Quinoa Meatballs

What You Need:

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 1/3 pounds lean ground beef
• ½ cup quinoa, cooked in gluten free chicken or vegetable stock
• ½ cup onion, finely chopped
• ¼ cup carrots, grated
• ¼ cup zucchini, grated
• 2 large cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley, chopped
• 2 tablespoons gluten-free ketchup
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce (Lee & Perrins is gluten free)
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• ½ cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, freshly grated

What You Do:

1. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
2. Line a baking pan with foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray.
3. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a pan over medium heat and sauté the onion and garlic until the onion is translucent. Remove the pan from the heat and let it cool to room temperature.
4. In a large bowl, stir together all of the ingredients, except the beef and cheese.
5. Mix in the beef by hand and make sure all ingredients are combined well.
6. Form meatballs by rolling small amounts of meat mixture in the palm of your hand. They should be about the size of a golf ball. This recipe yields about 22 to 24 miniature meatballs.
7. Bake the meatballs for approximately 12-14 minutes.

Serve these scrumptious meatballs with your favorite marinara sauce on a bed of gluten-free pasta. Wondering what to do with leftover cooked quinoa and veggies? Whip up our Quick Quinoa Scramble.