These gluten free meatballs hearty comfort food at it’s best! Made without breadcrumbs and just a handful of simple ingredients like ground beef, ground pork, almond flour, onions, parsley, and a flavorful blend of seasonings. The perfect thing to make when you’re craving a wholesome Italian inspired dinner! Gluten free, dairy free, paleo, Whole30 option.
The best gluten free meatballs at home
Moist, juicy, and perfectly seasoned Italian meatballs are such a staple comfort food.
It’s always been one of my favorite things to order out at an Italian restaurant, but most meatballs are not gluten free. So I set out to make a homemade gluten free meatball that was just as good as any traditional meatball I’ve had eating out!
And these check that box in every way!
We love to serve them over spaghetti with parsley and grated parmesan (this is my favorite store bought dairy free parmesan, and this is my favorite homemade dairy free parm if you’re looking for a dairy free option) for a classic Italian dinner vibe, but they’re equally delicious served on their own, with spiralized veggie noodles, or over a low carb cauliflower mash.
Why you’ll love these gluten free meatballs
They are:
- Super flavorful
- Moist and tender
- Easy to make
- Hearty and filling
- Perfectly seasoned
- Comforting
- GF / DF / Paleo friendly
- Insanely delicious!
Ingredients and substitutions
These meatballs are not only super delicious, but also made with super simple ingredients! It’s a little tricky to keep gluten free meatballs from getting dry, so making sure they were moist and tender was a top priority for this recipe!
You’ll likely have most of these ingredients on hand in your pantry, but there are a few substitutions you may want to make that I’ll share below.
Here’s what you need
- Ground beef and ground pork – I love using a mix of ground beef and ground pork for meatballs and meatloaf, but you can easily use just ground beef.
- Almond flour – Just a small amount of almond flour is used in place of breadcrumbs or bread to help bind the meatballs together.
- Egg + egg yolk – Egg is another critical ingredient in binding the meatballs together to keep them from falling apart. The extra egg yolk is there to keep the meatballs moist.
- Fresh parsley – Fresh parsley gives the best flavor, but if you don’t have any on hand feel free to substitute with dried. To use dried herbs instead of fresh swap 1 Tablespoon fresh for 1 teaspoon dried.
- Onion – To make sure the onion mixes in well with all the other ingredients dice it very fine.
- A blend of seasonings – Onion powder, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper are used to add the perfect blend of flavor.
- Marinara sauce – Your favorite jarred marinara sauce is perfect for this recipe. The meatballs will finish cooking in the sauce to infuse them with deeper flavor.
Can you make these meatballs with ground chicken or ground turkey?
These meatballs can be made with ground chicken or ground turkey instead of beef / pork. Keep in mind that ground chicken or turkey tends to be drier. If you want to use ground chicken or turkey I would recommend dark meat.
Can you make these meatballs with coconut flour instead of almond flour?
You can use coconut flour instead of almond flour, but you’ll want to use less since it is much more absorbent.
I would suggest 1 teaspoon coconut flour in place of the almond flour.
How to make
Making these meatballs from scratch is super easy. Once they’re mixed and shaped you’ll bake them in the oven until nicely browned on the outside, and then finish cooking them by simmering in marinara sauce to amp up the flavor even more.
Here’s the step-by-step
- Prep a baking sheet and turn on the oven. Grease a large, rimmed baking sheet or large broil safe baking dish. Preheat oven to broil on high.
- Mix meatball ingredients together. Add all ingredients except for marinara sauce to a large bowl and use your hands or a large fork to mix to combine, being careful not to over mix. If you overwork the meat the meatballs will be more tough.
- Shape and bake meatballs. Lightly wet your hands to keep them from sticking and form meat mixture into 12 large meatballs – about 2 inches in diameter. Place meatballs on greased baking sheet and transfer to the oven. Broil until starting to caramelize and brown on top.
- Warm the marinara sauce. While meatballs are in the oven bring marinara to a simmer in a large skillet.
- Finish cooking meatballs in marinara. Remove meatballs from the oven and carefully transfer into the simmering marinara sauce. Reduce heat to low and cover the skillet. Continue to simmer until meatballs are cooked through – flipping each meatball over halfway through the cook time.
