- Who doesn't love a tasty meatball recipe?
This one is baked in the oven
for even browning and easy cleanup
and then it's simmered in the best homemade marinara sauce.
I love these baked meatballs for an easy dinner recipe
but they're also great for meal prep
to enjoy later in the week or even months into the future
and with how delicious they are,
you won't even know that they are gluten free and low carb.
So let me show you how to make 'em.
Many people inaccurately think
that eggs help to add moisture to meatballs
but too many eggs can actually make them more dense.
That's why I'm only using one egg as a binder
in today's recipe
but what does help to make meatballs moist
when you're not using a panade of breadcrumbs and milk
is chopped onions.
You guys have seen how much moisture
onions can release when sauteed
and they'll help to release some of that moisture
into the meatballs as well.
You'll need one third cup of diced onion for this recipe
and I like to dice it pretty finely
so that there's no super large chunks
and since I chopped half an onion today,
I'll save the leftovers to use in my scrambled eggs
and to stir fries later this week.
In addition to adding moisture,
the chopped onion along with a few other ingredients
like freshly chopped herbs
also helps to prevent the meatballs from becoming too dense.
Think of these ingredients along with Parmesan cheese
that we'll add in a bit
as ones that create little nooks and crannies of flavor
within the meatballs.
I'm using a quarter cup of finely chopped fresh parsley
but you could use a combination
of other tender herbs as well.
So I'll measure that out and set it aside
and save the leftover chopped parsley
to use later this week.
Now, I don't know if it's possible
to have an Italian meatball recipe without garlic
although I personally think garlic is a requirement
in most savory recipes.
You guys know I'm a big fan and for this recipe,
you'll need three garlic cloves.
At this point, you can preheat your oven
to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
because we're making baked meatballs today.
You can of course make meatballs in a pan on the stove
but baking them is just so darn easy.
So let's talk meat For these meatballs.
You'll need one and a half pounds of ground meat
and you can use your favorite whether that's ground beef,
ground pork, ground turkey,
ground lamb, et cetera, et cetera.
I personally like a combination
of ground beef and ground pork
and I usually go 50/50
or today I grabbed a pound of ground beef
and half a pound of ground pork.
To that, you'll add one large egg,
the one third cup of finely chopped onion,
a quarter cup of almond flour,
a quarter cup of shredded Parmesan cheese,
the quarter cup of chopped parsley,
those three garlic cloves
which you can mince straight into the bowl,
one tablespoon of Italian seasoning,
one teaspoon of kosher salt
and half a teaspoon of ground black pepper.
Mix all of that together with your hands
until it's just combined.
Do be careful not to overmix it
as that will then compact everything
and again, contribute to dense meatballs
which is what we don't want.
Use a medium cookie scoop
to scoop out a portion of the meat mixture
and then roll it between your hands.
I'm using my favorite OXO cookie scoop
which you guys have seen me me use on many recipes
and I'll link it below.
Now, you don't have to use a cookie scoop
but I do love that it keeps the meatballs all the same size
which means that they cook evenly
and it also ensures you'll end up with exactly 30 meatballs
which fits perfectly on one sheet pan.
See, there is a method to my madness
when it comes to recipe ratios.
Bake the meatballs for about 20 minutes
or until they're lightly browned on the outside
and just cooked through.
I like to cook mine for 18 minutes
and then set the top broiler on for the last two minutes
so they get nice and browned.
And while the meatballs are baking,
let's make a homemade marinara sauce.
There's just five simple ingredients and while yes,
it's easy to grab jarred marinara sauce at the store,
the flavor of homemade just tastes fresher
and fresher always equals better.
The first ingredient is one small onion.
Mine is not so small today
so my marinara sauce will be a bit more chunky
but you can always add as much
or as little onion as you'd like
and once that's done, add it to a bowl.
There are two fresh herbs in this recipe, basil and thyme
and together, both will invoke
all those lovely Italian flavors that you know and love.
Pile several basil leaves on top of each other,
roll them together and then either thinly slice them
or chop them up.
It's up to you on how much texture you'd like
in your marinara sauce
but I aim for about one tablespoon of chopped basil.
And then for the fresh thyme,
remove the leaves from the stem and then roughly chop up
about a tablespoon of fresh thyme as well.
The last ingredient to prep is four garlic cloves
so just peel those
and then take everything over to the stove.
Add a tablespoon of olive oil to a pot over medium high heat
and saute the onion for three to four minutes
or until it's translucent
then add the minced garlic
and saute that for another 30 seconds or so
until it becomes fragrant.
Add one 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes
along with the chopped thyme
and a quarter teaspoon of kosher salt
and hold off on adding the basil right now.
It's more tender
so you'll only stir that in at the very end.
Simmer this for 20 to 25 minutes to let the flavors meld
then remove it from the heat
and stir in the chopped fresh basil.
Now, since I'm gonna use this right away,
I'm going to transfer it to my large braiser pan
but you can always make this marinara sauce ahead of time
and store it
and I've got storage details on the full blog post.
At this point, the meatballs are now done
and when you take them out of the oven,
you'll notice that they've oozed a bit.
This is totally normal
and it's just some of that fat seeping out
but that falls right off as soon as you pick them up
and if you cut into one of them,
you'll see that even without breadcrumbs,
they've got a wonderful texture that's not too dense
and they're beautifully golden on the outside.
Of course, you can enjoy these meatballs
with a variety of sauces including a romesco sauce
or even a chimichurri sauce
but if you wanna serve them up in a marinara sauce,
you can just plop the meatballs into the pan,
roll them around in the sauce
and then simmer the pan on low to keep them warmed through.
Before serving, you can sprinkle some fresh parsley
for a pop of green and I love to eat these
over some spiralized zucchini noodles
but you can also serve them up as an appetizer
and just stick a toothpick in each one
for the perfect bite size snack.
These meteor meatballs are loaded with flavor,
nice and moist without the use of bread
and a staple meal prep recipe in my kitchen.
I hope you guys enjoyed today's video
and if you did, make sure to hit that thumbs up button,
share the recipe with your family and friends
and I will see you again in the next video.
(calm music)