This is the best recipe for traditional Tefteli! Also known as Russian Meatballs, they are made with white rice and cooked in tomato sauce. It will be a great easy recipe that you can make in one skillet in just 30 minutes!
If you are a fan of classic meatballs, you will love these delicious Tefteli, which are also known as Russian Meatballs. They are made with rice and cooked in aromatic tomato sauce. It takes about 30 minutes to make the meal with just a few ingredients.
In general, Russian tefteli are quite similar to the classic Italian meatballs. The only main difference is they have rice inside the meatballs, that makes them softer and more filling.
Ingredients
- Ground Beef. I like to use 85% lean ground beef, as it gives the most flavor.
- Rice. We will need to cook the rice halfway through before adding it to the meat. That will allow everything to be perfectly cooked at the very end.
- Onion. I prefer to grate the onion. This way it provides more aroma and flavor.
- Garlic. A must have ingredient for the tomato sauce!
- Crushed Tomatoes. You can use your favorite brand for crushed tomatoes. If you don’t have it, you can use Marinara Sauce and just skip adding grated onion and spices to it.
- Salt, Pepper, Dried Basil. These is the basic seasoning. Feel free to play around with spices to add your favorite flavor!
How to make it
To start, we need to precook the rice halfway through before adding it to the meat. The reason we do it is different cooking time. If you add raw rice to the Tefteli, it still will be hard after meatballs are cooked.
Add ½ cup of rinsed rice and 1 cup of water to a saucepan. Bring it to boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid, and let it simmer until all the water is absorbed. Then let it cool off before adding to the rice.
When the rice is cooled, add ground beef, rice, and half of grated onion to the mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper and mix until all the ingredients are well combined.
Roll the mixture into the balls (standard meatballs size).
In a large heavy bottom skillet, add crushed tomatoes, minced garlic, and the remaining grated onion. Stir and season with salt, pepper, and basil. Bring to boil, then reduce the heat to medium/low and let it simmer for 5-7 minutes (stir occasionally).
Then, add the meatballs, cover with the lid and cook for 20-25 minutes over medium heat or until they are cooked through. Turn the meatballs over every 5 minutes.
Tips for best results
- Rice. Long grain white rice is the main ingredient in this recipe. This is what differentiates American or Italian meatballs from traditional Russian Tefteli. Just make sure you precook the rice and cool it off before adding to the ground beef.
- Cooking. While you might be used to pan sear the meatballs before adding to the sauce, Russian tefteli are usually cooked and steamed right in the sauce. Just let the sauce simmer over low/medium heat, add the meatballs, cover with the lid, and let them slowly cook and absorb all the tomato juices. Also, make sure you flip them every 5 minutes, so they don’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
- Tomato sauce. I usually use a can of crushed tomatoes and add grated onion and seasoning to it for more flavor. To simplify the recipe, you can use a Marinara Sauce, and you can skip adding the onion and seasoning.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can refrigerate them in an air tight container for up to 5 days.
These tefteli freeze very well in a freezer safe air-tight container for up to 3 months. To defrost, you can leave them in the fridge overnight and then reheat in the skillet.
Here are a few ideas you can serve them with:
– Instant Pot Mashed potatoes
– Loaded Mashed Potatoes
– Spaghetti
– Buttered noodles
– Buckwheat
– Zucchini noodles
Here are a few dinner recipes you might like:
- Instant Pot Turkey Meatballs
- Pasta with Meat Sauce
- Mac and Cheese
- Easy Mongolian Beef
- Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
- Dutch Oven Beef Stew
- Baked Ziti
- Instant Pot Pot Roast
- Instant Pot Chicken Soup
- Beef Cutlets
- Greek Meatballs
Did you make this recipe?!? I’d love to know how it turned out! leave a comment and a rating below👇 thank you!
Tefteli (Russian Meatballs with Rice)
Ingredients
- 1 ⅕ pounds ground beef
- ½ cup rice (half cooked)
- 1 large onion (grated)
- 15 oz crushed tomatoes
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- salt, pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
Instructions
- Add ½ cup of rinsed rice and 1 cup of water to a saucepan. Bring it to boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid, and let it simmer until all the water is absorbed. The rice should be cooked only halfway through! Then let it cool off before adding to the rice.
- When the rice is cooled, add ground beef, rice, and half of grated onion to the mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper and mix until all the ingredients are well combined.
- Roll the mixture into the balls (standard meatballs size).
- In a large heavy bottom skillet, add crushed tomatoes, minced garlic, and the remaining grated onion. Stir and season with salt, pepper, and dried basil. Bring to boil, then reduce the heat to medium/low and let it simmer for 5-7 minutes (stir occasionally).
- Add the meatballs, cover with the lid and cook for 20-25 minutes over low/medium heat or until they are cooked through. Turn the meatballs over every 5 minutes.
Notes
- Rice. Long grain white rice is the main ingredient in this recipe. This is what differentiates American or Italian meatballs from traditional Russian Tefteli. Just make sure you precook the rice and cool it off before adding to the ground beef.
- Cooking. While you might be used to pan sear the meatballs before adding to the sauce, Russian tefteli are usually cooked and steamed right in the sauce. Just let the sauce simmer over low/medium heat, add the meatballs, cover with the lid, and let them slowly cook and absorb all the tomato juices. Also, make sure you flip them every 5 minutes, so they don’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
- Tomato sauce. I usually use a can of crushed tomatoes and add grated onion and seasoning to it for more flavor. To simplify the recipe, you can use a Marinara Sauce, and you can skip adding the onion and seasoning.
- How to store? You can refrigerate them in an air tight container for up to 5 days.
Why do you define it American cuisine when it’s actually Russian?
What a wonderful recipe!