Hungarian Meatballs
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Traditional Hungarian flavors come together in these deliciously tender and succulent Hungarian Meatballs that are drenched in a lusciously rich and silky paprika sauce! Enjoy them over hot buttered noodles, rice, Spätzle, or potatoes. A great make ahead-meal and the meatballs can also be frozen so you can simply thaw them when you’re ready and make the sauce!
Friends, you simply have to make these Hungarian meatballs! Your taste buds will thank you over and over again. They may not state it verbally, but trust me, they’ll say it in a way that you’ll understand. These luscious meatballs are inspired by the flavors of Hungarian cuisine, one of my favorites. They are easy to make and ready for the table in about 30 minutes. The rich flavors of this comfort dish are an absolute feast for the palate!
The smooth and creamy sauce is vibrantly red from sweet paprika with the wonderfully deep flavor of caramelized onions and mushrooms (yes, you can omit them if you don’t like them) with the zesty touch of dill and freshened up with the tangy taste of sour cream. Simply put, they’re irresistible.
This dish also makes a nice time-saver: Make and freeze the meatballs in advance and then plop them in the simmering sauce at the appropriate stage. These meatballs are also great as leftovers: Simply thin the sauce out a bit with some broth, milk or cream if it’s become too thickened. The flavors will be even better once they’ve had time to meld.
Before we get started, an important note about paprika. There are many options out there to purchase, a tiny fraction of which actually come from Hungary. We cannot emphasize enough what a massive difference quality Hungarian paprika makes. We recommend this genuine Hungarian paprika from the Kalocsa region of Hungary. It has a wonderfully rich flavor and an exceptionally vibrant red color. Many of our readers have tried this paprika, written back and agree that quality Hungarian-imported paprika makes all the difference.
Hungarian Meatballs Recipe
Let’s get started!
You can use any meat or combination of meats of your choice for these meatballs. This time we’re using veal, which is very lean and delicate in flavor, and a meat that’s commonly enjoyed in Hungarian cuisine. Veal is prized among chefs worldwide for its versatility, delicate flavor and tender melt-in-you-mouth texture. It also has a lower fat and calorie profile than beef. Note: A lot of positive changes have been made in the U.S. veal industry in recent years. I purchase it from butchers who source their veal from producers who pasture-raise the calves with social interaction of other animals.
Place all the meatball ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and knead to thoroughly combine.
Shape the mixture into 1-inch balls or whatever size you prefer.
Heat some oil in a skillet and once hot add the meatballs, browning on all sides.
Transfer the meatballs to a plate and discard all but a tablespoon or so of grease.
Add the onions to the skillet and fry until translucent and golden brown. Add the garlic and fry for another minute (don’t fry garlic too long or it becomes bitter). Add the mushrooms and fry until they’ve released their juices and they’re mostly evaporated.
Transfer the mushroom mixture to a bowl and set aside.
Add the butter to the skillet and melt it. Add the flour and whisk until dissolved.
Continue whisking vigorously for another minute or two until the flour mixture is a deep golden brown. We’re creating what’s called a roux, a French term and the grand secret for creating an irresistibly rich and flavorful sauce.
Pour in the hot broth while continually whisking to prevent clumping.
Continue to whisk while bringing the mixture to a simmer.
Add the cream and whisk until combined.
Continue to simmer for another minute or so until the sauce is thickened.
Return the mushroom mixture to the sauce and add the pepper, salt and paprika. As you stir get ready to admire the beautiful velvety red sauce that’s created!
Stir in the sour cream and dill. Gorgeous!
Return the meatballs to the sauce, stirring to coat them, and simmer covered for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Sprinkle with some chopped fresh dill.
Serve over hot buttered pasta, our homemade Spätzle, potatoes, or rice along with a cool cucumber or leafy green salad and some rustic crusty bread. See my German Creamy Cucumber Salad and German Cucumber Salad (oil and vinegar-based).
Enjoy!
For more delicious Hungarian recipes be sure to try my:
- Hungarian Goulash
- Chicken Paprikash
- Pörkölt
- Szegedin Goulash
- Bean Goulash
- Hungarian Mushroom Soup
- Chicken Goulash
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Hungarian Meatballs
Ingredients
- For the Meatballs:
- 1 pound ground meat of choice (e.g., pork, beef, veal, chicken, turkey)
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup plain breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
- 2 tablespoons fresh chopped dill
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon sweet Hungarian paprika
- 2 tablespoons oil for frying
- For the Sauce:
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 medium yellow onion , chopped
- 1 clove garlic , minced
- 8 ounces mushrooms , sliced
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1 cup cream (for lower calories: substitute evaporated milk)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons sweet Hungarian paprika
- 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh chopped dill
- 1/2 cup sour cream
Instructions
- Place all the meatball ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and knead to thoroughly combine. Shape the mixture into 1-inch balls or whatever size you prefer.
- Heat some oil in a skillet and once hot add the meatballs, browning on all sides. Transfer the meatballs to a plate and discard all but a tablespoon or so of grease.
