Nanna’s Best Ever Beef Rissoles Recipe

My Mum is known for her rissoles and there was much discussion about what I should call this beef rissoles recipe. Mum’s rissoles, Aunty Sil’s Rissoles, but in the end O and my dad outvoted me and decided they must be called Nanna’s best ever beef rissoles. It’s an easy recipe for beef rissoles that works equally as well as part of a Summer BBQ or in Winter with mashed potato, peas, and homemade onion gravy.

a tray of nanna's beef rissoles recipe with tomato sauce on a tray alongside a bottle of beef and a jug of gravy

A bit of a backstory

To everyone in our family, my Mum’s mince rissoles have been a staple at family BBQs since well, the beginning of our family BBQs! I can remember having sunny, Summer, Sydney BBQs as kids, and my cousins always asking if Aunty Sil’s rissoles were on the menu! To this day, according to O, Nanna makes the best rissoles and mine are ok, but just not as good! My grandmother used to soak whole pieces of bread in an egg wash and put big chunks of wet bread in her rissoles (cue horrified face!) – oh how far we’ve come! Anyway, I’ve managed to bribe my Mum into giving me the recipe, and here it is. Is it the best ever rissoles recipe? I’ll let you decide!

Ps, if you’re not from the land down under and don’t have a clue what I’m talking about classic beef rissoles are an Aussie staple. Think beef burger pattie but thicker, and rounder with a kind of meatloaf taste. Normally served with tomato sauce or gravy, they are an Australian Summer BBQ essential and a Winter comfort food must-cook.

Three reasons why this easy rissole recipe is SO good

It can be made ahead of time. Just what us time-poor, weekend-working Mum’s need. Ps, they freeze well (uncooked) too, so batch cooking is a breeze!

Making rissoles is super quick and easy. With the right tools (a food processor), you can prep the rissole mixture in under 5 minutes from go to WOAH! How’s that for speedy?

Leftover cold rissole sandwiches for tomorrow’s lunch. Enough said!

What you need to make Nanna’s easy rissoles recipe.

  • Mince. You will need two types of minced meat you need for homemade rissoles – Premium ground beef mince and sausage mince. If you can’t get your hands on sausage mince just purchase the equivalent amount in sausages and remove their skins. Not a fan of beef? Why not try substituting the beef mince with pork, chicken, or turkey mince instead?


  • Eggs at room temperature


  • Fresh breadcrumbs. I haven’t bought breadcrumbs since I got a food processor. A couple of slices of yesterday’s bread pulsed in the food processor for a minute or two and you’ll have enough for this recipe. Alternatively, you can use store-bought breadcrumbs or panko breadcrumbs.


  • Basil. I always have an abundance of fresh herbs in the garden so I’m using fresh Basil. However, dried basil will work as well. As dried herbs are much more potent than fresh, just halve the recipe amount if you opt for dried basil as a substitution.


  • Finely diced brown onion


  • Sea salt flakes, and freshly ground black pepper


  • Olive oil or vegetable oil for pan-frying

All the ingredients you need to make the best ever beef rissoles on a bench.

How to make rissoles

  1. Pop all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl.


  2. Using your hands, mix everything thoroughly, to ensure constant consistency.


  3. Divide the beef mixture into 12 even portions and shape the mixture into round rissoles. Start with wetting your hands to stop the beef mixture from sticking. I kind of throw them back and forth between each hand to compress the meat and shape them into a ball. At this stage, I normally line them up on a baking tray to ensure they are all evenly sized.


  4. Lightly tap each rissole to give a slightly flat surface on the top of each rissole for even cooking.


  5. On the stovetop, heat a frypan over medium heat with a drizzle of olive oil in it. Put a few rissoles in the pan (be sure not to overcrowd it!) and let them cook for 5-7 minutes depending on size until golden brown.


  6. Turn the rissoles over and cook the other side for another 5 minutes. By this time they should be cooked throughout, have a bit of a cooked crust on both the top and bottom as well as be nice and juicy on the inside.


