Healthy Meatballs with Tomato Basil Sauce

When I was home in Kansas City a couple of months ago, my mom made some of the most delicious meatballs. This is one of my absolute favorite childhood meals and something I find myself craving often.

Since then, it's been on my list to create a healthy meatball recipe of my own, and I can't tell you how easy and satisfying this one is! I've whipped up these Healthy Meatballs with Tomato Basil Sauce several times for myself and my husband, and I have to say they've been a hit.

And considering I legitimately made this again last night and am enjoying leftovers for lunch as I write this, I can honestly say it hits the spot just as much the next day.

For the best flavor, I really like using both ground turkey and beef, but you can certainly just use turkey if you're not a red meat fan.

Grass fed beef is always what I look for as it's packed with B vitamins and higher in vitamins A and E and antioxidants compared to grain fed beef.

Plus, to make these meatballs doable for my gluten free friends, I use coconut flour as a binder, and it works great.

As for the spices, oregano, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, fresh basil, salt and pepper do the trick. You can always play around with the quantities and make it to your own taste and preference.

I personally found that using a large cast iron skillet worked well for this recipe. We have one from Le Creuset that I absolutely adore and use almost daily!

While the meatballs are cooking, whip up some pasta of choice - whatever you have in your pantry will work just great.

If you're looking for a healthier, gluten-free option, though, I encourage you to give the Jovial Foods brown rice pasta a try! I personally really like the texture of this one as it holds up better than some of the other gluten free options which can get mushy.

I love to serve the pasta and meatballs with a side of something green like steamed or roasted broccoli or a green salad.

This recipe can be both a simple weeknight meal the whole family will love as well as a main course fit for guests. Let me know if you give it a try!

YIELDS: 4 servings

Ingredients

• Pasta of choice - I've been loving the Jovial Foods brown rice pasta
• Parmesan cheese and additional basil for topping (optional)
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Meatballs

• 1 lb grass fed ground beef
• 1 lb organic ground turkey
• 1/3 cup coconut flour
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp dijon mustard
• 3 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 tsp dried oregano (or sub for Italian seasoning)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground black pepper

Tomato Basil Sauce

• 1 jar (24 oz) pasta sauce of choice
• 1/3 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped
• 1/2 - 1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional, depending on preference)

Directions

1. To a bowl, add all of the meatball ingredients. Use a spatula or your hands to combine everything together completely.
2. Roll into ~20 meatballs.
3. Add olive oil to a large cast iron pan over medium-high heat.
4. Place the meatballs in the pan, and cook for about a minute on all sides. You just want to get them brown - they don't need to be cooked completely through.
5. To your pan, add sauce, fresh basil and red pepper flakes. Stir gently and cover the meatballs in the sauce.
6. Turn heat down to low, and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, make pasta according to package directions.
8. Serve meatballs and sauce over your cooked pasta and top with parmesan and basil, if using. Enjoy!