This basic meatball recipe is easy to make. No frying! Flavored with shallot, tomato paste and a hint of Dijon mustard, these simple meatballs are incredibly tasty. My boys and their friends love them!
Meatballs are also a great make ahead dinner dish. Often, when I have a busy day, I’ll make these meatballs the night before, let them cool, and refrigerate them. The next evening, I throw them in a baking dish with glass lid, cover them with a jar of my favorite tomato sauce, and heat the meatballs and sauce in the oven at 350º for half an hour while I get the rest of dinner ready. Lately, I’m in the habit of serving these over Paleo pasta, along with Caesar salad, and roasted broccoli.
Swapping out high-carb processed food such as pasta for super food vegetable noodles is a win-win. Sometimes I wonder why I ever ate traditional pasta. Vegetable noodles are just as good!
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 large egg
- 1 shallot, minced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon coconut flour
- ½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- In a large bowl, combine ground beef, egg, and shallot
- Mix in tomato paste, mustard, coconut flour, salt, pepper, and baking soda
- Use a ¼ cup scoop to form meatballs
- Place meatballs on a parchment paper lined baking sheet
- Bake at 350°F for 25 minutes, or until instant read thermometer reads 175°F
- Serve with marinara sauce over spaghetti squash noodles or zucchini noodles
There’s nothing like spaghetti and meatballs. It’s a great comfort food dish and one of those rare dinners that everyone in my family loves.
Although it’s not traditional, we often have Spaghetti and Meatballs on Friday nights for Shabbat dinner. What is your favorite dish to serve for dinner? Do you like beef dishes? Do you prefer chicken, or fish? Leave a comment and let me know!
Estelle says
Can I make this as a meatloaf? Certainly I’ll bake it for about an hour. Thanks.
Elana says
Estelle, I haven’t tried that so not sure :-)
Nora says
Hi,
I’m new to this SCD. You’re recipe looks delicious but leaves me confused because my list shows that tomato paste is not allowed on this diet. Am I correct or is it okay as long as it is limited?
Elana says
Nora, thanks for your comment! Typically tomato paste would not be allowed on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. That was because my late friend Elaine Gottschall was concerned that it would contain sugar or corn syrup. Since this tomato paste only contains organic tomatoes I think it’s ok for SCD :-)
Sups says
I thought the reason was aluminum contamination in tomato paste cans. Am I wrong? Even I am very new to SCD and am learning new things every day.
Elana says
Sups, thanks for your comment! From what I recall Elaine telling me decades ago, tomato paste may not have been considered SCD due to the fact that it usually had additives like sugar.
Larry mullins says
Elana, I just found your site and made the soda bread.It turned out great
Keep up the good receipts,
Larry m
Elana says
Thanks Larry! Here’s a link to that recipe in case others would like to try this fan-favorite Irish Soda Bread:
https://elanaspantry.com/irish-soda-bread/
Have a lovely day!
Elana
Stephanie says
I made these with Dark Turkey & Beef. I forgot the baking soda. I formed them into balls approx 27g and sauteed them in a skillet with EVOO. Roughly macros are 15.5g fat, 0g carbs, 7g protein. I served them with a quick marinara over sauteed zoodles. ❤ Many thanks for your super tasty inspiration!!
Stephanie says
Oops. Sorry. The macros are per 27g meatbal (about 1.5″ in diameter. Small but powerful!!)
Elana says
You’re welcome Stephanie!
Kathryn says
Thank you for this recipe! These are absolutely perfect in every way. They also freeze very well. I will keep these in regular roatation and will have some stashed in my freezer forevermore!
Elana says
Kathryn, thanks for letting us know these are perfect in every way!
Mary says
Do you cook them before freezing?
Alayna says
Best meatballs ever! I’ve made these with multiple types of ground meat (pheasant, beef, venison, etc) and they are ALWAYS a hit! Thank you for this and so many more recipes!
Elana says
Alayna, best ever?! Thanks so much :-)
B says
Yes, I agree, these are the best meatballs ever. Tender, flavorful, store and freeze well. Again, thank you Elana
Elana says
Best meatballs ever?! Thanks B :-)
Mountain Mama says
I’ve made these meatballs several times. We love them! I prefer ground bison and add garlic and oregano. My homemade tomato sauce is a crockpot “throw everything in” recipe that makes a batch of 5 mason jars. We serve these meatballs over zucchini noodles fried in avocado oil with salt. Thanks for such a wonderful meatball!
Elana says
You’re welcome!
Kim Sabow says
Wow….my family absolutely loved this! I was pleasantly surprised how tasty it was. Thank you for a great recipe that will be a staple from now on!
Elana says
Kim, so glad you and your family found the meatballs tasty!
Mountain Mama says
Absolutely perfect! I made these with ground bison and served over zucchini noodles. Made my own tomatoes sauce from tomatoes paste, water, salt and fresh oregano. Sooo good!
Elana says
Mountain Mama, thanks so much for letting us know these were absolutely perfect :-)
KG says
These meatballs are the best! Dijon mustard is a genius ingredient. I make them and mix them w arabiatta sauce and put them over spaghetti squash. Thank you for this recipe!
Elana says
KG, you’re welcome! Glad to hear these are the best :-)
Tamara Phelan says
Hello, just wondering why you add baking soda to this recipe?
Elana says
Hi Tamara, it keeps the meat light, juicy, and tender.
April Driggers says
So, phase 1 of a Candida diet — only fresh tomatoes. Anyone made these without the tomato paste? I’m seriously blown away by what I can’t eat that it’s really hard to wrap my brain around finding something that I can other than sitting around eating cucumbers and turkey all day. :(
Elana says
Hi April, I’ve been there! Here’s a link that might be helpful:
https://elanaspantry.com/diets/candida/
Good luck!
