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
Be sure to check out my video for these Hungarian Meatballs in the recipe card below!
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.
Serve immediately over hot buttered egg noodles, Spätzle or rice along with a cool cucumber or leafy green salad and some rustic crusty bread. Garnish with some chopped fresh dill if desired.
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.
Enjoy!
For more delicious Hungarian recipes be sure to try our:
- Hungarian Goulash
- Chicken Paprikash
- Pörkölt
- Szegedin Goulash
- Hungarian Mushroom Soup
- Chicken Goulash
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.
Video
Nutrition
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet September 25, 2016
Kristen says
Making these for a work potluck today. Hoping it will hold up in the crock pot! Wish me luck!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Awesome, Kristen! If you’re just keeping them in the crock pot to keep warm that should work great. Let us know how they go over with the crowd!
Bruce says
Many thanks Kimberley, my chef made this recipe with Kangaroo, as we live in Australia, with one must say, rather superb results. Kangaroo has quite a game caught type of flavour, not particular to most, however most suitable to a sauce such as your own, congrat’s mate.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
“Hungarian Kangaroo Meatballs”. I love the Aussie spin on that, Bruce, and am so glad you enjoyed the dish – thank you! :)
Chris Hanna says
Wow! I came here because a friend from Hungary brought me some paprikas and goulash cream, so I was looking for authentic recipes. May I say you have a very beautiful and exciting website. I like to cook and love Greek food as well as all kinds of cuisines.Your recipes look so delicious, and authentic.I have not made the recipes yet, but I cannot wait to try them. I am sure I will be back and I will let you know how things turn out! Thanks for the beautiful pictures of Budapest included with the Goulash recipe. I want to make my Goulash homemade, but can you tell me anything about Gulyaskrem (goulash cream) and how to use it?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Chris, I’m so glad you found us and thank you for the compliment! I hope you enjoy everything you try. Gulyáskrém is a paste made from hot paprika, tomatoes, onions and spices and is often used to flavor sauces and soups as well as added to goulash as a short cut for creating flavor. You won’t need it when making an authentic Hungarian goulash from scratch as it has plenty of flavor, but if you can use it to add an element of heat (or just add plain some plain hot powdered paprika). But if you have only have a limited amount of gulyáskrém I’d save it for some other sauces and gravies that don’t benefit from the full depth of flavor that a simmered stew like goulash does. Happy cooking and I’d love to hear what you think once you’ve had the opportunity to try some recipes!
grayslady says
Am serving these meatballs again this weekend, since I had so many leftover meatballs. A local, upscale grocery sells a “meatloaf” mix that is one third each of veal, ground round and ground pork, but that means almost 2 lbs of meat, so I had plenty of leftover meatballs to freeze. I omitted the egg, since I never have eggs around, and just added extra breadcrumbs moistened with milk. Best meatballs I’ve ever cooked. The sauce was out of this world, but I’m going to cut back the cream to half a cup, since the color of the sauce was more salmon than paprika orange. I would suggest planning 5 meatballs per person, assuming a 1 1/4″ diameter meatball.
Real winter comfort food. Thanks, Kimberly.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
That’s terrific, grayslady, I’m so glad you enjoyed them as much as we do – thank you!
Steph says
I made this recipe for a school meatball party. It was amazing!!! I substituted the veal with a pork and beef mixture.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Awesome, Steph, I’m so glad they were a hit, thank you!
Cori Landon says
I would give these more than 5 stars if I could, they were DELICIOUS! Even our three fussy eaters ate everything on their plates. Big family hit. Thank you!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’m so thrilled to hear that, Cori, thank you!
Cynetta says
Kimberly stated 15 minute prep time and 30 minute cook time.. I consider myself a excellent, experienced cook! More like double that total time plus
Was OK, but just OK, nothing I’ll make again
Marye says
I love meatballs and these look delicious. I don’t care for veal but I do plan on making some adjustments and making this recipe! It’s gorgeous!
Adina says
That sauce is out of this world! I am seriously drooling! :)
Joanie @ ZagLeft says
This looks and sounds absolutely delicious and that sauce, heavenly!
Jenny | Honey and Birch says
All of my Hungarian relatives are going to go nuts for this recipe!
Angie | BigBearsWife says
I’m freezing right now and just looking at these photos makes me want to get into the kitchen and start cooking this asap!
Michelle says
That video totally did make me crave these meatballs! They are SO good!
Linda says
These meatballs and their wonderful sauce are absolutely delicious. I used ground beef since that was what I had on hand. Thank you so much for this recipe and also the many others on your site that I can’t wait to try. Truly excellent!!!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Linda, that’s wonderful, I’m so happy to hear it! I’m thrilled you enjoyed them – thank you! Best, Kimberly
Michelle Goth says
What a gorgeous dish! Beautiful colors and it sounds delicious!