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Oven Roasted Quinoa Meatballs Recipe

June 2, 2014 by Jeanette 17 Comments

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Oven Roasted Quinoa Meatballs © Jeanette's Healthy Living

I don’t think I’ve met a kid that doesn’t like meatballs and sauce. There are different ways to cook meatballs – some folks pan fry them, others cook them right in the sauce without any browning, and in this case, I oven roasted these meatballs.

Although cooking meatballs directly in sauce is the leanest way to cook them since no oil is needed and results in a nice soft meatball, I think pan frying meatballs yields a nice outer crust, more flavor and a little more texture. Oven roasting provides the best of both worlds – a bit of browning with minimal oil and a tender meatball.

Recently, I came across a recipe for quinoa meatballs on Cooking Light and also in an Food & Wine issue. Both recipes mix cooked whole quinoa in with the meatball mixture, which is a great idea, but I didn’t think my boys would go for it, so I blended the quinoa before mixing it into the meatball mix.

Oven Roasted Quinoa Meatballs © Jeanette's Healthy Living

Topped with some sauce and cheese and melted together, these Oven Roasted Quinoa Meatballs went over well with my boys and I loved the fact that they had some extra nutrition from the quinoa.

Print

Oven Roasted Quinoa Meatballs

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings 6

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups cooked red quinoa
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1/2 cup parsley
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3/4 pound organic lean ground beef
  • 3/4 pound antibiotic free ground turkey
  • 3/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese plus more for garnish
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 1/2 cups marinara sauce
  • fresh parsley finely chopped

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees; grease 9x9 baking pan with olive oil. Place quinoa, garlic, parsley and eggs in food processor and process until almost smooth. Pour into a mixing bowl and mix well with ground meats, 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, thyme, oregano, salt and pepper. Form into large meatballs, about 2 1/2 inches in diameter. Place in oiled baking dish and roast for 25 minutes or until just cooked through. Drain off excess cooking liquid. Spoon marinara sauce on top and bake until sauce is hot, about 5-10 minutes. Sprinkle with more Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley.

Recipe Notes

Adapted from Food & Wine.

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Filed Under: Clean Eating, Dinner, gluten-free, main courses, whole grain Tagged With: glutenfree meatballs, meatballs, quinoa

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Comments

  1. Shashi @ RunninSrilankan says

    June 2, 2014 at 5:03 am

    You are so right – I don’t think I’ve met a kid who didn’t like meatballs! Love this version with the added fiber and protein of quinoa snuck in – thanks for sharing this recipe Jeanette

    Reply
  2. Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) says

    June 2, 2014 at 6:40 am

    Love swapping in quinoa for bread crumbs!

    Reply
    • Jeanette says

      June 3, 2014 at 10:35 am

      I agree Lydia – it works great!

      Reply
  3. Christine from Cook the Story says

    June 2, 2014 at 10:23 am

    These sound delicious, and I love the quinoa in them!

    Reply
    • Jeanette says

      June 3, 2014 at 10:35 am

      Thanks Christine!

      Reply
  4. EA-The Spicy RD says

    June 2, 2014 at 11:40 pm

    My kids and hubby will NEVER turn down spaghetti and meatballs! These look delicious and I love your idea to blend the quinoa mixture first. Making soon!!

    Reply
    • Jeanette says

      June 3, 2014 at 10:36 am

      EA – I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like spaghetti and meatballs!

      Reply
  5. Kelly says

    June 3, 2014 at 12:43 am

    My lil man is a sucker for meatballs and sauce. I love that you snuck in some quinoa in these! Such a great idea – they sound amazing!

    Reply
    • Jeanette says

      June 3, 2014 at 10:36 am

      Kelly – these are a great way to get kids to eat quinoa 🙂

      Reply
  6. Olivia - Primavera Kitchen says

    June 3, 2014 at 5:11 pm

    These look so good, Jeanette. I’ve gotta try this recipe because I love quinoa and also meatball. Great combination 😉

    Reply
  7. Terra says

    June 3, 2014 at 8:06 pm

    Oh my word, these meatballs look fabulous! I love this recipe, and they would be perfectly complimented with some gluten free pasta! 🙂 Yum, Hugs, Terra

    Reply
  8. Ami@NaiveCookCooks says

    June 4, 2014 at 9:43 pm

    I like the idea of using quinoa in meatball!! Genius!

    Reply
  9. Nami | Just One Cookbook says

    June 5, 2014 at 2:51 am

    So happy to get another great idea of using quinoa! Never thought of putting in the meatballs! Love getting all kinds of new way to use quinoa from you!

    Reply
  10. Jeanette | Jeanette's Healthy Living says

    June 6, 2014 at 4:32 pm

    Thanks everyone – meatballs are always a favorite so it’s a great way to sneak in some healthy quinoa 😉

    Reply
  11. Jessica says

    June 24, 2014 at 10:46 am

    What a great idea! I recently made quinoa burgers and they were delicious so I can only imagine how great quinoa meatballs would be – wondering if you could do all quinoa instead of turkey and beef… YUM!!

    http://spoonfulsofpeanutbutter.com/

    Reply
    • Jeanette says

      June 30, 2014 at 8:37 am

      Quinoa burgers sound great Jessica – you could substitute turkey/beef with some mashed beans to help hold the mixture together.

      Reply
  12. Alice @ Hip Foodie Mom says

    October 17, 2014 at 7:18 am

    Jeanette, I’ve been wanting to try quinoa meatballs for the longest time!!! Pinned and this dish looks sooooo good! And blending the quinoa is a fabulous idea!!!

    Reply

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Hi! I'm Jeanette - welcome! Step into my kitchen, where you'll find healthy dishes packed with flavor and goodness.

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