Meatballs

On my previous Whole30s, I did indulge in a few meatballs.  My hubby made his delicious meatball recipe, and then made mine without the breadcrumbs.  Sure, we could've added some almond flour or potato starch, but I figured why mess with something good.  I'd toss them with homemade marinara sauce, and eat them as is, or serve on top of some spaghetti squash.

But when I saw a recipe for BBQ meatball stuffed sweet potatoes, I knew I had to try them!  They've been on my "to make" list since my last Whole30.  And truth be told, I will definitely make them!  But so far, I made the meatball part of the recipe and I cannot.  stop.  eating.  them!

I made my meatballs on the smaller side, since I generally prefer snack-sized foods.  I served them today with some cauliflower rice, and celery sticks (with Whole30-compliant (!!) Tessemae's Buffalo Sauce).  These would be great with sauce over spaghetti squash, on top of a salad, or -- as the recipe intended -- slathered in Whole30-complaint BBQ sauce!  Now I don't have an instant pot (I know, I know, what is wrong with me?!), so I made mine on the stove top and then finished them in the oven.  I've included my cooking directions below.

Meatballs
Recipe from this delicious looking recipe from Healthy Little Peach (And trust me, I'll be making the original recipe soon!), cooking instructions by yours truly

Makes 36 1-1.5 inch meatballs

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground beef (the recipe recommends 90/10 but all I had was 85/15)
1/3 cup chopped sweet onions
2 Tbsp coconut aminos
1 tsp garlic powder (I had granules on hand)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 large egg
3 Tbsp tapioca flour (I left this out)

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.

Roll meatballs into 1-1.5 inch balls.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Rub a cast iron skillet with avocado or olive oil.  Just a thin layer is all you need.
Heat the pan over medium-high heat.
Put about 1/3 of the meatballs in the pan.
Turn every 2 minutes, ensuring that the majority of the meatball is seared (I flipped mine twice, 2 minutes on a side for 2 sides).
Remove from the pan and place on a foil lined baking sheet.
Repeat with another 1/3 of the meatballs, removing them and placing them on the same baking sheet.
Repeat with the remaining 1/3 of the meatballs.

Place the tray in the oven and bake for 6 minutes.
Check a meatball to make sure they are cooked through.