Beef Albondigas & Patatas Bravas
with Garlic Aioli & Mixed Greens Salad
- Eggs
- Wheat
This array of shareable Spanish-style tapas makes for a festive meal at home: beef meatballs seasoned with smoky paprika and Vidalia onion are seared to lock in juices, then basted in a thick, savory romesco sauce for a big boost of flavor. Crispy potatoes are drizzled in garlic aioli; and a tangy herbaceous green salad makes the perfect palate cleanser.
Ingredients
½ ounce
Vidalia Onion Paste
12 ounce
Potatoes
6 tablespoon
Romesco Sauce
1 tablespoon
Savory Paprika Blend
10 ounce
Ground Beef
4 ounce
Mixed Greens
1 unit
Beef Stock Concentrate
2 tablespoon
Mayonnaise
(Contains: Eggs)
¼ cup
Panko Breadcrumbs
(Contains: Wheat)
¼ ounce
Parsley
1 teaspoon
Garlic Powder
5 teaspoon
Sherry Vinegar
Not included in your delivery
1 tablespoon (tbsp)
Cooking Oil
teaspoon (tsp)
Black Pepper
0.13 teaspoon (tsp)
Sugar
2 teaspoon (tsp)
Salt
2 tablespoon (tbsp)
Olive Oil
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
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Adjust rack to top position (top and middle positions for 4 servings) and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wash and dry produce.
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Dice potatoes into ½-inch pieces. Roughly chop parsley.
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Toss potatoes on a baking sheet with a large drizzle of oil, half the Savory Paprika Blend (you’ll use the rest later), salt, and pepper. Roast on top rack until browned and crispy, 20-25 minutes.
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In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise, garlic powder, 1 tsp vinegar (2 tsp for 4 servings), salt, and pepper (you’ll use the rest of the vinegar later). Stir in water 1 tsp at a time until mixture reaches a drizzling consistency. Set aside until ready to serve.
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In a separate small bowl (medium bowl for 4), combine romesco sauce, stock concentrate, and ¾ cup water (1½ cups for 4).
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In a medium bowl, gently combine beef*, panko, Vidalia onion paste, remaining Savory Paprika Blend, salt (we used ½ tsp; 1 tsp for 4 servings), and pepper.
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Form into 10-12 1-inch meatballs (20-24 meatballs for 4).
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Heat a drizzle of oil in large pan over medium-high heat. Add meatballs; cook, turning occasionally, until browned all over, 4-6 minutes.
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Reduce heat to medium; stir in romesco mixture. Cook, stirring occasionally and spooning sauce over meatballs, until meatballs are cooked through and sauce has thickened, 2-4 minutes. TIP: Add a splash of water if sauce seems too thick.
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While meatballs cook, in a second medium bowl, whisk together remaining vinegar, 2 TBSP olive oil, a pinch of sugar, salt, and pepper (4 TBSP olive oil and a big pinch of sugar for 4 servings).
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Add mixed greens and half the parsley to bowl with dressing; toss to combine.
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Place albondigas and sauce, potatoes, and salad in separate shallow serving bowls. Drizzle potatoes with garlic aioli; garnish with remaining parsley. Serve everything family style.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Mar 2026- Flavor: Many loved the rich, smoky flavors of the meatballs and romesco sauce, calling it "restaurant quality" and "one of the best HelloFresh meals" 🍲.
- Ease of prep: Some found it labor-intensive, but most agreed it was worth the effort for the delicious results.
- Suggestions: Consider reducing water in the romesco sauce for a thicker consistency; drain excess fat from meatballs before adding sauce.
- Portions: Several wished for more meatballs or a larger portion size overall.
- Salad: Many found the salad underwhelming; some suggested adding more variety or a different dressing to improve it.
Reviews from our home cooks
I first tried albondigas when a painter offered some his wife made to me. Delicious! These did not disappoint at all. Wonderful flavor. The sauce for the potatoes gave it a nice kick. Will order again!
The combination of the romesco sauce on the meatballs and the EASY creamy garlic sauce for the potatoes was so delicious! Highly recommend!
I thought this would be one dimensional, but Yay, I was wrong! The meal is amazing altogether. I wasn't going to make the salad, cuz ya know, I'm not always great about eating my veg. Sooooo glad I made the salad, perfect counterpunch to the meatballs and potatoes.
The salad is a must! It balances all of the other flavors, which are super rich and powerful. When it all comes together, it's amazing.
Meatballs and potatoes were outstanding, amazing flavor! Our new favorite meal. The salad left a little bit to be desired. Maybe shredded carrots and a little tweaking of the dressing? There's so much flavor in the other two I understand keeping the salad simple, but it seemed like it was missing something. I had trouble with the sauce, I made the 4 servings and 1.5 cups of water seemed like too much. It took almost 15 minutes to boil off and thicken. This could've been my fault, maybe I didn't keep it hot enough. A few small changes and this is for sure a 4 star meal!
Overall delicious, but the amount of water added to the romesco was too much - I added only 1 cup for 4 portions and needed several extra minutes to reduce it. There is also WAYYY too much vinegar in the salad dressing - I had to wash half of the greens and add more oil to make it not just taste of sour.
The flavors were so balanced. I would have liked the romesco sauce to be slightly thicker on the meatballs. The addition of the parsley to the salad was amazing
The flavour was good and definitely enjoyed it. The portion sizes to me are off and a bit small. Also the greens for the salad were wilted and I opened it the first day I got it so didn't eat the salad part.
The sauce was watery - use less water than what they said in instructions. The salad doesn't seem to go with the rest of the meal, but everything is delicious.
This is one of my favorites so far! the meatballs were ah-mazing! patatas were incredible and went so quick!
