Italian tuna balls

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25 ratings

Recipe by Good Food

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1. Flake the tuna into a bowl, then tip in the pine nuts, lemon zest, parsley, breadcrumbs and egg. Season and mix together with your hands until completely combined. Roll the mix into 12 walnut-size balls. Put a large pan of salted water on to boil, then cook the spaghetti according to pack instructions.
2. Heat a little of the tuna oil in a large non-stick frying pan, then fry the tuna balls for 5 mins, turning every minute or so until completely golden. Drain on kitchen paper. Heat the tomato sauce, then toss together with the pasta and tuna balls.

Make it into burgers

Tex-Mex burgers: Tip the drained tuna, breadcrumbs and egg into a bowl with a handful sweetcorn kernels, a sprinkling Tex-Mex or fajita seasoning and a small handful chopped coriander. Mould the mix into 4 burgers, cook as above and serve in buns with your favourite burger toppings.

Per serving

594 kcalories, protein 35g, carbohydrate 92g, fat 12 g, saturated fat 2g, fibre 4g, salt 1.42 g

Latest comments and suggestions

Results 21-35

• James Court YMCA

  19 November 2008

  James Court YMCA rated and commented on this recipe

  

  Vicky made this and the steamed chocolate pudding. We found making fresh breadcrumbs a bit difficult but the bread quickly mixed in with the other ingredients and the balls stayed together quite well. We made a tomato sauce with an onion softened in olive oil and a tin of tomatoes.

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• K!

  25 November 2008

  K! rated and commented on this recipe

  

  I cook these very often for a quick tea with Jamie Olivers easy tomato sauce and spaghetti. My 1 year old daughter loves them too, I leave out the nuts and add red onion and sweetcorn.

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• K!

  25 November 2008

  K! commented on this recipe

  Yes, I would say definateley add breadcrumbs and leave in fridge for a while

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• steph

  22 December 2008

  steph rated and commented on this recipe

  

  These tuna 'meatballs' were a success. I added very finely chopped onion and missed out the lemon zest (only because I didn't have any lemon) I also fried the balls until they were very crispy and the onion cooked. I will make again using the lemon and I also like the sound of the tex mex tuna burgers.

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• megentilly

  28 January 2009

  megentilly rated and commented on this recipe

  

  A great way to cook using cupboard ingredients. Everyone loved this dish.

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• striker26uk

  05 February 2009

  striker26uk commented on this recipe

  I don't know if it was me. I've liked every recipe of this site and use it daily. but this recipe tasted like what I think cat food would be like if I were to eat it. Not very nice at all. Very bland, horrible texture and nearly made me be sick. Although it could be my wifes cooking.

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• natalieaa

  08 February 2009

  natalieaa rated this recipe

  

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• Foxychick

  27 February 2009

  Foxychick commented on this recipe

  I'm pleased to read that I wasnt the only one who found that the tuna balls tended to fall apart a bit! It is a tasty recipe and I added some chopped red onion, some chilli, garlic and the first time a bit of grated mozarella too. The first time I ended up with a tuna mess, but it was tasty with the sauce and pasta. The second time I rolled the balls in flour before cooking which seemed to help but some still fell apart. It doesnt seem to matter which pasta you use but if anyone has any great ideas for making the balls stick together so you can cook them I would be interested as I really would like to cook this again.

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• EmSmith

  14 March 2009

  EmSmith rated and commented on this recipe

  

  My four year-old daughter had never willingly eaten tuna until being presented with these. She loved them! I found the tuna balls held their shape quite well but possibly would've fallen apart had I stirred the sauce much after adding them. I agree with the comments re: the quantities. It fed me and two small children but I'd have to up the quantities if my husband was eating with us.

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• Aida G

  31 March 2009

  Aida G rated and commented on this recipe

  

  yummy. It worked really grat with Jamie Olivers tomato and basil pasta sauce...

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• Michelle

  01 April 2009

  Michelle rated and commented on this recipe

  

  Very tasty but the balls are very hard to bind and fiddly to cook - making a delicous dinner but presentation wise wasn't great. All in all very filling and healthy. I used wholemeal pasta to make it that little more healthy to.

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• Annie

  22 April 2009

  Annie rated and commented on this recipe

  

  A great simple to prepare tasty meal - my family loved it, and I will make again.

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• Anneli

  30 June 2009

  Anneli rated and commented on this recipe

  

  Very tasty - took a little longer than the 20mins and a couple of the balls fell apart but nevertheless - excellent. Will deffo try again.

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• Andrea

  10 August 2009

  Andrea rated and commented on this recipe

  

  My two year old daughter tucked into this with gusto! A very nice meal with the added benefit of being super-easy to prepare. I refridgerated the tuna balls for an hour before cooking and they stayed together perfectly. I will definitely make this again soon.

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• mrs r

  19 November 2009

  mrs r rated and commented on this recipe

  

  Really unusual, would never have thought to do this, but it really worked. A nice healthy alternative to mince. Will def make again for a week night tea

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Ingredients

• 2 160g cans of tuna in sunflower or olive oil, drained (reserve a little oil)
• small handful of pine nuts
• freshly grated zest 1 lemon
• small handful parsley leaves, roughly chopped
• 50g fresh breadcrumbs
• 1 egg , beaten
• 400g spaghetti
• 500g jar pasta sauce

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Difficulty and servings

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking times

Prep 15 mins

Ingredients

• 2 160g cans of tuna in sunflower or olive oil, drained (reserve a little oil)
• small handful of pine nuts
• freshly grated zest 1 lemon
• small handful parsley leaves, roughly chopped
• 50g fresh breadcrumbs
• 1 egg , beaten
• 400g spaghetti
• 500g jar pasta sauce

Per serving

594 kcalories, protein 35g, carbohydrate 92g, fat 12 g, saturated fat 2g, fibre 4g, salt 1.42 g

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