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Pretty early on in this journey when I was trying to figure out what I could eat and what I couldn’t, I remember sitting down and crying and just wanting a home cooked meal of meat and potatoes and for it to be easy. I was missing normal food. The food I grew up eating and loved.
This Alpha-Gal path has been a much healthier one I suppose, but I still missed my meat and potatoes. So, I got to work figuring out how to make food that was safe for me to eat but that tasted like good wholesome food. Stick to your ribs good! If you’re from the south ya know what I mean.
This is one of those recipes.
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This is a go to for our family because it is so versatile and delicious! I’m excited to share it with you and I hope that it will become a favorite for you as it has for us.
Working parents, kids in sports, extracurricular activities with friends, etc. there’s not much time each night during the week to truly cook a meal and sit down to eat.
This is one of those things that is a go to for us because there are so many uses for it. I’ll explain the recipe but also want to share the many different ways that I prep these meatballs.
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At first, I just used ground turkey but ground turkey alone just doesn’t produce the moist delicious taste of a “down home” meatball. So if you mix it with some ground chicken and add some moisture to it, it’s just right. The Worcestershire sauce adds a bit of “beef off the grill” taste and the garlic and onion give it the kick that it needs.
Then we have the binders that are necessary for these lean meats to stick together like a meatball should and that’s where the egg and the breadcrumbs come in. The gluten free Panko breadcrumbs are delicious but if you’re in a pinch and don’t have any, some dry oats right from the container will absolutely do the trick and doesn’t change the flavor from what my family can tell.
I just throw it all in a bowl and mix it up and then use a large cookie scoop to form the meatballs. If you don’t have a cookie scoop, not to worry, a large spoon will work just as well.
Meatball recipe can be used for:
- Meatloaf
- Sweet & Sour Meatballs
- Crockpot BBQ Meatballs
- Spaghetti
- Meatball Sliders
I make this recipe in big batches and freeze it as uncooked meatballs and meatloaf. Then it's in the freezer ready to go when we need to throw it in the crockpot or pressure cooker!
Here’s the fun part:
- For later, you can just drop them on some cookie sheets and put them in the freezer. Once they’re frozen I just pack them up in a gallon zip bag and throw them in the freezer for when I need them.
- For Sweet & Sour Meatballs (recipe to come!), I just pull out some frozen meatballs and throw them in the pan frozen and simmer it down until they’re cooked. Served over rice, it’s a favorite. The kids even ask for it!
- For Spaghetti, same sort of thing. I just get the sauce going and then throw in some meatballs and cook it down until they’re cooked through the middle and serve it over pasta.
- For meatloaf, I don’t even have to use the cookie scoop. Because this is a 2 lb loaf I generally split it and make two small meatloaves. I form them, wrap them in parchment paper or wax paper, zip them up and throw them in the freezer. Now they’re ready for my “Insta-Pot Meatloaf and potatoes” recipe. I literally put it in the pressure cooker frozen and have a meal in a matter of minutes.
- For Crockpot BBQ Meatballs (recipe to come!), I pull the meatballs out of the zip bag in the freezer and dump them in the crockpot. In a couple of hours I have a finger food to serve at a football watching party, etc.
Savory Meatballs
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
- In the mixing bowl, you will combine all ingredients and mix well. Make sure everything is well incorporated including the egg. Spray your sheet pan with non-stick cooking spray or add a non-stick sheet pan liner. Using the large cookie scoop you will begin scooping meatballs and placing them on the sheet pan about 1 inch apart. These will not spread but will release a bit of liquid as they cook.
- Place the pan of meatballs in the oven and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the insides are no longer pink. When finished, let cool on the pan. You can add them to recipes right away or you can put them in the freezer to use later.
- ****I often times freeze them uncooked for other additional recipes.****
