A meatball salad is one of my favorite embarrassingly easy dishes. Grab your favorite meatballs and make a simple arugula salad with lots of parm and crushed red pepper. Delicious and satisfying!
Yes. A meatball salad.
Do you want the easiest and most delicious recipe ever? My meatball salad has a base of a parmesan arugula, some crushed red pepper and my favorite ricotta meatballs in marinara.
It sounds simple… and it is!
Do you want the easiest and most delicious recipe ever? My meatball salad has a base of a parmesan arugula, some crushed red pepper and my favorite ricotta meatballs in marinara.
It sounds simple… and it is!
It doesn’t look like much but it lets the peppery parm salad shine and the meatball(s) stand out as the showstopper.
Plus, it tastes amazing.
My meatball salad isn’t new. If you have a copy of my second cookbook, The Pretty Dish, then you’ve probably made the meatball salad. It’s a weirdly popular recipe from the book (and a surprise to me!) and so many of you still make it on the regular. It’s a staple!
The method of the meatball salad is still one of my favorite dishes too. I was working on that back nearly a decade ago in 2016, so pieces of it have changed for me.
I almost always make an arugula salad now. Shaved parmesan is a must!
And I usually use my ricotta meatballs because there are none I love more.
I came upon this idea back then because of leftovers. YEP. I had tons of meatballs and just grabbed one when I was making a big salad. I loved it so much – actually more than other ways I would eat meatballs.
Groundbreaking, I know.
It’s semi-embarrassing to share such an easy recipe but it’s one that I forget about. It’s one I love to throw together for lunch or dinner for myself because it’s really satisfying, yet I go months without making it. Whyyyy do we do that?
So I’m putting it here. That way we all remember it and think to make it when we’re searching for meal ideas to add to our weekly menus.
The mix of the cold salad and warm meatball is just SO good. Of course, I’ve made it with cold meatballs too, which is also delish. But I love something about the hot versus cold combo. It gets me.
And while this salad is SIMPLE, it doesn’t have to be. My asiago house salad from Easy Everyday is possibly my most favorite salad ever and it’s jam-packed. The meatballs are amazing on that salad too.
Here, I wanted to let them shine and show you just how easy the salad underneath them can be.
My favorite way of enjoying this myself is still with leftover meatballs. It tends to be the easiest. And it’s such a nice unique lunch when I remember to make it. Add in some buttered toasty sourdough and it’s a lunch I think about over and over!
Meatball Salad
Meatball Salad
A meatball salad is one of my favorite embarrassingly easy dishes. Grab your favorite meatballs and make a simple arugula salad with lots of parm and crushed red pepper. Delicious and satisfying!
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In a large bowl, toss the arugula with a big pinch of salt and pepper. Add in the shaved parmesan.
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In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, pepper flakes, oregano and a pinch of salt and pepper. Pour it over the arugula and toss.
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Top the salad with your (warm or cold) meatballs (whole or chopped!) and sprinkle with the finely grated parm. Serve!
Yes yes yes.
