Gluten Free Meatballs

Who doesn’t love meatballs? They’re so versatile and delicious. Fortunately for those of us with food allergy families, gluten free meatballs are also very easy to make!

Of course, you can serve them with spaghetti or sweet and sour sauce, but our favorite way to eat them is in easy homemade barbecue sauce and served over rice. So good! Add a green salad or steamed broccoli, and you have a meal. 

I’ll tell you a little secret that I’ve learned through trial and error: meatballs aren’t picky. So, say you’re allergic to eggs; Add a few tablespoons of milk instead, or if you’re allergic to dairy too, simply leave them out altogether. In that case, though, you’ll want to add some oil or lard in order to keep your finished meatballs from being too dry. 

Along that same vein, most meatball recipes call for breadcrumbs, which is why, as a person adhering to a gluten-free diet, you can’t just eat the meatballs served at your church potluck. Been there, done that, regretted it. But since meatball recipes aren’t picky at all, using gluten-free substitutions is easy!

If you happen to have gluten-free breadcrumbs, that’s great! But when I don’t, I just use rice flour along with gluten-free oatmeal. I know that not all celiacs can handle oatmeal, and if you can’t, I highly recommend using gluten-free bread crumbs instead. However, you can substitute rice flour, flaked quinoa, or another choice of grain/flour as you choose. Your meat will form into a ball regardless of what you use, so just make sure it tastes good.  

Recipe for Homemade Gluten-Free Meatballs

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup oatmeal or gluten-free breadcrumbs such as Panko.
• 2 Tablespoons rice flour

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375º Fahrenheit

1. Mix all ingredients together and form into one-inch balls. Tip: Use a Tablespoon-sized cookie scoop to make your meatballs
   
2. Arrange on a cookies sheet so that meatballs do not touch each other.
   
3. Bake for 30 minutes until cooked through. 
4. Remove from the cookie sheet using a spatula while the meatballs are still hot. (You don’t actually have to remove them so much as unstick them from the pan.)
5. Serve as desired. 
6. Alternatively, you can fry the meatballs in a skillet. They hold together surprisingly well as you stir them around – just be sure to do it gently.
7. Enjoy!

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