Switch up your appetizer game with these Chorizo Albondigas! These Spanish meatballs, made with chorizo and ground beef, are cooked in a rich, spicy tomato sauce and fit perfectly on any Spanish Tapas Platter.
Meatballs! A quintessential party food!
Also known as a clutch nibble that can be made in the crock pot while you get ready for said party.
These babies aren’t your Mama’s 1970s app, though they are just as traditional. Spanish to the core, these Albondigas are full of those savory flavors, smothered in spicy tomato sauce.
Got a few bottles of wine to take down with friends? Whip up these Spanish meatballs and elevate that glass of juicy red wine!
This page includes step by step instructions, as well as tips and notes. If you’d like to skip all that, feel free to scroll down to the full, printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Normally what I think of when someone mentions chorizo comes down to Chorizo Tacos or simply frying it up with eggs and serving it with leftover rice for breakfast.
Lo and behold, turns out it’s killer in meatballs.
What the heck are Albondigas?
Albondigas is directly translated to English as meatballs, which is precisely what these are.
Most of the recipes you’ll find on the internet lead you to a variation of a Mexican meatballs soup, which is delicious, but definitely not suited for tapas (appetizers).
In Spain, albondigas are traditionally served at tapas restaurants, with usually 3 to 4 small meatballs per order. The recipe we are dealing with today makes enough for a small party, including plenty of that delightfully spicy tomato sauce they’re smothered in.
The biggest departure in this recipe from a standard Spanish meatball is the addition of chorizo sausage to the blend. Instead of using strictly ground beef or a beef-pork blend, I mixed in a couple links of ground chorizo. Not only did it add a bit of heat and color, the sauce actually changed consistency during cooking.
You know how hard it is to resist using leftover bacon grease to cook everything in? The chorizo gives off a similar grease that’s just pure deliciousness.
The only thing these albondigas really need to sing is a smooth glass of red wine.
Spanish wines pair wonderfully here, but we chose a California Cabernet Sauvignon. After dipping my toe into the wine world with sweet whites and reds, Cabs were my first step towards a more sophisticated palate.
Cabernet goes down easily, the hints of black currant, cherry and chocolate nicely contrasting the heat and acid in the tomato sauced meatballs.
Now that we’ve covered the albondigas and the wine selection, let’s build a tapas board!
Building a stellar Spanish Tapas Platter
I love my cheese boards. These Spanish meatballs would have been fine on their own, but I felt they would benefit from a few complimentary nibbles.
Of course, I don’t know how to quit once I get started.
Generally when I plan a cheese board, I am very intentional about what I buy for it. I have a plan, right down to a sketched out board, like a seating chart for appetizers.
Everything on this board is something we already had in the fridge or pantry.
The basics for building a standard cheese board vary, but you usually want to use the following as a guide:
- Cheeses – You’re looking for textural variety. A hard cheese like Manchego and a soft one like Queso Fresco (it is a Spanish board after all). A full-flavored cheddar will always be welcome, as well. Choose a good balance of 3-5 cheeses, enough for 1 ounce per person, per hour.
- Meats – Obviously, toothpick-skewered meatballs are the star of the show here. I also included jamón serrano, the Spanish version of prosciutto, for variety. (Though standard prosciutto can be used if Serrano is unavailable where you live.)
- Sweets – Assorted fresh fruit, dried fruit, and condiments like jams, preserves, or chutney (like this papaya chutney) balance the rich, savory notes of the cheeses and cured meats. You can even include things like dark chocolate and amarena cherries for a fancy, fun twist.
- Salty Extras – This is where things got a little out of hand. Pickled vegetables (artichokes, olives, capers, peppers) and nuts (marcona almonds or spiced walnuts are great choices!), as well as crackers and breads are all acceptable.
I opted for hummus & pita chips (totally not Spanish), pepperoncinis, pistachios, and some bright grape tomatoes And some strawberries, peaches, and limes on the platter – you know, for color.
