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One-pan healthy Italian meatball and bean traybake

Name: One-pan healthy Italian meatball and bean traybake recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: /italian
Ingredients: 500g pork and beef mince; 2 tsp garlic powder; 2 tsp Italian dried herb mix; 1 large red onion, halved, thinly sliced; 20.00 ml extra virgin olive oil; 500ml passata; 400g can lentils, rinsed, drained; 400g can cannellini beans, rinsed, drained; 4 anchovies, very finely chopped; 1/2 bunch silverbeet; 4-5 bocconcini, torn; Basil leaves and crusty bread, to serve

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30m

One-pan Italian meatball traybake — Ben Dearnley

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by Lucy Nunes

Delicious Team

Aug 12, 2026

This super-easy one-pan bake will surprise you with how delicious it is. Rather than spending hours developing flavour through slow cooking, we snuck in some very finely chopped anchovies. Mother Nature’s MSG, these little beauties add plenty of extra umami oomph in a fraction of the time.

You’ll need a 25cm square 1.75L-capacity baking dish for this recipe.

500g pork and beef mince
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp Italian dried herb mix
1 large red onion, halved, thinly sliced
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 cups (500ml) passata
400g can lentils, rinsed, drained
400g can cannellini beans, rinsed, drained
4 anchovies, very finely chopped
1/2 bunch silverbeet
4-5 bocconcini, torn
Basil leaves and crusty bread, to serve

Method

1.

Preheat oven to 240°C/220°C fan-forced.
2.

Combine mince, garlic powder and dried herbs in a medium bowl. Season with salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper and, using hands, mix until well combined. Roll mixture into 12 balls.
3.

Place meatballs in a 25cm square 1.75L-capacity baking dish with the onion. Drizzle with oil and toss to coat. Roast for 15 minutes, or until lightly browned.
4.

Add passata, lentils, beans and anchovies and carefully toss to combine. Return to oven and bake for 10 minutes, or until bubbly and meatballs are cooked through.
5.

Meanwhile, cut away silverbeet leaves (keep stalks for another use, see recipe notes). Wash and finely shred leaves.
6.

Toss leaves through meatballs. Switch oven to a hot grill. Top dish with cheese and cook under the grill for 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted and light golden.
7.

Sprinkle with basil and serve with crusty bread.