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Easy Venison Meatballs with Tomato Sauce

If you have a freezer full of deer meat, you might be looking for a new, creative way to use some of it. An easy way to get dinner on the table in record time and please the whole family is to make these venison meatballs with a simple Italian tomato sauce. They work as an appetizer, main course, or as a delicious feature in a meatball sub.

Mixing this meatball recipe up is fun, too. Put the ground venison, ground pork, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, sage, and fennel into a large bowl and use your hands to mix it all together. Form meatballs by rolling the ground meat mixture between your hands, then place them on a baking sheet. In a 350 degree oven, bake until fully cooked, about 13-15 minutes.

The sauce comes together while the venison meatballs are baking. In a saucepan over medium heat, cook garlic in olive oil for about a minute, then add tomato sauce and minced basil. Simmer the sauce for five minutes, then pour it on top of the meatballs and grate Parmesan cheese on top. It'll taste just like what you get at your local sandwich shop, minus waiting in line.

Easy Venison Meatballs with Tomato Sauce

These Venison Meatballs are filled with fresh ground venison and a bit of pork and tossed in a quick and easy tomato sauce.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 6 servings

Ingredients
  

For The Meatballs

  • 2 lbs ground venison
  • 1 lb ground pork
  • 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp sage
  • 1/2 tsp fennel

For The Sauce

  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 cups tomato sauce
  • 1 Tbsp minced basil
  • 1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan

Instructions
 

For The Meatballs

  • Preheat your oven to 350ºF. In a large bowl mix together venison, pork, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, sage, and fennel with your hands. Roll into balls and place on a baking sheet and bake until fully cooked, about 13-15 minutes.

For The Sauce

  • In a saucepan over medium heat add olive oil and garlic and cook 1 minute. Add tomato sauce and minced basil and simmer 5 minutes. Pour on top of meatballs and top with grated parmesan.

Notes

We used plain breadcrumbs in our recipe but you can always use seasoned. Adjust salt and pepper accordingly.
These meatballs are great to make ahead of time. Bake them, cool, then place in a ziplock bag. Reheat meatballs in the sauce until warm and meatballs reach an internal temperature of 165ºF.

Perfect Pairing

Looking for another venison recipe? Try this Make-Ahead Venison Stew.
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Nutrition

Calories: 521kcalCarbohydrates: 18gProtein: 54gFat: 25gSaturated Fat: 10gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 116mgSodium: 1118mgPotassium: 918mgFiber: 2gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 350IUVitamin C: 8.3mgCalcium: 160mgIron: 7.9mg