This meatballs and tomato stew is simple, comforting , filling and full of flavor. Perfect for lunch or dinner.
Simple, tasty, and filling, this Meatballs and Tomato Stew (Albóndigas Estofadas) will quickly become a regular addition to your dinner lineup.
I've talked a lot about Sunday dinners at my mamita's house, where the entire family would gather and enjoy an amazing Colombian feast! However, before I left Colombia, I would often go to mamita's for lunch alone or with my sister.
If Mamita happened to be making something she knew we'd like, she would call and invite us over. One of my favorite dishes that she made was Albóndigas Estofadas al Tomate (Meatball and Tomato Stew).
Incredibly soft meatballs, potatoes and carrots, all swimming in a perfectly smooth and rich tomato sauce. Absolutely delicious! I serve Albóndigas Estofadas with rice, without exception. You can't have this stew without the rice to soak-up the flavorful tomato sauce!
Ingredients You'll Need
The printable recipe card with exact amounts and cooking directions is below.
Ground Meat: I like to use a mixture of ground beef and pork to make my meatballs.
Tomato Sauce: use your favorite brand.
Aliños: It's a sauce or paste made with onions, peppers, garlic and spices. Here is my recipe for Colombian aliños.
Vegetables: Potatoes and carrots. You can also add yuca if you want.
Spices: Cumin, salt and pepper.
Masarepa: Precooked cornmeal can be found online or your local Latin market.
Eggs: To make the meatballs.
Water: To make the meatballs
Broth: I like to use beef broth to cook the stew.
How to Make this Meatball Stew?
- In a large bowl, combine the beef, pork, egg, aliños, salt, cornmeal and water. Knead with your hands until well mixed.
- Shape the mixture into 12 meatballs, set them on a plate.
- Add the tomato sauce, beef stock, salt, pepper, cumin powder and bring to a boil, then add the meatballs. Reduce the heat to medium low, cover and let it cook for 40 minutes.
- Add the potatoes and carrots. Cover and cook for an additional 30 minutes or until the potatoes and carrots are tender. Serve with white rice.
What to Serve with This Stew
I like to serve my stews over rice to soak all the delicious sauce with avocado and a simple salad on the side.
You can make this recipe using different proteins like chicken, fish, beef or pork. I love this dish, because it's versatile and the leftovers are absolutely delicious. The perfect dish for meal planning.
More Stews to Try
Sudado de Albóndigas (Meatball Stew)
Cazuelita de Frijoles (Beans and Rice Bowl)
Sudado de Posta (Beef Round Stew)
Albóndigas Estofadas al Tomate (Meatball and Tomato Stew)Recipe
Ingredients
Meatballs:
- ½ pound of ground pork
- ½ pound of ground beef
- 1 beaten egg
- 1 cup of aliños sauce see recipe here
- Salt and pepper
- ¼ warm water
- ½ cup masarepa or precooked cornmeal
Stew:
- ½ cup of aliños sauce recipe here
- 2 large carrots slice crosswise
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 4 cups beef stock
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- ¼ teaspoon cumin powder
- 2 large potatoes peeled and cut into small chunks
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the beef, pork, egg, aliños, salt, cornmeal and water. Knead with your hands until well mixed.
- Shape the mixture into 12 meatballs, set them on a plate.
- Add the tomato sauce, beef stock, salt, pepper, cumin powder and bring to a boil, then add the meatballs. Reduce the heat to medium low, cover and let it cook for 40 minutes.
- Add the potatoes and carrots. Cover and cook for an additional 30 minutes or until the potatoes and carrots are tender. Serve with white rice.
Natalia
I made this for my family, they were absolutely delicious, I skipped on the cup of water for the meat balls, I didn’t think it was necessary. My whole American family loved it. I love feeding them the food I was brought up with. Makes me happy and helps me not forget my roots.
Andrea
Can you use only ground chicken?
Rocio
Hola. Que feliz de encontrar tu blog. No soy buena cocinera pero esta clase de recetas me animan a intentar. Extranio mucho la comida colombiana.
Donde vivo en UK es dificil conseguir algunos ingredients. Que puedo usar en lugar de masarepa. tomato sause es ketchup? pa el alinio con que puedo reemplazar el sason Goya?
Gracias
Erica Dinho
Puedes hacer tu prio sazón con esta receta: https://www.mycolombianrecipes.com/homemade-powdered-seasoning/
La salsa de tomate la venden enlatada.
La masarepa es dificil de reemplazar, pero dependiendo de la receta puedes utilizar maíz y cocinarlo para hacer la masa.https://www.mycolombianrecipes.com/arepas-de-maiz-peto-colombian-hominy-corn-arepas/
grace
your meatballs sound perfect! this stew is perfect for what's shaping up to be a very cool fall!
Evelyne@cheapethniceatz
My mom made similar meatballs but the sauce was terribly boring, especially compare to yours with aliños sauce, looks wonderful
Angie@Angie's Recipes
It looks saucy and very tasty!
Rafael
Hola, una pregunta. Que me recomiendas usar en vez de huevo para las albóndigas. Mi esposa no puede comer huevo. Gracias.
Juliana
I love meatballs using ground port and beef...yours look delicious Erica...great meal!
Have a great week 🙂
karen
I just recently found this website and it has become my favorite! I look forward to getting the recipes in my inbox so I can drool. I never knew how beautiful Columbian food is. Thank you.
Erica Dinho
Thank you,Karen!