When it comes down to it, don’t make a special trip to the store if you don’t need to. If you have snacks in your house, you can make a late afternoon Spanish tapas platter work – even if all of the components aren’t necessarily Spanish.
How to make Spanish Meatballs (in the Instant Pot!)
- Begin by heating olive oil in a medium skillet. Saute onion 3-4 minutes until it begins to soften, then add garlic and saute an additional minute. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
- In a very large mixing bowl, combine ground beef, ground chorizo, torn bread, egg, grated cheese, cilantro, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper. Mix with your hands to combine. Add the cooled onions and garlic and mix well until just combined.
- Grease a large plate surface lightly with olive oil; set aside. Lightly grease your hands with oil as well, then pinch a bit of the meat mixture out of the bowl and roll it into a 1-inch ball. Place the meatball on the plate.
- Repeat with the remaining meat mixture until you have approximately 30 meatballs. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes, or freeze for up to a week.
- When ready to cook, pour the sauce into the bottom of the Instant Pot. Place the meatballs in the sauce in a single layer, then add a second layer on top.
- Place the lid on the pot and set the valve to ‘Sealing’. Press ‘Manual’ and set the timer for 6 minutes. When the cooking time is over, allow the pot to naturally release for 5 minutes, then turn the valve to quick release the remaining pressure.
- Stir the meatballs to coat them in the sauce. Serve on a large plate or bowl along with your Spanish tapas platter and J. Lohr Estates Seven Oaks Cabernet Sauvignon.
Loving this tapas recipe? Try these tasty bites next!
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Chorizo Albondiga
Ingredients
Chorizo Albondigas
- 1 tablespoon olive oil divided
- ½ onion minced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup white bread torn
- ¼ cup beef stock
- ½ pound ground beef
- ½ pound ground chorizo sausage
- 1 egg large
- 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese grated
- 2 tablespoons cilantro chopped (optional)
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground oregano
Spicy Tomato Sauce
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- ½ onion minced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 cups crushed tomatoes
- ½ cup Cabernet Sauvignon
- ¼ cup beef stock
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Kosher salt to taste
- Black pepper to taste
Spanish Tapas Platter
- Assorted cheeses, prosciutto, nuts, pickled vegetables, and fruits
Instructions
Chorizo Albondigas
- Heat olive oil in a medium skillet. Saute onion 3-4 minutes until it begins to soften, then add garlic and saute an additional minute. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
- In a very large mixing bowl, combine ground beef, ground chorizo, torn bread, egg, grated cheese, cilantro, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper. Mix with your hands to combine. Add the cooled onions and garlic and mix well until just combined.
- Grease a large plate surface lightly with olive oil; set aside. Lightly grease your hands with oil, then pinch a bit of the meat mixture out of the bowl and roll it into a 1-inch ball. Place the meatball on the plate.
- Repeat with the remaining meat mixture until you have approximately 30 meatballs. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes, or freeze for up to a week.
Spicy Tomato Sauce
- Heat olive oil in a medium skillet. Saute the onion 3 minutes, then add the garlic. Saute for an additional minute until garlic is fragrant.
- Stir in the crushed tomatoes, Cabernet, beef stock, paprika, red pepper, and salt & pepper to taste. Scrape any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Allow the sauce to simmer on low for at least 5 minutes (or up to 20 minutes), then remove from the heat.
- When ready to cook, pour the sauce into the bottom of the Instant Pot. Place the meatballs in the sauce in a single layer, then add a second layer of meatballs on top.
- Place the lid on the pot and set the valve to ‘Sealing’. Press ‘Manual’ and set the timer for 6 minutes. When the cooking time is over, allow the pot to naturally release for 5 minutes, then turn the valve to quick release the remaining pressure. Stir the meatballs to coat them in the sauce.
Spanish Tapas Platter
- Arrange the tapas platter ingredients in an attractive, cohesive fashion on a cutting board or cheese board, with the albondigas in a larger plate or bowl as the central star.
