This authentic Latin American style spaghetti and meatballs with tomatillo sauce is one of those recipes that virtually no one I know has heard of, and I like that! It makes it that much more fun to make, and I don’t think I could ever get tired of this spaghetti recipe! I love international food because it’s a break from what you might find at local restaurants.
For those who don’t know, a tomatillo is a vegetable that looks like a green tomato. However, it varies in taste from tomato and has a mildly inconsistent flavour. Some tomatillos are sweeter, while others are more sour or tart. I’m always searching for new and exciting dishes, so one that utilized tomatillos (a vegetable of which I had previously no knowledge) caught my attention.

Authentic Latin American Style Spaghetti and Meatballs With Tomatillo Sauce
Ingredients
Pasta Ingredients
1 pound fettuccine
Meatball Ingredients
1 pound ground chicken (minced chicken)
1 medium egg
½ cup bread crumbs
2 tablespoons cilantro (coriander) - finely chopped
2 tablespoons thyme - finely chopped
3 stalks green onions (scallions or green shallots) - finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground allspice (also called pimento or Jamaican Pepper)
1 dash hot sauce
1 dash ground black pepper
1 dash olive oil - extra-virgin
Sauce Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic - crushed
1 large yellow onion - finely chopped
2 medium jalapenos - thinly sliced
1 cup chicken stock (chicken broth or chicken bouillon)
2 tablespoons cilantro (coriander) - finely chopped
1 pinch salt
1 pinch ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Boil a big pot of water and cook the pasta.
- Put some olive oil in a bowl, and then add meat, egg, breadcrumbs, cilantro, thyme, scallions, allspice, hot sauce, salt, and pepper. Mix together and form meatballs about 2-inches in diameter. Cook on a nonstick sheet in the oven for about 15 minutes.
- For the sauce, heat a pot to medium-high. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a pot, and then add garlic, onions, and jalapenos. After 5 minutes, add chicken stock and cook for another minute. Add tomatillos, cilantro, salt, and pepper. Cook for about 10 minutes.
- Toss together sauce, pasta, meatballs, and cheese. You are all set! Enjoy! And please don’t hesitate to share this recipe with anyone you know using the share bar below this post!