: 2.8g Sugar: 5.1g Protein: 20.3g