Veggie-packed Meatballs
Ingredients
2 pounds ground beef or turkey or pork
2 eggs
5-6 shiitake mushrooms, finely chopped
2 large carrots, peeled and finely chopped
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
½ cup fresh spinach, tightly packed, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
¾ cup almond flour
½ cup organic chicken bone broth
1 tbsp. Italian herb seasoning
Red pepper flakes, to taste (optional)
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. pepper
Method
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Line a large or 2 medium baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the almond flour and bone broth. Set aside to absorb.
In a large pan over medium heat, add 2 tbsp. olive oil. Add carrots & onions. Cook 3-4 min, stirring occasionally so they don’t brown. Add mushrooms and a pinch of salt & pepper and continue cooking another 3-4 min. Add spinach, folding it in until wilted, about another minute. Transfer veggies to a plate or bowl and set aside to cool.
To the bowl with the almond flour mixture, add your ground meat, eggs, garlic, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes (if using), salt & pepper. Add the vegetable mixture once cooled (you don’t want their heat to cook the egg or meat prematurely).
Wearing gloves, use your hands to knead all ingredients together. Do not over mix (meat will become tough). Form mixture into 20-25 1-inch meatballs. Place meatballs on baking sheet(s) and bake for 20-25 minutes.
Serve by themselves or with chickpea/lentil pasta & my Red Pepper Marinara (for store-bought sauce I recommend Rao’s Marinara). Top with freshly grated parmesan reggiano, chopped fresh parsley, and red pepper flakes.
