Gluten Free Oven Baked Meatballs
These Gluten Free Oven Baked Meatballs baked in sauce are tender in texture and easy to make. Serve them over gluten free pasta or with a salad.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lb. Ground Chuck
- 24-32 oz. Jar of Prepared Pasta Sauce
- 1 TBS Olive Oil
- ¼ of a Small Onion, finely chopped
- ¼ of a Red Bell Pepper, finely chopped
- 2 Cloves of Garlic, minced or grated
- 1 ½ - 2 Slices of Gluten Free Bread, torn into bite size pieces
- 3 TBS Milk
- ¼ Cup Grated Parmesan
- 1 tsp. Dried Parsley
- ½ tsp Dried Basil
- ¼ tsp. Dried Oregano
- 1 tsp. Kosher Salt
- ¼ tsp. Black Pepper
- Shredded Mozzarella Cheese (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375º
- Place the bread pieces in a small bowl and pour over the milk so the bread can absorb it.
- Heat Olive Oil in a small sauté pan over medium heat.
- Add Onions and Bell pepper to the hot pan and sauté until the onions begin to get translucent.
- Add garlic to pan and turn off the heat.
- Cool veggies slightly.
- Combine Beef, Veggies and the rest of the ingredients, except for the sauce, in a large bowl and mix well.
- Make meatballs out of the prepared meat.
- Place meatballs in a lightly greased casserole dish.
- Add sauce to meatballs making sure they are at least half covered.
- Cook meatballs uncovered for 30 minutes.
- Add shredded Mozzarella cheese to the meatballs during the last 5 minutes of cooking time, if desired.
- Serve meatballs and sauce with a tossed salad or over gluten free pasta.
Notes
The process of making tender gluten free meatballs is the same as making ones with gluten in them. Here are some tips for your success.
- Sautéing the Peppers, Onions and Garlic – This brings out the moisture and flavor of the vegetables and helps flavor the meat. It also means you won’t bite into uncooked peppers and onions.
- Use Gluten Free Bread Instead of Gluten Free Breadcrumbs – I like to tear the bread into small pieces and use them instead of store bought gluten free breadcrumbs. I like the texture them better when using gluten free bread.
- Use a Cookie Scoop for Making Meatballs – Keeping all of them the same size means they all cook at the same rate. A cookie scoop makes great work of this task. I like to scoop them all out first and then go back and gently roll them into a better shaped meatball.
- Use Gloves – My wife hates touching raw meat. If you’re the same way buy some inexpensive disposable gloves. They work great!
- Don’t Overwork the Meat – You want the ingredients mixed well but overworking the meat will make them tough. Mix just until the ingredients are fully combined.
- The Parmesan Cheese – I know the chefs always say use fresh Parmigiano Reggiano. Guess what? The stuff with the green top works just fine in this recipe for me. Use what you want!
- The Dried Herbs – If you don’t want to use the herbs separately as directed in the recipe, substitute with 2 tsp of dried Italian Seasoning.