Gluten Free Quinoa & Veggie Meatballs

Can I just tell you that for the past 30+ years of my life I have not been a meatball fan. 

Ever. 

For some reason they never appealed to me. They were just these giant balls of meat that never tasted good enough to try again. And anytime I think of meatballs I can't help but think of this scene from the Wedding Singer:

But all that changed one day after I decided to go out on a limb and try these Quinoa Meatballs from WholeFoods.com. With a little adaption they were gluten free friendly... and delicious! I used a cookie scooper to make them into perfect uniform balls and they cooked up in the same amount of time it takes to boil my gluten free spaghetti noodles!

The Quinoa and Veggies make them super healthy and help your little meat lovers get some other nutrients in other than meat. Audrey would eat a dozen of these if I let her! Hope you enjoy them too! 

Gluten Free Quinoa & Veggie Meatballs

(Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Nut Free, Soy Free, Contains egg)
Adapted by jalene from Wholefoods.com

Makes 17 meatballs
Ingredients: 

• 1/2 lb hamburger meat (I used 80/20)
• 1/4 + 2 Tbsp cooked Quinoa 
• 1/8 cup grated carrot
• 1/8 cup grated zucchini
• 1 Tbsp gluten free ketchup
• 1/2 Tbsp minced garlic
• 1 Tbsp dried onion flakes (or 1/8 cup finely diced onion)
• 1/2 Tbsp gluten free soy sauce
• 1/4 tsp ground pepper
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/8 tsp dried oregano
• 1/8 tsp dried thyme
• 1 egg, beaten

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Directions: 

1. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F and line a cookie sheet with parchment or some heat-proof liner. 
2. Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. 
3. Using a cookie scooper, place the mounds onto your prepared cookie sheet spacing at least 2 inches apart. 

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4.    Bake for 15 minutes. Allow them to cool for a minute then carefully remove the "oozed" edge for the meatball and then serve! 

Store leftovers tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. 

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