Elana
Jennifer Finn says
Hi Elana, Thanks for another fantastic recipe! I doubled so that I could have leftovers to freeze. I served it over spaghetti squash. I do not like meat sauce over spaghetti squash, but the meatballs were perfect. Meat sauce works great with your zucchini noodles.
Lisa says
Hi Elana,
I’ve made these meatballs and they are terrific! They are a family staple now. I just found out I have to avoid egg. Have you ever made these without egg? Do you have any guidance on a no-egg version?
Thanks,
Lisa
Sharon says
We have a child with egg intolerance and have always made meat balls without eggs. They turn out great in the oven.
Elisa says
Can these be made without eggs? TIA!
Jul says
I made these tonight but I used half ground chicken and half ground beef, onion instead of shallot (about 1/4 of a large onion), and catsup instead of tomato paste as I had none. I added a small bit of oregano, 2cloves garlic and a touch of basil. They were absolutely terrific! Thanks
Rachel T says
If I wanted to freeze some, would suggest doing this before or after baking?
Erika S says
I would cook them THEN freeze. Done this multiple times before with other meatball recipes and it’s fine. Then you can pop in microwave or sauce and it’s all set!
mamadama says
Thank you Elana for the wonderful recipe. I have been trying different gluten-free meatball recipes hoping to find one that my family wouldn’t notice was gluten-free and this is it! Thanks again. Lots of health and happiness to you and your family~
patricia vidal says
hi! I like baking my meatballs in the oven, my problem is that they sort of leak and lose some of the moisture. any tips for this?
(also happended with meatloaf)
thanks!!
sarahdz says
yes, mine were leaky as well. i was happy with how they turned out but would love to know how to retain those juices.
Gennie says
Same thing happened with mine. Perhaps theybovercooked? Next time ill try baking them for a less amount of time.
Kim says
I’m baking these as we speak! They smell yummy. The meatballs are “leaking”, if you will, oozing juice/ingredients. Has this happened to anyone else? Thanks.
holidaysnoplacelikehome says
I just love this whole dish and make it as Elana suggests, with the spaghetti squash baked and organic Muir glen Tomato Basil marinara sauce for a simple, delicious dinner I can’t mess up when I’m tired. It is very comforting and well-balanced.
AJ says
This is the first recipe I’ve made from your blog, and I LOVED it. It was so easy and simple. I added a bit of italian seasoning, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper, I greased the pan with butter instead of using parchment paper, and I omitted the baking powder only because I didn’t have any at home. My husband is accustomed to traditional Italian meatballs with pork and/or sausage, breadcrumbs, cheese, and fried, and he really enjoyed how this turned out. Thank you so much!
Jeanie and Joan Lifestyle says
These are delicious! Nothing more comforting than a warm bowl of meatballs and pasta – and this is a slimming version! Thank you!
Maria says
YUM! I love good ol’ fashioned spaghetti and meatballs and this version looks way better for my waistline! Big fan of your blog, thank you!
Yan says
Made these yesterday with the spaghetti squash. It’s a keeper!
Susan says
Made these with ground turkey last night, and they were amazingly delicious. The flavors were perfectly balanced, and the whole family devoured them. I served them over a sauté of onion, mushroom and zucchini. I made a simple marinara with organic tomato sauce, garlic and basil. They were perfect after 20 minutes at 350. Thanks for the wonderful recipe, Elana. I will be keeping this one on hand for Sundays during football season.
Jenna says
Thanks so much for making the image “pinnable” ALWAYS love your recipes and appreciate the hard work, energy and love you put into your recipes and this website. Xoxo.
Jonathan says
These look fantastic. I think the kids will love these, thanks.
rose bloom says
What temp are these baked at? I see you reheat them with sauce at 350, are they also initially bakes at 350 as well? thank you!
Sandie says
@Audrey: Will you share your cauliflower polenta recipe?
Also thx. to Elana for generously sharing her tasty fare.
Audrey says
A great alternative to pasta or polenta is cauliflower “polenta” made with cauliflower, salt, pepper, rice milk and Irish butter. I serve the meatballs on top o the “polenta” and drizzle sauce over it.
Lisa says
Because someone will ask: I make my meatballs with 1/4 cup almond flour in place of the coconut flour. They make my family happy. Also, ground turkey works pretty well in place of the beef.
Chris says
What’s the purpose of the baking soda?
Charlotte Travis says
I’m anxious to try making these meatballs, but the recipe didn’t include the oven temperature to bake them at. I’m assuming it’s 350, but I’m checking with you anyway.
Thank you.
Teri Nguyen says
What temperature do you bake them at?
Lucy says
It says 350 in the blog post.
Leslie says
These meatballs look awesome — can’t wait to try them later today. I have a simple question re: your blog. I just found you yesterday and love your spirit of sharing yummy, healthy recipes and information . . . looking forward to poking around for all the good stuff you share. Thank you for the time you spend on this wonderful site.
So . . . here’s my question: which tab do I save as a favorite so I get your daily blog? That sounds simple, but I can’t find the blog tab. I’m at the elanaspantry.com site — should I always go to archives and hit the current date? Also, I signed up to receive the emails — will that take me to the daily blog? Sorry if this sounds so basic. Have a blessed day.
HiDee says
if you want to subscribe and get emails when there’s a new blog entry, then that space is right under her picture, it says “get free recipes by email” with a “join” button next to it.