- Add the onions to the skillet and fry until translucent and golden brown. Add the garlic and fry for another minute (don’t fry garlic too long or it becomes bitter). Add the mushrooms and fry until they’ve released their juices and they’re mostly evaporated. Transfer the mushroom mixture to a bowl and set aside.
- Add the butter to the skillet and melt it. Add the flour and whisk until dissolved. Continue whisking vigorously for another minute or two until the flour mixture is a deep golden brown. (We’re creating what’s called a roux, a French term and the grand secret for creating an irresistibly rich and flavorful sauce.)
- Pour in the hot broth while continually whisking to prevent clumping. Continue to whisk while bringing the mixture to a simmer. Add the cream and whisk until combined. Continue to simmer for another minute or so until the sauce is thickened. Return the mushroom mixture to the sauce and add the pepper, salt and paprika. Stir in the sour cream and dill.
- Return the meatballs to the sauce, stirring to coat them, and simmer covered for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Serve immediately over hot buttered egg noodles, spaetzle, potatoes or rice along with a cool cucumber or leafy green salad and some rustic crusty bread. Garnish with some chopped fresh dill if desired.
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Nutrition
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet September 25, 2016
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
Hello….can the meatballs be put straight into the sauce without frying them first? I find the meat will give more flavour to the sauce while they are cooking.
Hi Manuela, I’ve never tried that so I can’t say with certainty how well they will hold their shape. I would just be sure to simmer them on very low, covered. But as for flavor, it’s actually the browning of the meat that contributes the most flavor. Look up “Maillard reaction” when it comes to browning meat – it’s originally a French technique that was found to produce the most complex and rich flavors.
Hello, I just prepared this dish – I am a little confused; the color of my sauce is more of a brown and not red. I used the actual “Hungarian paprika” as well? The taste is amazing, just the color is not red.
Did I do something wrong?
Hi Donna, no you did nothing wrong. There are different varieties of Hungarian paprika depending on which region they come from and they vary in their degree of “redness”. It’s more aesthetics than anything.
I quadrupled the recipe for a potluck dinner. 150 meatballs that were a huge hit! A lot of work but well worth it and now I’m expected to bring Shawn’s Famous Hungarian Goulashballs to every such event for the rest of my life.
Lol, Shawn! That’s awesome, I’m so glad they were a hit, thank you! And I’ll totally have to remember the name “Goulashballs”! :)
Made this for the 4th or 5th time this weekend. Beef this time b/c I couldn’t find ground veal. Still came out quite tender, and great flavor. This recipe has quickly become one of our favorites. The flavor profile is absolutely exceptional. Everything balances, with a strong paprika flavor that still lets the mushrooms and meatballs taste like mushrooms and meatballs. I originally stumbled across this when I found your chicken paprikash recipe in a google search, and I am so glad I found it.
Fantastic, David, I’m so happy to hear that, thank you!
Made this dish today. Meatballs were made with 75% veal and 25% beef. I forgot to add the egg though. 🙄 but they still came out tender. Followed the recipe exactly except added more paprika to the sauce. Served it over egg noodles. A delicious recipe for sure!
This is delicious! The meatballs were tasty. I used both pork and beef. At the end I added a tiny bit of white wine vinegar, a little dijon mustard, a pinch of brown sugar and a few drops of chili oil to give it a little zip. Big sloppy noodles, will share!
Thank you for all your great recipes!!
Fantastic, Nancy, thank you so much for the feedback and I’m happy you enjoyed them!
Really flavorful with unique meatballs. I used ground pork and baked them in the oven 350 degrees for 35 minutes. These meatballs go bedt with wide buttered rgg noodles, but zI liked it with rice too. Drlicious sauce. I will make these again.
Thank you, Kirsten, I’m so happy you enjoyed them!
So delicious! I was excited to try because I have made Chicken Paprikash, which shares the glorious combination of sweet paprika with sour cream. My only change was to use gluten-free flour in the sauce due to my husband’s gluten sensitivity, but this fortunately did not change the texture. A beautiful and flavorful dish – thank you much!
I’m so glad you both enjoyed it, Julia, thank you so much!
Can you omit the mushrooms as they aren’t liked in my house.
Hi Marlene, yes you can, no problem.
These were so good with flavor but so spicy! Is even the sweet paprika super spicy?
Hi Alisha, sweet Hungarian paprika isn’t spicy at all. Give that a try and you’ll enjoy these meatballs even more! :)
this is sooo good .I can’t wait to make it again.
Could I freeze it?
Thank you
Thank you so much, Pierrette, I’m happy you enjoyed them! Yes you can freeze them, just gently reheat them.
Just tried this – and it was GREAT!
Only thing was the meatballs appeared to be a bit dry so i added a splash of cream before frying – I used ground beef – dont think i can get veal anywhere (Netherlands)
Fantastic, Tom, thanks so much!
if you add 1/2 c parmesan Reggiano cheese , you will have fluffier meatball, and or use panko crumbs they are lighter than regular bread crumbs. bon Appetit, chef Lizabeth