Gluten Free Baked Meatballs

We didn't realize that most meatballs have gluten in them until my son had a reaction to Ikea's Swedish Meatballs. I never thought to look. What would be gluten in them? It's what they use to hold the meat together, usually bread crumbs. So here is the recipe we use when we want meatballs.

Baked Meatballs

(I adapted this recipe from Alton Brown's.)

3 lbs ground meat

10 oz chopped spinach (I love to use fresh but you can use frozen)

1 C grated parmesan (can you the powdered stuff)

2 eggs

1 T dried basil (more is fine)

1 T dried parsely

2 t garlic powder

2 t salt

1 t red pepper flakes

1 c gluten free bread crumbs (more on these at the end of this post) or you can use gluten free oats

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl add 3 pounds of meat, (I use sausage, it adds such a great flavor. I buy the nitrate free kind from the New York Style Sausage Company. I also used hamburger that I obtained (it's not stealing if they know about it, right?) from my parents' frozen locker. It's organic. I'm typically not a fan of red meat but I do make exceptions for these.) spinach, parmesan, eggs, basil, parsley, garlic powder, salt red pepper flakes and gluten free bread crumbs. 

Mix all these ingredients until well combined. I just use my hands. Kinda gross but if Rachel Ray does it, it's okay, right?

Shape into walnut sized balls and place meatballs in individual spaces of mini muffin pan (Mine are from Pampered Chef and I cannot rave enough about them). Bake for 20 minutes or until cooked through.

The photo above is of the cooked meatballs. We ate them with mashed sweet potatoes. It's a tasty, easy dinner. To make a healthy alternative, use ground turkey and/or chicken.

These are my homemade gluten free breadcrumbs. I use this recipe adapted from Carl Fenster. I love corn bread crumbs. They have such a great, sweet flavor.

Gluten Free Corn Bread Crumbs

2 1/2 C cornmeal (try to use organic because corn as a grain is mainly gmo)

2 c gf flours (any combination of 3)

2/3 c sugar

4 t baking powder

3 t xanthan gum

2 t salt

4 eggs

2 c milk (I use either coconut or almond)

2/3 c canola oil

Optional: 1 c canned or frozen corn

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In your mixer bowl mix the dry ingredients together. Then add the wet all at once. Mix on low until just combined. It's okay to have small lumps. Pour into greased 10 X 13 cake pan. Bake for 35 minutes or until all the way done. You need to use a utensil to poke the middle to make sure it comes out clean. This bread seems to take forever to cook.

Once this bread is done if you can resist eating it, slice it and spread it out on a cookie sheet. You can bake it again at a very low heat or leave it out for a day or two (this is what I do). Once the bread is crispy you can break it into pieces and then place it in a large Ziploc. With a rolling pin or a skillet you can take all your frustrations out on this poor bread. As you can see from the picture, mine isn't uniform or all very small because I'm impatient. Then I put my breadcrumbs in a previously used #10 can with a good lid. I've had mine for a while now, I would say close to a year. But we live in Utah where it's really dry. Can't say how long they'll last for others. You can leave them in the Ziploc and freeze them to be sure.