- Garnish. Top with fresh herbs and parmesan if desired and serve on their own or with gluten free pasta, spiralized veggie noodles, a hearty root veggie mash, or cauliflower mash.
- Serve & enjoy!
Tips for perfect homemade gluten free meatballs
Don’t over mix them
To keep the meatballs moist and tender, it’s key that you avoid overworking the meatball mixture. Use your hands, a large fork, or even chopsticks to mix everything together until just combined.
Use a higher fat blend of meat
Higher fat ground meat means the meatballs will be more juicy and moist. That’s one of the reasons why I love using a mix of ground beef and ground pork. A ground beef blend of 80 to 85 percent is ideal. And if you want to use ground turkey or ground chicken I would definitely recommend using dark meat.
Wet your hands before shaping meatballs
Slightly wetting your hands will help keep the mixture from sticking as you roll and shape your meatballs. I like to keep a cereal sized bowl of water on my work station so I can re-wet my hands every few meatballs.
Can you make mini GF meatballs?
As written this recipe is for meatballs that are on the larger side – about 2 inches across. But they can totally be shaped into any size – including mini meatballs!
To make smaller meatballs follow the recipe as written but decrease the oven cook time and stove top cook time by several minutes. You may have to experiment a bit based on exactly how big they are.
What is the internal temperature for meatballs when they’re done cooking?
Meatballs made with beef and pork should be cooked to an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit.
Meatballs made with turkey or chicken should be cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
Serving suggestions
These meatballs can be enjoyed so many ways!
We love them served over gluten free spaghetti, but they’re also so good on their own. They could also be served with a creamy dairy free alfredo sauce!
For a Whole30 / paleo option serve them over spiralized veggie noodles, spaghetti squash, a hearty root vegetable mash, or mashed cauliflower.
And for some extra umami flavor top them with a generous sprinkle of our homemade vegan parmesan cheese!
Storage and re-heating
Storing: These gf meatballs can be stored in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Reheating: To re-heat, gently warm on the stove in a covered skillet, stirring occasionally, until heated through. Can also be warmed in the microwave for 2-3 minutes, until hot.
Freezing: To freeze these meatballs cook them all the way through in the tomato sauce and allow to fully cool. Spread out in a single layer in a sealable container and freeze. Alternatively, they can be frozen after par-baking in the oven, before they’re added to the sauce – just remember to finish cooking after thawing.
Thawing: Thaw the meatballs in the refrigerator overnight, and then reheat in a simmering sauce on the stove top or in the oven at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. They can also be warmed in the microwave for 2-3 minutes until hot.
Did you love this meatball recipe? Try these other easy dinner recipes!
- Classic Gluten Free Meatloaf
- Chicken Sausage and Broccoli Pasta
- Cashew Cream Smothered Pork Chops
- Garlic Herb Turkey Meatballs
- Nourishing Chicken and Cauliflower Rice Soup
- Garlicky Grilled Shrimp Skewers
If you enjoyed this recipe, we’d love it if you would take 5 seconds to rate and review it below! It’s also super helpful for other readers if you share any modifications you made to the recipe.
Thank you for sharing your kitchen with NK. We’re so grateful you’re here!
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Gluten Free Meatballs – Made Without Breadcrumbs!
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
These gluten free meatballs hearty comfort food at it’s best! Made without breadcrumbs and just a handful of simple ingredients like ground beef, ground pork, almond flour, onions, parsley, and a flavorful blend of seasonings. The perfect thing to make when you’re craving a wholesome Italian inspired dinner! Gluten free, dairy free, paleo, Whole30 option.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound ground pork (or an additional pound ground beef)
- 1 tablespoon almond flour
- 1 egg + 1 egg yolk
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt, or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley or 4 teaspoons dried parsley
- 1/2 cup very finely diced onion
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 32 ounce jar marinara sauce
- Gluten free spaghetti, veggie noodles, or cauliflower mash for serving
Instructions
- Prep a baking sheet and turn on the oven. Grease a large, rimmed metal baking sheet or large broil safe baking dish. Preheat oven to broil on high.
