These smothered caramelized onion meatballs are a perfect, satisfying Sunday meal. The dairy-free and gluten-free cashew cream gravy, infused with deeply caramelized onions and seasoned with fresh thyme, dried spices, nutritional yeast, and coconut aminos, coats every baked meatball like it was made for the job. The recipe makes enough to serve a small crowd (6 people), but also makes excellent leftovers for the week ahead if you’re only cooking for a few. We love to eat them spooned over creamy mashed potatoes, but they’re also great over rice or your favorite pasta.
Our new Sunday supper obsession
Caramelized onions in a creamy gravy with tender, savory meatballs is the cold-weather-ready dinner combination you didn’t know you needed. It is ultra-comforting food, and full of rich, savory flavor that will, without a doubt, make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside!
When I have time to cook on a weekend during the fall or winter, I’m going all in on coziness. There’s something so calming about dedicating a few hours of the day to be in the kitchen making something with the most decadent homemade flavors.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been in the kitchen, and the only thing cooking on the stovetop is onions, and someone walks in and says, “What smells so good?” Onions. Literally just sautéing onions. It’s like the savory equivalent of baking cookies.
And those caramelized onions perform double duty in this recipe. They are the starting point for both the luxurious gravy and the tender meatballs. Because why not double down on something that is so good?
We like plenty of gravy for recipes like this, so there’s a generous amount to go around for everyone. Which in my opinion, is never a bad thing!
A few notes on my recipe testing process
I started working on this recipe on the first really cold, blustery day of the season. I wanted to make something warm for dinner that just felt like good, home cooking. Originally, I thought I might want to make Swedish meatballs, but truth be told, I’m not sure I have ever actually had Swedish meatballs, or that I even like them? Ha!
And I try not to work on or publish recipes that are *too* far outside of my comfort zone. Because I really want what I share with you on NK to be a genuine, direct connection to what I’d naturally make in my kitchen, whether I was getting the recipe ready to share with you or not.
But I know crave-worthy dairy-free gravies well. So I started brainstorming this recipe by looking closely at my recipes for smothered pork chops (an old NK favorite!), and these savory garlic herb turkey meatballs, and went from there.
And when I’d finished I knew right away that I’d be sharing this one with you to make on all your cold, blustery days too 🥰
Chicken broth vs beef broth
Because these meatballs are made with ground beef and ground pork, I thought beef broth would be the natural choice for the gravy.
But I tested it with chicken broth as well and ended up liking chicken much better. The beef broth was good, but I found its richness took over the flavor of the gravy.
This result will probably depend on which broth brand you use, or whether you have homemade stock on hand, but I tested it both ways using Pacific Foods broth.
The all-purpose seasoning
I use and love the Simply Organic all-purpose seasoning. It’s mentioned in many of my soup and gravy recipes. I used to be able to find it in stores in the Seattle area, but haven’t had much luck recently. You can find it for less than $6 online, and one jar will last a while!
If you can’t find it, or don’t have anything similar on hand, poultry seasoning can be used instead. Although I recommend cutting the amount in half as is mentioned in the recipe card.
How to make these comforting meatballs
Because this recipe is a bit longer and more involved than many of the recipes on NK, I’ve included lots process shots for you to reference so that you have visual cues for each step.
Servings suggestions
We love enjoying these meatballs over mashed potatoes with a veggie side dish, but they would also be absolutely perfect with rice or pasta as well.
I have also served them warm from a crockpot for a potluck and they were a huge hit!
If you enjoyed these smothered meatballs I’d love it if you would take a moment to rate and review it below! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 It’s also a great place for questions, and super helpful for other readers if you share any modifications you made to the recipe.
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The Coziest Smothered Caramelized Onion Meatballs (Dairy Free)
- Total Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Diet: Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free
Description
These smothered caramelized onion meatballs are a perfect, satisfying Sunday meal. The dairy-free and gluten-free cashew cream gravy, infused with deeply caramelized onions and seasoned with fresh thyme, dried spices, nutritional yeast, and coconut aminos, coats every baked meatball like it was made for the job. The recipe makes enough to serve a small crowd (6 people), but also makes excellent leftovers for the week ahead if you’re only cooking for a few. We love to eat them spooned over creamy mashed potatoes, but they’re also great over rice or your favorite pasta.
