Meatless Meatballs

LEVEL: easy Total: 45 minutes 8-12

Meatless Meatballs

BOOKMARK

DELICIOUS

Description

Yup, you’ve read that right. I guess, mathematically, that would leave just “Balls” but naming this recipe “Balls” was simply out of the question.

Inspiration for Meatless Meatballs came from childhood memories. In my youth, when it came to Italian food, only one image ever came to mind – Spaghetti with Meatballs!! Of course, I’d never actually eaten spaghetti with meatballs but that didn’t stop me from singing (yelling) the song “On top of spaghettiiieeeeeee, all covered with cheeeeeeeese, I lost my poor meatball, when somebody sneezed.” on repeat every Italian night. (My poor mother…she’s a saint.)

I’m on a mission to recreate those meat recipes in a way that I can enjoy them too 😉 This recipe makes a lot of meatballs so I like to make them ahead and freeze them until I’m ready to use them.

Hope you enjoy!

Nutrition Facts

8-12 servings per container

Serving size 3 meatballs

Amount per serving

Calories 109

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 4.5g 6%

Saturated Fat 1.3g 7%

Trans Fat g

Cholesterol 22.6mg 8%

Sodium 536.5mg 24%

Total Carbohydrate 8.4g 3%

Dietary Fiber 1.6g 6%

Total Sugars 0.7g

Includes g Added Sugars 0%

Protein 8.3g

Calcium 10mg 1%

Iron 7.6mg 43%

Vitamin B-12 2%

Vitamin B-6 5.1%

Copper 4.9%

Folate 22.9%

Magnesium 2.7%

Niacin 7.6%

Phosphorus 11.8%

Thiamin 6.5%

Not a significant source of vitamin D, or potassium.

The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

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Nutritions

Ingredients

1 tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 Vidalia/Sweet Onion, finely diced

2 Cloved Garlic, minced or grated

1-2 tsp Salt, Freshly Ground Black Pepper and Crushed Red Pepper to taste

1 tsp Anise Seeds

1 package (12oz) Morningstar Beef Crumbles (or other brand)

1 Large Egg

1/2 cup Parmesan, freshly grated

1/4 cup Parsley, finely chopped

1/2-3/4 cup Italian Bread Crumbs

1 tsp Oregano or Italian Seasoning Blend

* Click to ingredient to choose one

Directions

1: Preheat oven to 350 F.
2: On medium-high heat, saute chopped onions for until just softened (~2 minutes).
3: .Add the garlic, salt, black pepper, red pepper, and anise seed. Continue to saute for another 2 minutes.
4: Add the parsley and saute until the onions are translucent and the parsley warms and softens. (Otherwise, the parsley will stay stiff and make it difficult to form good meatballs.)
5: Remove the onions/garlic mix from the pan and use the same pan to brown the beef crumbles per package instructions.
6: In a large bowl, combine the cooked beef crumbles, onion/garlic mix, parmesan, egg, breadcrumbs, , oregano, and/or italian season blend.
7: Gently mix and make sure the taste it now. Evaluate. Add more seasoning if needed.
8: Using your hands, form 1.5-2" meatballs. If the mixture is too wet, you can add more breadcrumbs but err on the side wet because we don't want to end up with dry meatballs or meatballs that crumble while baking.
9: Spray a baking pan with a little EVOO and arrange the meatballs. They don't need TOO much space but don't crowd them either.
10: Bake for at least 15 minutes, turning over half way. At about 15 minutes, you may want to sacrifice a ball to check its insides.
11: At this point, set aside the meatballs that you'll be consuming that day and freeze the remainder. If you're going to serve a pasta sauce with meatballs dish, gently mix the meatballs in at the end of cooking/warming your sauce mix to avoid your meatballs returning to meat crumbles!!