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Cajun Meatballs in Brown Gravy

Cajun meatballs swimming in a dark, smoky brown gravy with the holy trinity of onion, bell pepper, and celery throughout. Spice-crusted Louisiana-style meatballs are seared, then simmered until cooked through and served over white rice.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: Cajun-American
Calories: 650
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Meatballs
  • 1.5 lb ground beef
  • 0.33 cup breadcrumbs
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tbsp Cajun seasoning
  • 2 clove garlic minced
  • 2 tbsp fresh parsley chopped
  • Salt to taste
  • pepper to taste
Cajun Brown Gravy
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 0.5 onion diced
  • 0.5 green bell pepper diced
  • 1 celery stalk, diced
  • 3 clove garlic minced
  • 2 tbsp flour
  • 2 cup beef broth
  • 1 tsp Cajun seasoning
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Equipment

  • 1 cast iron skillet

Method
 

Make the Cajun meatballs
  1. In a bowl, combine ground beef, breadcrumbs, egg, Cajun seasoning, minced garlic, chopped fresh parsley, salt, and pepper until evenly mixed; form 1.5-inch balls.
  2. Sear the meatballs in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat until browned on all sides, then remove and set aside.
Cook the Cajun brown gravy
  1. Melt butter in the same pan and cook diced onion, diced green bell pepper, and diced celery for 5 minutes until softened, stirring as needed.
  2. Add minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant, then sprinkle flour over the vegetables.
  3. Cook the flour mixture for 1–2 minutes until it turns dark golden, scraping up browned bits from the pan for extra flavor.
  4. Whisk in beef broth, Cajun seasoning, and Worcestershire sauce, then simmer 3–4 minutes until the gravy thickens and looks glossy.
Simmer and serve
  1. Return the seared meatballs to the gravy, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes until cooked through.
  2. Serve the Cajun meatballs and gravy over white rice.

Notes

For best browning, keep the meatballs dry and don’t crowd the pan; sear in batches if needed. Store leftovers in the refrigerator up to 3 days. Freeze meatballs in gravy up to 2 months; thaw overnight and reheat gently on the stovetop. For a lighter option, swap half the ground beef with lean ground turkey while keeping the same Cajun seasoning and gravy method.