I finally have my Allergy Friendly Meatballs (gluten and top8free) figured out! Wahoo! That means I can stop guessing when I make them and just follow the recipe, which ALSO means that it’ll start showing up on our dinner menus more frequently! Hooray for more options!
One of the main reasons why I bake my meatballs in the oven instead of pan frying is because it’s so much easier to have them cook evenly! I’ve made many meatballs in the past where the outside is cooked and the inside is raw, but not with baking them in the oven! You’re also able to cook them and forget them for 18-20 minutes! There’s no stirring, flipping or splattering involved!! Love that! It’s also so much cleaner! Bake the meatballs, transfer them to the sauce and roll up the foil or parchment paper and toss it in the trash! So easy!
Finishing the meatballs in a large pot of sauce is mandatory! While the meatballs are cooking in the oven, add your sauce to a medium-large pot and simmer. Once the meatballs are finished cooking in the oven, transfer them to your pot of sauce and continue simmering for 10-15 minutes while you cook up your pasta. Finishing the cooking in the sauce will give it a delicious, robust flavor!
Did you know simmering your tomato sauce for an extended time decreases the acidity?
Allergy Friendly Meatballs (gluten and top8free)
Makes approx. 30-35 medium sized meatballs (we had 4 leftover after feeding four adults and one child)
Ingredients:
- 2.5 lbs of ground beef, pork & veal combo (I buy a meatball/meatloaf mix, see here)
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 cup GF, safe breadcrumbs
- 1/3 dairy-free milk (I use rice milk)
Directions:
- Preheat oven 400 degrees.
- Line a large baking pan with parchment paper or foil sprayed with oil.
- Mix all of the above ingredients with your hands (I HATE this part).
- Shape meatballs by rolling small amounts in your hands. (I use a spring loaded scooper to make even amounts)
- Place each meatball on baking sheet about 1 inch apart. Cook in oven for 18-20 minutes or until the center of meatballs are no longer pink.
- I add the meatballs to the sauce and simmer an additional 15-20 minutes before serving, but this option is not necessary.
Well there you have it! Delicious meatballs free of gluten and the top 8 allergens that taste just like grandma used to make!
Enjoy!
Elizabeth DiBurro
EBL Food Allergies
My hubby is always looking for ways to get meatballs into our meals! I’ll have to tell him about this recipe–I bet he’d be able to mix up a batch all on his own. 🙂
Yum, love meatballs! This looks like a perfect quick dinner!
Such simple swaps to make what look like such perfect meatballs! I bet they are deliciously tender. Will have to try.
They ARE super tender! YUM!
So many frozen meatballs contain eggs or dairy and so this will come in handy to share with my meat eating friends 🙂
You’re right! I haven’t found a safe frozen meatball yet! Mine are much better anyways! 😉
I am also a big fan of Italian anything! It’s probably why I too love to have a marinara sauce with everything!
I agree! I could have a bowl of sauce with a loaf of GF bread and be a happy girl!
These look really good! I might be making these for dinner tonight over spaghetti squash. I love that you bake them instead of frying them.
I need to try spaghetti squash! I always just use brown rice pasta!
I just started to bake my meatballs too! I’m always so surprised to see how much fat comes out of them when they bake. Love how easy this recipe is! 😀
These sound so good! I’ve never baked meatballs before, we always do them in the crockpot! This is probably healthier.
I love the idea of a baked meatball, so much less of a mess to clean up and oh so delicious!!!