Healthy and quick baked Italian meatballs

16 May Healthy and quick baked Italian meatballs

This delicious and healthy meatball recipe is a family favourite. Is it a really versatile meatball recipe and can be used as the base for many meals. For those of you with kids, this one is a real winner. My kids absolutely loved these meatballs. I make a large portion of these meatballs because they really don’t last long in my house but feel free to make the recipe smaller if need be. I like meatballs for another reason…. They are great vehicle for hiding things if you have fussy eaters at home. You can either add extras to the meatballs themselves or to the sauce as well.

The actual sauce that I have cooked the meatballs in is also a real winner. It is the basic nepoletana sauce that I use as the base for many dishes. I often keep it in the freezer because I use it so often. You can use it on pasta, baby marrow noodles, in lasagne etc. if you ask my family which is their favourite recipe……Red pasta sauce is the answer.

If you are looking for some more meaty inspiration the check out these amazing grilled chops  or The ultimate from scratch low carb burger  

I hope that you enjoy this recipe as much as we did. Let me know how your cooking goes!

 

Baked Italian meatballs

 

Sauce

1 Tbsp oil

1 large onion , cut into chunks

2 cans Koo tinned tomatoes with basil, oreganum and garlic

1 tsp garlic

 

Meatballs

 

1 kg extra lean mince

2 eggs

2 tsp salt

½ cup oat flour*

1 Tbsp Italian mixed herbs

2 tsp Ina Paarman garlic and herb seasoning

 

Method

 

1. Heat up the oil in a pan large enough to accommodate the onion and the two cans of tomatoes
2. Add the onion to the pan and saute until the pieces are starting to caramelise and go brown around the edges
3. Add the cans of tomatoes and simmer on a low heat for 15 minutes, stirring every few minutes to make sure that the sauce doesn’t stick to the pan
4. Once the cooking time is over use a hand blender to blend the sauce until it is smooth
5. Combine all the ingredients for the meatballs and put in the fridge for half an hour
6. Roll the mince mixture into balls and place in an ovenproof dish
7. Pour the sauce over the meatballs and bake at 180C for 40 minutes (if the sauce is cold when your pour it over the meatballs then increase the cooking time by about 15 minutes)
8. Enjoy!