gluten-free meatballs by mama toni

(1 rating)
Recipe by
Toni Plucinski-Mendenhall
Germantown, MD

I concocted this recipe for the 2012 Superbowl party we had. A good friend with Celiac Disease attended and I wanted her to be able to eat something substantial. She knew my recipe was gluten-free but we didn't tell the gang until the party was over. We had about 14 guests attend and lots of food provided, but very few meatballs remained after the Giants took the title. Nobody would have guessed they were gluten-free =)

(1 rating)
yield serving(s)
prep time 35 Min
cook time 25 Min

Ingredients For gluten-free meatballs by mama toni

  • 4 lb
    lean ground beef (no more than 10% fat) or chuck
  • 1 lb
    1 lb. ground hot italian sausage
  • 7 1/2 oz
    of one 10 oz. fresh bag potato chips
  • 1 1/2 c
    grated parmesan or romano cheese
  • 2 Tbsp
    olive oil
  • 1/2 c
    fresh parsley, minced fine
  • 1/2 c
    fresh oregano, minced fine
  • 1/2 c
    fresh basil, minced fine
  • 5 or 6
    eggs
  • 1 lg
    onion, chopped fine
  • 6
    fresh cloves garlic, minced (more if you’re a garlic lover)
  • 1 tsp
    each lite salt, cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 to 3/4 c
    dry red wine or sugar free grape juice
  • corn starch seasoned to taste with lite salt and cayenne pepper
  • olive oil spray

How To Make gluten-free meatballs by mama toni

  • 1
    Place potato chips in food processor and process until medium crumbed sized consistency. (Need an outlet for aggression? Forget the processor & take unopened chips, annihilate bag with a rolling pin for same result.) Set aside chips. For minced & chopped herbs, garlic and onion, peel garlic and onion, quarter onion, place herbs, onion & garlic in food processor and process until finely minced. Combine ground meat, potato chips, grated cheese, minced herbs, onion & garlic and lightly beaten eggs (add eggs one at a time while stirring ingredients together). Add salt & pepper. Mix well until everything is combined. Add about ½ to ¾ cup dry red wine or sugar free grape juice, making mixture a good consistency for forming balls. Mix cornstarch & seasonings in a large shallow bowl. Preheat oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • 2
    Form meat mixture into medium- sized meatballs (larger than golf balls but smaller than baseballs), using an ice cream scoop or your hands, pressing lightly, just enough so that meat holds together, but not so much that the meat is very compressed or the meatballs will be tough and dry. Dredge meatballs in cornstarch mixture.
  • 3
    Prepare some large pans with drainage racks by coating well with olive oil cooking spray. You can use a broiler pan or cookie sheets with wood skewers arranged in a grid such that meatballs can rest on top and not bake in their on fat. Place the meatballs on the pan(s), leaving about 1 1/2" between them so that heat will circulate evenly around them & they can be easily removed. Coat meatballs thoroughly with olive oil spray. Bake balls about 20 – 25 minutes; test doneness by slicing into a ball and no or very little pink in center.
  • 4
    Serve the meatballs with pasta and sauce or top with sauce and parmesan cheese in French rolls for meatball sandwiches. I prefer a spicy tomato sauce; you can’t go wrong with a commercial spicy Marinara. Meatballs can be broken up into pasta sauce to make a wonderful meat sauce. Meatballs are great served with macaroni and cheese. I like them with no tomato sauce, on French rolls with sweet & spicy fruit/vegetable relishes. This mixture can also be used as a lasagna or ravioli filling, or stuffed into a calzone and baked. It makes a great filling for stuffed peppers.
  • 5
    This started as a recipe on Cooks.com submitted by CM and underwent mAJOR revision by Mama Toni to make Gluten-Free and tastier!

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