This Venison Meatballs with Pesto Pasta is a great use for any ground meat you have. It’s a quick and delicious dinner!
I can’t believe how rainy it’s been this June! I can’t complain because I’ll take any relief from the summer heat. These rainy nights those have had me wanting to stay in and curl up with some comfort food. Instead of rushing off to the grocery store, I rummaged through our freezer and picked some fresh herbs for this meal! Needless to say, this rain has my garden going crazy and I’ve been using that as an excuse to put pesto on just about anything.
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How to Make Venison Meatballs
This year BMW went hunting and decided to bring back an entire deer with him! My freezer has been overly stocked for quite sometime. I finally decided we needed to start making our way through all the meat, so this is one recipe we can both agree on! The venison can be a bit gamey but the pesto and panko breadcrumbs definitely help mitigate that. Plus, this is a great way to use up anything you have left in your freezer from winter without making a super heavy meal. You could sub almost any ground meat you have though in this recipe.
This Venison Meatballs with Pesto Pasta is a great use for any ground meat you have. It’s a quick and delicious dinner!
Venison Meatballs with Pesto Pasta
Serves two to four
Ingredients:
Venison Meatballs:
- 1lb ground venison
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 2 eggs
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
For the pasta:
- 1 lb cavatappi or other tubular noodles
- 1 cup store bought pesto
- Optional: red pepper flakes and Parmesan
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- In large mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients for the meatballs. Shape into equal size, about the size of a golf ball.
- Arrange on a baking sheet and bake for 30-40 minutes until cooked through.
- Boil pasta until al dente. Drain and set aside.
- Toss hot pasta with pesto and top with meatballs. Add red pepper flakes and Parmesan if desired.
Venison Meatballs with Pesto Pasta
Ingredients
Venison Meatballs:
- 1 lb ground venison
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 2 eggs
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
For the pasta:
- 1 lb cavatappi or other tubular noodles
- 1 cup store bought pesto
- Optional: red pepper flakes and Parmesan
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- In large mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients for the meatballs. Shape into equal size, about the size of a golf ball.
- Arrange on a baking sheet and bake for 30-40 minutes until cooked through.
- Boil pasta until al dente. Drain and set aside.
- Toss hot pasta with pesto and top with meatballs. Add red pepper flakes and Parmesan if desired.
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