- Mix meatball ingredients together. Add all ingredients except for marinara sauce to a large bowl and use your hands or a large fork to mix to combine, being careful not to overmix. If you overwork the meat the meatballs will be more tough.
- Shape and bake meatballs. Lightly wet your hands to keep them from sticking and gently shape and roll meat mixture into 12 large meatballs – about 2 inches in diameter (see notes in blog post for suggestions on making smaller meatballs). Place meatballs on greased baking sheet and transfer to the oven. Broil until starting to caramelize and brown on top – about 7-8 minutes.
- Warm the marinara sauce. While meatballs are in the oven bring marinara sauce to a simmer in a large skillet.
- Finish cooking meatballs in marinara. Remove meatballs from the oven and carefully transfer into the simmering marinara sauce. Reduce heat to low and cover the skillet. Continue to simmer until meatballs are cooked through – about 12-16 minutes more, flipping each meatball over halfway through the cook time.
- Garnish. Top with fresh herbs and parmesan if desired and serve on their own or with gluten free pasta, spiralized veggie noodles, a hearty root veggie mash, or cauliflower mash. For Whole30 option do not top with parmesan cheese and serve with a Whole30 compatible option.
- Serve & enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition information is for meatballs with marinara sauce only.
You can use coconut flour instead of almond flour in this recipe, but you’ll want to use less since it is much more absorbent. I would suggest 1 teaspoon coconut flour in place of almond flour.
Storing: These gf meatballs can be stored in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Reheating: To re-heat, gently warm on the stove in a covered skillet, stirring occasionally, until heated through. Can also be warmed in the microwave for 2-3 minutes, until hot.
Freezing: To freeze these meatballs cook them all the way through in the tomato sauce and allow to fully cool. Spread out in a single layer in a sealable container and freeze. Alternatively, they can be frozen after par-baking in the oven, before they’re added to the sauce – just remember to finish cooking after thawing.
Thawing: Thaw the meatballs in the refrigerator overnight, and then reheat in a simmering sauce on the stove top or in the oven at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. They can also be warmed in the microwave for 2-3 minutes until hot.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Oven baked
- Cuisine: Italian
Lola says
Oh my goodness these were so good! I am recently dairy and gluten free, and was missing my former meatballs I made in the InstantPot (IP). I was in an experimental mood and made these, I did not have almond flour but had King Arthur 1:1 substitute gluten free flour so used that. The only other change was I made my meatballs about 1” in size and cooked in the IP. Cooked for 5 minutes with natural release 8 minutes before releasing the rest of pressure. It was delicious! The IP cooking because the meatball juices flavor the jar marinara is so good!! Thank you!
Nyssa Tanner says
Hooray! Love that you enjoyed these and that you found some easy substitutes and a way to make them in the instant pot. Thank you so much for your helpful comment and happy cooking! – Nyssa
Laneya says
Delicious meatballs! I use half beef and half sausage. My baby loves them!
Nyssa Tanner says
That protein combination sounds delicious! I’ll definitely be giving that a try myself the next time I make these. Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback! Happy cooking 🙂 – Nyssa
Dennis says
Perfect for my GF/dairy free relatives! How important is that 1 tablespoon of almond flour? I hate to buy a bag for this one recipe?
Nyssa Tanner says
You can totally make it without! Shouldn’t be a problem, though the meat mixture might be a tiny bit more wet. Just be careful when rolling the meatballs together and I think you’ll be good to go 🙂 I’d love to hear how they turn out for you if you give them a try! Hope you enjoy – happy cooking! – Nyssa
Linda Smith says
The ingredients are simple and delicious! great recipe!
Nyssa Tanner says
I’m glad to hear you liked it! We’re all for simple (and delicious!) recipes at our house 😉 Thank you for your thoughtful comment! xo, Nyssa
giuliana says
What if I want to fully cook them in the oven? What would the bake time be?
Nyssa Tanner says
Hi Giuliana! If you were to fully cook in the oven I would recommend starting the meatballs at 400 degrees Fahrenheit baking for 20-25 minutes, and then broiling for an additional 2-3 minutes until nice and golden brown. When done the internal temperature should be 160° F. If you make them smaller they will quick more quickly. Hope that helps! Happy cooking!