Monday, March 12, 2012

Paleo Meatballs

Paleo Meatballs
I am not a fan of heavy foods that make me look 5 months pregnant by the time I'm finished with my meal and that's why I make my meatballs without breadcrumbs! A. it's "whole30 approved" (go here to learn about the whole foods way of life) and B. it's one less step that I have to take when preparing a meal.


These meatballs can cooked the same day or they can be assembled and flash frozen ahead of time then baked off for later. Most of my meals can be frozen before its cooked/baked and that can help save a lot of time in the future. You can easily prepare 2lbs. of beef, bake one tonight and freeze the other portion for another night saving you 10 minutes of prep time. Easy!

P.s. Try the meatballs with my spaghetti squash!
Ingredients:
1lb. grass fed ground beef
1 egg
1tsp garlic powder
1tsp paprika
salt and pepper to taste (about 1/2tsp salt and 1/4tsp pepper)
1/2 small onion, minced (I used 1Tbsp dried minced onion in this photo)
1Tbsp spinach (optional)
1Tbsp fresh parsley (optional)


Directions:
Preheat oven to 375degrees.
In a large bowl, scramble egg and combine remaining ingredients. Mix thoroughly.


Take an ice-cream scoop and measure out equal portions onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or tin foil.



Bake for 10 minutes and then flip the meatballs to the other side and bake another 10 minutes. Total cook time is 20 minutes.


Remove from baking sheet and eat!!



These were browned by the oven only. If you want a little crunch to it and have the time for an extra step/mess, heat a pan with about 1Tbsp olive oil and brown on both sides then bake 10-15 minutes until thoroughly cooked.

Printable Recipe

Serve however you like, and enjoy!

47 comments:

  1. Just made these tonight! Pretty good! Thanks for the recipe!

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    1. Hi there

      So glad you liked them. I usually throw a big batch of meat into my mixer, add all of my ingredients to be mixed then roll them to whatever size I think I'd like, freeze them and enjoy when I'm ready for a quick meal.

      Thanks for your post!

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    2. I just made these, except stuffed into bell pepper. Yumm. Thank you.

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    3. Also: with a shallot instead of onion.

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  2. For the extra crunch, was that AFTER you cooked them in the oven or IN PLACE OF putting in the oven, or BEFORE you put them in the oven?

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    1. You can brown them on the stove about one minute per side then place them in the oven.

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  3. I'm certain that BEFORE was intended.

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  4. When you freeze 1/2 for later, do you freeze after you rolled into the balls or just freeze the meat mixture and roll into balls when you plan to cook it? Do you freeze in ziplock bag? Thanks!

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    1. Hi Ryan and Melissa!

      I roll these into the size I want and then freeze them on a parchment-lined or plastic wrap-lined cookie sheet making sure they don't touch each other while flash freezing. After 1-2 hours, I transfer to a freezer bag and freeze until I'm ready to eat them. It's exactly what I'm doing right now!

      I have 4lbs. of chili cooking (will freeze half) and am making the meatballs to freeze for later.

      Hope this helps!
      Angela

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  5. Thank you for putting up this recipe. It is exactly what I needed. I am gluten free and do not like to crush cereal into my meatballs. I made just lamb with salt and pepper last night and they did not stay together. This helped a lot.

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    Replies
    1. Glad I was able to help! Thanks for the comment!

      Angela

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  6. Great and easy recipe ! Thanks also for the freezing tips !

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  7. Just made this for dinner tonight..Love it...Screw breadcrumbs, who needs em anyways!?

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    1. No kidding. I always thought breadcrumbs were a waste of money, and they are especially when you can make things without it and not miss the texture.

      Glad you liked it!

      Angela

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  8. Just tried these. They were really good until I added them to my spaghetti sauce. Thought they were much better plain. :)

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    Replies
    1. These are good plain. My kids sometimes don't like sauce so they get it plain or with ketchup and never complain.

      It's easy to throw together and delicious. Glad you liked it!

      Angela

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  9. Can you make these and cook them then freeze them? or do you need to freeze them raw?

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    Replies
    1. Hi Roxanne,

      You can make them ahead if you'd like. I only freeze them uncooked because I like the freshness I get but they will keep for a while in the freezer, cooked, if you wrap them well.

      Thanks,
      Angela

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  10. Instead of making them in the oven, could you fry them up in coconut oil in a pan? If so, how many minutes would you recommend? Thanks, Angela!

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    Replies
    1. Oh totally. I fry them all the time. They get super brown and DELICIOUS! Maybe 4-5 minutes on medium heat per side, or until done in the middle.

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  11. yum! we just made these tonight! Thank you!

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  12. I am on a diet but trying to keep my family fed. I don't have that special hamburger. My Husband bought it cheap so its fatty. But I would like to try this. How many calories do you think are in a meatball?

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    Replies
    1. Oh my gosh, I don't even know. I have never counted calories. I'm sorry I am unable to help you with your question.
      Angela

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  13. Can you cook these in a slow cooker in sauce?

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    1. I don't see why not. Anything in the slow cooker usually turns out well

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  14. I must say that these meatballs are awesome!!

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  15. I made these last night! I am no cook and these came out delicious and were SO easy! I also like that your recipe is simple (yet so delish) and allows for changes in spices, etc. Some of the other recipes I came across were a bit complicated.

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    Replies
    1. Yay! I'm happy these worked out well for you, Ingrid. I try to make everything as simple as possible and able to interchange ingredients as well.
      Thanks!
      Angela

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  16. These were really good and crazy easy!!

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  17. Made these last night! Turned out solo good!!

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  18. if I freeze these, how long to cook?

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  19. I made these tonight - SO delish! Thanks :-)

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  20. Love. love. love. Will deffo have to give this one a go!

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  21. I've got some ground pork that I've had frozen for a while, hoping to find a way to use it. I'll try this recipe! I bought the meat pre-seasoned, though. Would that change anything? I wouldn't want to make the seasonings so strong that they aren't palatable. This looks like a fantastic meal, though.

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  22. Does it work if it's not grass-fed?

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  23. I made tonight with ground chicken stuffed with mozzerella! Yummy!

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  24. Thanks for sharing this useful post about cooking.
    Thank you again.

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  25. when you say 'scramble' the egg do you mean cook it or just beat it up?

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  26. Is the spinach you add cooked or raw?
    Thanks & God bless

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  27. So good! 2 year old daughter and 34 year bf loved it! Not on a Paleo diet, just didn't have bread crumbs lol. Thanks for the recipe:)

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