Spaghetti and red sauce is something that just about everyone can agree on. It’s just delicious, and comforting, and tastes like childhood. Meatballs, however, can be a little tricky once food restrictions come into play.
My approach to food restrictions is to really nail the main part in a way that everyone can enjoy, and tailor the easier things based on diet. These meatballs have so much flavor and pair perfectly with the sauce, and they’re friendly to so many diet types. And if you’re vegan, just make the sauce and you’ll still love it! It’s all just really good and will definitely earn its spot in the rotation.
Spaghetti & Meatballs (Gluten, Dairy, Grain-free)
Servings:
These meatballs have so much flavor and pair perfectly with the sauce, and they're friendly to so many diet types. And if you're vegan, just make the sauce and you'll still love it! It's all just really good and will definitely earn its spot in the rotation.
Ingredients:
For the Meatballs
- 2 lbs ground beef 85/15
- 19 oz ground Italian sausage
- 2 egg yolks
- 1/4 cup almond flour
- 1/2 sweet onion finely chopped
- 1 tbsp oregano fresh, finely chopped
- 2 tsp thyme leaves only, discard stem
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp ground allspice
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp black pepper
For the Sauce
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 sweet onion chopped
- 1 sprig thyme fresh
- 2 sprigs oregano fresh
- 5 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp orange zest
- juice from 1/2 an orange hand squeezed
- 2 28oz cans crushed tomatoes (Cento brand preferred)
- 1 28oz can San Marzano whole tomatoes crushed by hand (Cento brand preferred)
- 1 large carrot peeled, cut into thirds
- 1-2 tbsp sugar
- TT salt
- TT pepper
- 1 handful basil fresh, chopped
Directions:
For the Meatballs
- In a pan on medium heat, sweat the onions in the olive oil. Add the oregano, thyme, garlic powder, nutmeg and allspice. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add the sauteed onions into the meat. Add the remaining ingredients and mix until combined evenly. Be careful not to overwork it, as it can turn gummy.
- Oil a baking sheet with olive oil. Roll the mix into balls a little larger than a golf ball and place on the pan, evenly spaced out. Bake in a 375 °F degree oven for 20 minutes.
For the Sauce
- In a pan, sweat the onions with the thyme and oregano. Add the chopped garlic, tomato paste, orange zest, and orange juice. Warm through, then add the crushed tomatoes, stewed tomatoes, carrot, sugar, salt & pepper. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent burning. Add the cooked meatballs to the sauce and simmer for another 10-15 minutes.
- Remove the thyme and oregano and discard. Remove the carrot and either discard or slice up and serve as a small side to your pasta (it's delicious after cooking in the sauce). Add the fresh basil and stir. Remove from heat.
- Serve the meatballs and sauce over your favorite spaghetti noodles, or a bed of spaghetti squash for those with gluten or grain sensitivities.
Looks like a lot of ingredients and work to make everything homemade like this… how often do you guys cook?
Every night :)
I noticed in both this recipe and the fall gnocchi recipe (which I enjoyed very much) that you add oil and vinegar to your pasta water. Can you explain the benefit? Most recipes recommend not adding oil to pasta water because it prevents the sauce from sticking to the pasta.
I use the oil as it keeps the pasta from sticking to itself, and I also like the flavor the oil adds.
Where did you get the white bowls? Thanks!
World Market! The white isn’t available right now but you can see the gray here.
I’m really loving the cooking videos. I made the roast chicken for Friday night and there were no leftovers at all:) I’m looking forward to trying this recipe. I don’t eat pork, any suggestions for substitution? Thanks
sub all the meat for 3 lbs of higher fat beef (80/20), and mix in some ground fennel, allspice, salt, pepper, and garlic powder with it.
Just commenting to remind you how lovely it is that you can eat spaghetti sauce and Italian sausage! I can eat dairy, but am grain and nightshade intolerant, the latter item meaning no tomatoes, potatoes, red/bell/hot peppers, or eggplant. Truly, enjoy your delicious sauce and be blessed :)
…My doctor actually JUST pulled me off nightshades. Ahhh, they were my heaven sent. We’ll see how I do.