  7. Remove from the heat and serve!

The Equipment

As kids, my mum always cooked her rissoles in her electric frypan. Remember that oh-so retro kitchen appliance that every Aussie kitchen had in the 80’s and 90’s? Well, a stovetop frypan will do the same job. All you need is a little oil so they don’t stick. A good quality cast iron skillet or large non-stick frying pan will do perfectly. Just be use that your non-stick fry pan can be used on medium heat. FYI many non-stick pans are low-heat cooking surfaces and only a small percentage can be used for medium heat like this recipe for rissoles. Just be sure you know what sort of pan you have, otherwise, you can ruin your pan quite quickly with incorrect heat use.

Want to cut your prep time down to under 5 minutes? Use a food processor for not only making breadcrumbs but also dicing (or finely chopping) the onion and then combining the mixture. I reckon it could even be under 3 minutes!

Alternatively, cook your rissoles outside on the BBQ or in an air fryer.

Cook’s notes

Don’t be tempted to flatten your rissole. They are not burger patties and you are squeezing out all of the juiciness! They should not be flat but a kind of small tennis ball that have a flattened surface on both the top and bottom from the cooking. Mine normally sit around 4cm high with a diameter of 8cm.

Can you make rissoles ahead of time? Heck yeah you can! Make them up to step 3, then pop them into a sealed container for a day or two in the fridge. When it’s time to cook, just remove them from cold storage and continue with step 4 of the instructions.

Ok, let’s rehash the leftovers…

A good recipe for beef rissoles will easily be able to be doubled or tripled in quantity for those large hot weather weekend gatherings, so I always make extra for the next few days.

Rehash them by slicing them cold for sandwich fillings (my favorite!) or make heat them up and pop them together into a hot roll with gravy. Or what about a leftover rissole hamburger anyone?

How to store cooked rissoles.

Pop them in the fridge in a sealed, airtight container for tomorrow’s lunch. they will last up to 3 days in the fridge if covered.

Here are a few dishes that I like to serve Nanna’s Beef Rissoles Recipe with…

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Close up of a tray of beef rissoles on a metal tray.

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a tray of rissoles with tomato sauce on a table alongside a beef and a jug of gravy

Nanna’s Beef Rissoles Recipe

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  • Author: Emma Lee
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 12 serves 1x
  • Category: dinner
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: Australian

Description

A juicy beef rissoles recipe that works equally as well as part of a Summer BBQ or in Winter with mash, peas, and homemade onion gravy.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 500g Premium beef mince
  • 500g Sausage mince
  • 1 1/4 c fresh breadcrumbs
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 onion finely diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 2 tbsp fresh basil finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp seas salt flakes
  • 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
  • olive oil for frying

Instructions

  1. Pop all the ingredients in a large bowl.
  2. Using your hands, mix everything thoroughly, to ensure constant consistency.
  3. Divide the mince mixture into 12 even portions and shape your rissoles. I kind of throw them back and forth between each hand to compress the meat and shape them into a ball
  4. Lightly tap each rissole to give a slightly flat surface on the top of each rissole for even cooking.
  5. On the stovetop, heat a frypan to medium heat with a teaspoon of oil in it. Put a few rissoles in the pan (be sure not to overcrowd it!) and let the cook 5-7 minutes depending on size.
  6. Turn the rissoles over and cook the other side for another 5 minutes. By this time they should be cooked throughout, have a bit of a cooked crust on both the top and bottom as well as be nice and juicy on the inside.
  7. Remove from the heat and serve!


Notes

Don’t be tempted to flatten your rissole. They are not burger patties and you are squeezing out all of the juiciness! Rissole should not be flat but a kind of small tennis ball that have a flattened surface on both the top and bottom from the cooking. Mine normally sit around 4cm high with a diameter of 8cm.

Can you make these rissoles ahead of time? Heck yeah you can! Make them up to step 3 , then pop them into a sealed container for a day or two in the fridge. When it’s time to cook, just remove them from cold storage and continue with step 4 of the instructions. 

To make your own breadcrumbs, pop a couple of slices of day-old bread in a food processor and pulse until you have breadcrumbs!

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 rissole
  • Calories: 214
  • Sugar: 2.1 g
  • Sodium: 1134.6 mg
  • Fat: 9.8 g
  • Carbohydrates: 13.1 g
  • Protein: 17.6 g
  • Cholesterol: 106 mg

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