Recipe: Gluten Free Spaghetti and Meatballs

One of the best gluten free foods out there is Tinkyada, which is a gluten free pasta. However, in order to truly enjoy them, you’ll want to make gluten free meatballs with your pasta. Here is a great recipe I ran across:

Gluten Free Spaghetti and Meatballs Recipe

Meatball Ingredients:

• 1 small to medium sweet onion
• 4-5 cloves garlic, peeled, cut in half
• 1 medium carrot, peeled, cut into several pieces
• 1 pound of organic grass fed ground beef or buffalo- either works
• 1 pound of organic ground pork
• 1/2 cup Annie’s Naturals or Muir Glen Organic Ketchup
• 1 tablespoon organic molasses
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup gluten-free bread crumbs- processed from 2-3 slices of stale tapioca bread with some hefty shakes of dried Italian herbs
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (my secret ingredient!)
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• Dash of red pepper flakes, if desired
• Olive oil, as needed

Baking Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Toss the onion, garlic and carrot pieces into a food processor and pulse until the texture is very finely diced. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, briefly stir together the ground beef and pork. Add in the processed onion, garlic and carrot mixture, ketchup, molasses, balsamic vinegar, parsley, gluten-free bread crumbs, sea salt and pepper flakes. Mix gently to combine. Try not to over-mix (over-mixing makes a dense meatball).
4. Rub a little olive oil on your hands and form the meatball mixture into balls (roughly the size of golf balls). Place them on the lined baking sheet. You should end up with about 20-24 balls.
5. Bake the meatballs in the center of the pre-heated oven for about 30 minutes until done (no longer pink in the center).

Note: Smaller meatballs cook faster, so if your meatballs are smaller, check them at 20 minutes. If you make larger meatballs, they’ll take longer to cook through. Adjust baking times accordingly.

[Recipe Courtesy of Karina's Kitchen]