Baked Pork Meatballs with Couscous
Grated zucchini in the mix keeps them soft and makes the mince go further.
Ingredients
- Pork mince600 g
- Couscous300 g
- Tinned chopped tomatoes800 g
- Zucchini200 g
- Brown onion150 g
- Rolled oats60 g
- Free range eggs2 ea
- Garlic15 g
- Olive oil20 ml
- Dried oregano2 g
Method
- Heat the oven to 200C and line a large baking tray.
- Grate the zucchini and onion, squeeze out the excess liquid, and mix them into the pork mince with the oats, eggs and half the oregano.
- Season firmly, roll into about twenty walnut-sized balls, space them out on the tray, and bake for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile simmer the tinned tomatoes with the crushed garlic, the remaining oregano and the oil for 12 minutes until thick.
- Put the couscous in a bowl, cover with an equal volume of boiling water, cover, and leave for 5 minutes before fluffing with a fork.
Cooking for a different diet?
Swaps that keep this dish what it is. The prices on this page are for the recipe as written.
Vegetarian
Baked Plant-Based Meatballs with Couscous
- 600 g Plant-based mince instead of Pork mince
Plant-based mince cooks faster, so bake the meatballs for 15 minutes rather than 20.
Vegan
Baked Plant-Based Meatballs with Couscous
- 600 g Plant-based mince instead of Pork mince
- 20 g Ground flaxseed instead of Free range eggs
Mix the ground flaxseed with 60 ml water and rest it 5 minutes before adding; bake the meatballs for 15 minutes rather than 20.
Gluten-free
Baked Pork Meatballs with Quinoa
- 300 g Quinoa instead of Couscous
- 60 g Gluten-free rolled oats instead of Rolled oats
Quinoa is not soaked like couscous: simmer it in twice its volume of water for 12-15 minutes, starting it when the meatballs go in.
Swaps are suggestions — check labels if you are cooking for an allergy.
What it costs, and where to buy it
Shops to compare
List price at each shop
Has every item
ColesBest choiceno items missing · $16.92 of food
$37.50
55% spare
Missing items
These totals leave part of the list out, so a lower one isn't a cheaper shop.
Woolworths· $13.48 of food
$29.64
55% spare
No price at Woolworths for:
- Couscous
Aldi· $16.96 of food
$32.78
48% spare
No price at Aldi for:
- Couscous
$4.23a serve
$4.23 a serve, cheapest at Coles
About $16.92 of ingredients used for 4 serves.
$37.91 across 3 shops · all 10 items priced · $3.30 more for bigger packs, 58% spare for later
ColesBest choice$16.92
no items missing
you'll pay $37.50 · 55% of it spare
Woolworths$13.48
missing 1 item
you'll pay $29.64 · 55% of it spare
Aldi$16.96
missing 1 item
you'll pay $32.78 · 48% of it spare
Buy at Aldi$13.48
Zucchini
$6.99/kg
need 200 gZucchini approx. 200 g$1.40closest match
Aldi$6.99/kg$1.40·Woolworths~$7.90/kg$1.58·Coles$8.90/kg$1.78
Rolled oats
$0.20/100g
need 60 gHillcrest Rolled Oats 750 g$1.49
Aldi$0.20/100g$1.49·Woolworths$0.23/100g$1.70·Coles$0.23/100g$1.70
Garlic
$29.99/kg
need 15 gNo Brand Garlic approx. 60 g$1.80
Aldi$29.99/kg$1.80·Woolworths~$31.33/kg$1.88·Coles$33.00/kg$1.98
Olive oil
$0.88/100ml
need 20 mlThe Olive Tree Olive Oil 1 L$8.79closest match
Aldi$0.88/100ml$8.79·Woolworths$2.80/100ml$7.00·Coles$2.80/100ml$7.00
Buy at Coles$22.20
Pork mince
$9.50/kg
need 600 gColes Pork 3 Star Regular Mince 1 kg$9.50closest match
Coles$9.50/kg$9.50·Aldi$9.99/kg$7.99·Woolworths$11.00/kg$8.80
Couscous
$1.28/100g
need 300 g2 × Osem Toasted Couscous 250 g$3.20
Coles$1.28/100g$3.20·WoolworthsN/A·AldiN/A
Tinned chopped tomatoes
$2.38/kg
need 800 g2 × Coles Simply Chopped Tomatoes Canned 400 g$0.95closest match
Coles$2.38/kg$0.95·Woolworths$2.38/kg$0.95·Aldi$2.38/kg$0.95
Free range eggs
$1.47/100g
need 2 itemsColes Free Range Eggs 6 Pack 300g$4.40closest match
Coles$1.47/100g$4.40·Woolworths$1.30/100g$4.55·Aldi$1.00/100g$5.99
Buy at Woolworths$2.23
Brown onion
~$3.32/kg
need 150 gOnion Brown each 189.76 g$0.63
Woolworths~$3.32/kg$0.63·Aldi$3.49/kg$0.63·Coles$4.20/kg$0.84
Dried oregano
$1.07/10g
need 2 gSpencers Oregano 15 g$1.60closest match
Woolworths$1.07/10g$1.60·Coles$2.00/10g$2.00·Aldi$1.99/10g$2.79