Try this canned mackerel recipe and cook a healthy Italian-style meatball dish. Mackerel provides a ton of nutrition, and is a wild caught fish full of healthy oils. It’ a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids. Canned mackerel is inexpensive, super convenient, and an ideal ingredient to have around the house.
What You Need to Make a Meatball Canned Mackerel Recipe
1 can MACKEREL
1 EGG
1 Lg ONION
4-5 cloves GARLIC
4-5 Tbsp OLIVE OIL
14oz can TOMATO SAUCE
14oz can CRUSHED TOMATO
½ GREEN BELL PEPPER
1 RED or YELLOW BELL PEPPER
½ cup grated ROMANO CHEESE
1 Tbsp ITALIAN SEASONING
2 tsp CHILI POWDER
SALT and PEPPER (to taste)
some fresh parsley…and serve over rice or noodles
How to Make Canned Mackerel Meatballs
- Open the canned mackerel and pour fish into a bowl. Like canned tuna, the mackerel has already been cooked during the canning process. The skin and bones are edible, in fact they are quite nutritious.
- Remove some of the juice that was in the can, but leave about a ¼ cup of juices.
- The larger vertabrae, while quite chewable, can be a little distracting in a meatball.
Using your hands, break the fish up, smashing as much of the bone matter as convenient. - Into the bowl add salt, pepper, and chili powder to taste. You’ll also add some of these spices into the marinara sauce as well.
- Add the freshly grated Romano cheese, or substitute Parmesan cheese.
- Add one egg, and about 1 Tbsp each of finely chopped onion, garlic and green bell pepper.
- Thoroughly combine all of the ingredients in the bowl and then form the mixture into meatballs about the size of a ping pong ball. The bowl should yield 12-14 meatballs.
Time to Cook the Meatballs!
- Heat a skillet with oil on medium high heat. Check current prices for a NON STICK SKILLET on Amazon.
- Brown the meatballs on all sides. Be gentle, the mackerel meatballs will be moist and quite soft. The meatballs will likely not keep their round shape, but that’s fine. Use tongs and turn them gently in the hot oil. The browning will help the meatballs to keep their shape later in the marinara sauce.
- Brown meatballs for 5-7 minutes and the remove the meatballs from the skillet and set aside on a plate.
- Into the skillet add the remaining onion, garlic, and bell peppers. Saute for several minutes until they begin to soften.
- Add more salt, pepper, and hot pepper as desired. Use fresh hot peppers if you like!
- Add in the crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce.
- Stir in the dried Italian seasonings.
- Bring skillet to a bubble and the reduce to a simmer and cover and let simmer for about 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, add fresh parsley and then return the meatballs to the skillet.
- Gently mix the meatballs with the sauce and let cook for another 5 minutes.
And that’s it! Serve the sauce and mackerel meatballs over pasta or rice.
Give this canned mackerel recipe a try and let me know what you think, and bon appétit!
If you can’t find it at the store, you can check out canned mackerel prices on Amazon.
And for another canned seafood recipe, try this delicious Salmon Burger Recipe.
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If you’re new to home cooking, get a bunch of spices, pots and pans, and start experimenting with different recipes. It’s a healthy hobby that can save a lot of money in the long run. Check out current prices for Complete Kitchenware Sets on Amazon as well as Complete Starter Spice Kits. Or try a thrift store! I’ve found some of my favorite kitchen gear at second-hand stores.
