Meatball Sub Meatballs

As I stated a week ago in my Quick-ish Marinara Sauce post, I really miss meatball subs. Although I don’t have a safe bread or cheese, this meatball recipe gets me at least part way there.

Meatball Sub Meatballs

Makes about 24 large meatballs, about the size of golf balls or ping pong balls.

• 1 pound of 80/20 ground pork
• 1 pound of ground beef (I prefer a higher fat content for the beef as well, but that’s up to you)
• 1 Tablespoon of ground chia seed
• 3 Tablespoons of water
• 1 Tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 medium onion minced very finely
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon of oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon of basil
• 1/2 teaspoon of thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 3/4 cup of gluten-free bread crumbs
• a small amount of olive oil for greasing the baking sheet.

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Take ground pork and ground beef and crumble it into a large mixing bowl.

In a small bowl, mix chia seed, water, and olive oil together to make a chia egg.  Set it aside.

Mince onion and add it to the bowl with the ground pork and ground beef.

Add the salt, ground black pepper, oregano, basil, thyme, and garlic power to the bowl, sprinkling them evenly over the beef and pork (it’ll be easier to mix it in).

Add your bread crumbs and the chia egg, and use your hands to knead the mixture until it is thoroughly combined.

Grease your baking sheet. Form meatballs about the size golf balls. I used a large scoop from Pampered Chef to form my meatballs, but you can use your hands instead. Place them on the baking sheet, spaced out evenly, and put them in the oven.

Bake them for 30 minutes.  Once they are done (internal temp of 161°F) you can add them to sauce, or you can freeze some of them to use later.

Enjoy, and if you’ve got ideas for dairy-free, egg-free, gluten-free, corn-free bread recipes, I want to hear about them!