There is nothing quite as nostalgic for me as handmade meatballs crowning a bed of spaghetti. The smell of fresh Italian aromas bring back some of the best memories of my childhood. I inhale and remember my Parents and all 7 of us kids gathered around the picnic table in our kitchen, eating spaghetti and meatballs, laughing, sharing, building friendships and memories I never knew I would cherish so much in my adult life. Try these deliciously succulent gluten-free meatballs – there’s nothing like simple, delicious Italian cuisine for creating memorable meals for your family or friends.
Start by combining salt, paprika, oregano, marjoram, thyme, and pepper together.
Now toss spices into a blender with 1 cup of certified gluten free oats and blend together into a flour-like consistency.
Chop 1 large shallot, 4 cloves garlic, and a handful of fresh basil leaves.
Add 2 pounds hamburger and 1 pound ground sausage into a large mixing bowl.
Now add in the chopped shallot, basil, and garlic with 1 egg, and the spiced oat flour mixture.
Combine with hands and roll into 3 inch meatballs. You should end up with 24 large meatballs.
Heat 2 cups of olive oil (about 1 inch deep) in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add meatballs in batches and brown 1-2 minutes on each side.
Remove from heat and place onto a paper towel lined plate.
When all meatballs are done browning, place into an oven safe pot with lid and bake for 2 hours at 250 degrees.
Pour in sauce and heat on stove over medium heat until sauce is hot. I like to saute onion, red bell peppers, and mushrooms and add them into the sauce as well.
For a truly gluten free meal serve over spaghetti squash, rice noodles or simply eat with veggies!
Buon appetito!
Gluten Free Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp marjoram
- 1/2 tsp ground thyme
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 c certified gluten free oats
- 1 large shallot
- 4 cloves garlic
- 7-10 fresh basil leaves
- 2 lbs hamburger
- 1 lb ground sausage
- 1 egg
- 2 cups olive oil
- 6 cups tomato sauce
Instructions
- Combine salt, paprika, oregano, marjoram, thyme and pepper into a blender with 1 cup certified gluten free oats and blend into a flour-like consistency.
- Chop shallot, garlic, and fresh basil.
- Add 2 pounds hamburger and 1 pound ground sausage into a large mixing bowl.
- Add oat mixture and chopped ingredients to bowl.
- Add 1 egg.
- Using hands, mix all ingredients together until combined.
- Roll mixture into 3-4 inch balls.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet.
- Brown meatballs 1-2 minutes on each side.
- Remove from oil and place into a covered baking dish.
- Bake meatballs for 2 hours at 225 degrees.
You are just the best! Thank you for the recipes and for adding the Print feature! With a recipe, my Hubby will make these for our dinners.
MMM-mmm-mmmm! Must try these cindee Lou! Lovin the spices you use!
These were very very good! enjoyed by everyone (even those not eating gluten free). A keeper for sure! thanks for sharing!!
These look great! Making them today. One question… why do you use shallots in stead of onions? I don’t know much about shallots
Using shallots rather than onion is just a personal preference. I enjoy the flavor of the shallot and they get quite soft and they are easy to chop small so even my non-onion eaters won’t know they are there. You could easily use yellow onion as a substitute if you don’t have any shallots on hand.
These meatballs where a HUGE hit with everyone at a party I brought them to! I love the shallots! I think I will replace onions with them from now on. very mild and sweeter and even my kids who won’t eat onions loved these!
Have you tried baking these instead of cooking in the oil?
when I made them I baked them for about 20 min or so and then I cooked them in the sauce we were serving. the method in the recipe looks delicious but I did not have the time. They turned out great!
Do you use Italian sausage? Is it a pork sausage?
You can use either pork sausage or Italian sausage. I personally like the pork sausage better because I am not a huge fan of anise, and I feel the Italian sausage is always overpowered by it.
How much salt, paprika, and oregano?
you recipe is very good, I added some parm to it as well. best meat ball i ever made