With these delicious meatballs, quinoa takes the place of breadcrumbs, adding both texture and protein. Pair these with your favorite sauce and pasta for a healthier spaghetti!
In my experience, you either love quinoa or you hate it. Our house is split with five of us for it, and one grump against the delightful pseudo-grain (not me). 🙂
While the grump shall remain nameless, let’s just say that when quinoa is hidden in these meatballs, there are no complaints from him!
In addition to adding the meatballs to spaghetti, I really enjoy eating them as snacks. The quinoa adds a nice dose of complex carbs, and I love knowing I’m also getting a few veggies with each bite.
Try these paired with marinara sauce and pasta or even spaghetti squash for a lower carb meal.
Beef and Quinoa Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- ¾ cup cooked quinoa
- 1 small carrot finely shredded
- ½ cup zucchini finely shredded
- 3 Tablespoons red onion chopped
- 3 large garlic cloves minced
- 1 large egg lightly beaten
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 Tablespoons fresh parsley
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Gently mix everything together in a large bowl (by hand is best).
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Form the meat into 16 balls and place them on the cookie sheet.
- Bake for 14-17 minutes (they should be browning on top).
Notes
Nutrition
These are great for adults and kids, and they work really well paired with whole wheat pasta, spaghetti squash, or zucchini noodles…
Add in your favorite marinara sauce, and you’ve got one delicious and healthy meal!
Haha, I read that joke and it totally just flew right over my head. I guess I don’t know enough firefighters :p
These meatballs sound fantastic!
Hah! Basically a lot of days for them are spent on their booties playing Xbox or watching TV. Just trying to poke fun at the guys I know! I was just checking out your blog when I got this! Too funny!
wow this is smart to use qunioa:)
Yeah, it tastes great and it bumps up the protein a lot!
Wishing you a peaceful Memorial Day Weekend and thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.
Come Back Soon,
Miz Helen
Quinoa makes everything better! YUM Thanks for linking up at our Gluten Free Fridays party! I have tweeted and pinned your entry to our Gluten Free Fridays board on Pinterest! 🙂
Can’t wait to see what you are bringing to the party this week! We have another GREAT giveaway!
Cindy from vegetarianmamma.com
Not to ask a dumb question, but is that 94 calories PER meatball, or per serving size of 16? These look wonderful.
Not dumb at all! The nutrition info is set up a little weird…it’s PER meatball, and the recipe makes about 16, obviously depending on how big you make them. 😀
I wonder if this recipe could be doubled to make a meatloaf?
I think it’d be worth a shot! 🙂 Or maybe miniature muffin cup meatloafs?…
Love meatballs and quinoa, pair with carrot noodles and marinara!?!! Serving size 16 meatballs should be corrected 😉
Haha, yes! They would go very well with carrot noodles. Thanks for the correction tip too! 🙂