Ingredients
For the caramelized onion gravy
- 1/2 cup raw cashews
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 medium sweet onions, cut in half and very thinly sliced lengthwise, so that they hold their shape when caramelized
- 5 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon coconut aminos
- 1 teaspoon all-purpose seasoning (or 1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning)
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried
- 2 cups chicken broth*
- Salt and pepper to taste
For the meatballs
- 1/2 cup of the caramelized onions and garlic, after cooking
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons coconut aminos
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon coconut flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
Time saving tip: Start caramelizing the onions while you prep the rest of the recipe ingredients – chopping the garlic and thyme, measuring the dried spices, and measuring / prepping all meatball ingredients.
- Soak the cashews. In a small heat proof bowl, cover raw cashews in just boiled water to soak while you start making the rest of the recipe. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Make the caramelized onions. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add the thinly sliced sweet onions and cook, stirring frequently. When the onions start to brown and stick to the bottom of the pan (at around the 8 minute mark), add a small splash of water to the skillet (2-3 tablespoons, or enough to release all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan – the water will evaporate as the onions continue to caramelize) to release the caramelized bits and continue softening the onions without allowing them to get overly brown. You’ll likely want to do this about 5-6 times during the cooking process. The total time to caramelize the onions will be 25-30 minutes (you can’t really overdo it). You can always reduce the heat to medium low or low if they seem to be browning too quickly. When the onions are nicely caramelized and reduced in volume by more than half, add the garlic and one more small splash of water. Continue to sauté for 3-4 minutes, until the garlic is tender. Scoop out 1/2 cup of the onion and garlic mixture and set aside to cool. Add the nutritional yeast, coconut aminos, all-purpose seasoning, and fresh thyme to the skillet and sauté for 30 seconds more, stirring continuously. Remove the skillet from the heat.
- Make the meatball mixture. Add ground beef, ground pork, egg, tomato paste, coconut aminos, fresh parsley, onion powder, garlic powder, coconut flour, salt, pepper, and slightly cooled caramelized onions and garlic to a large bowl. Stir to combine, being careful not to overmix which can result in a tougher meatball. I like to use a fork for the mixing.
- Bake the meatballs. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Use a cookie scoop or ice cream scoop to portion out 20-24 golf ball sized meatballs and roll them with your hands. Lightly wetting your hands with water can help keep the mixture from sticking. Evenly space on the baking sheet and transfer to the oven to bake for 20-25 minutes, until cooked through.
- Make the gravy. When the meatballs have about 10 minutes left in the oven, make the cashew cream gravy. Drain the soaked cashews and add to your blender container with 2 cups chicken broth. Blend on high for 1-2 minutes until entirely smooth and creamy with no pieces of cashew remaining. Return the skillet with the caramelized onions to medium heat and pour in the prepared cashew cream. Bring to a low simmer and scrape up any stuck-on bits from the bottom of the pan to incorporate them into the sauce, then reduce the heat to low while it simmers and thickens slightly.
- Finish assembling the dish. When the meatballs are done, transfer them into the skillet with the gravy, leaving behind any liquid they released while baking. Simmer for another 3-5 minutes, spooning the gravy over the meatballs. Season to taste with salt and pepper. The gravy will thicken as it simmers, and more as it cools. It can always be thinned with a bit of additional broth if needed. Serve hot over mashed potatoes, rice, or polenta, and with your favorite vegetable side dish and enjoy!
Notes
I tested the recipe with both beef broth and chicken broth, and preferred the lighter flavor of chicken broth.
These meatballs should keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
To re-heat, warm in the microwave in 30 second intervals until hot, or warm gently on the stovetop in a skillet. The gravy can be thinned with a bit of additional broth if desired after re-heating.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Oven baked, Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
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