My kids have always loved meatballs. When I decided to go on My Whole30 Journey, I knew that I’d need quick and easy Whole30 meatballs that I could make for the whole family.
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Anytime I can sneak a few veggies into my kids’ dinner, I will! My four year old loves helping me in the kitchen and he’s more likely to eat dinner if he helps prepare the food. He’s become quite the helper and loves forming the meatballs into “golf balls.”
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For this recipe I combined 1 pound of ground beef, 1 pound of ground pork, garlic powder, and oregano into a large bowl for mixing. My kids love getting their freshly washed hands in there to help combine the ingredients. Next I chopped my onion, fresh garlic, and fresh basil, and I shredded my carrots in the food processor. We added these veggies to our meat mixture and started forming our meatballs.
We baked our meatballs at 350 degrees for 30 minutes and then put them in the sauce over the stove top. I used this Marinara Sauce from Make With Your Hands.
I went ahead and made some zucchini noodles with my Veggie Spiral Slicer to finish off the meal! Place the spiraled zucchini in a skillet over medium heat with a little olive oil and salt and pepper.
The finished product was a delicious meal that everybody enjoyed. My kids not only ate a healthy dinner, but loved participating in the process from start to finish!
If you’re looking for more delicious Whole30 meals, you may want to try our
and our Chicken Stir Fry with Spicy Mayo Dressing.
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Easy Whole30 Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 lb Ground Beef
- 1 lb Ground Pork
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1.5 teaspoon Oregano
- 1 Onion, diced
- 3 Garlic Cloves, diced
- 1 cup Fresh Basil
- 3 Carrots, peeled and shredded
Instructions
- Combine ground beef, ground pork, garlic powder, and oregano.
- Chop onion, garlic, and fresh basil; and shred carrots in food processor.
- Combine veggies and spices with meat mixture.
- Roll into golf ball sized meatballs.
- Bake 350 for 30 minutes.
- Place meatballs in sauce on the stovetop for 10 minutes and then serve.
8 Comments
Hello – I have a question (or3) on the Whole30 program. I need a super simple menu that doesn’t have any unusual foods and mixtures on it. I have one child that wont eat chicken, turkey, pork – not even chicken nuggets altho I finally found nuggets in the health food store with no preservatives that she actually will eat. I’m thinking she has a sensory issue and that is why I need simple meals for us (she has sensory issues with other things as well). My budget means I eat what the kids eat but I would like to improve the nutrition of what we are eating. Thank heavens she will eat most veggies.
My question is – do your kids eat your whole 30 foods pretty good (I’m sure you don’t make a separate meal for them and they eat what you serve which is what I do as well)? I have found some healthier foods like this extra chunky veggie sauce (http://bit.ly/1Q2qdGd) that I use a lot in place of sauces & salsas. I’m right that I can’t use this sauce tho because of the sugar in it? Are there any prepared foods like this that I can use for convenience?
Last question – have you made these meatballs without pork? Can chicken be used? I rarely eat pork at all – I find it makes things to spicy.
Thank you – I’m new to the whole 30 thing and I’m finding it very overwhelming!
Hi Tina,
Thanks for stopping by! When I did my Whole30 cycle my kids ate much healthier, however… No they didn’t do the whole program with me. I’d make things like these meatballs (and yes, you could use ground chicken for sure instead), I’d serve theirs over pasta and mine over spaghetti squash. So it wasn’t a completely different meal, but I’d give them either a slice of bread or tortilla with their meals most days.
In regards to the sauce that you linked… You are right- it’s not whole30 because of the sugar in it. If you don’t want to make a spaghetti sauce from scratch, I’d check whole foods or trader joes to see if they have anything without sugar. I know what you mean about convenience! It was the hardest thing about whole30 for me! Good luck to you on your whole30 journey!! Just take it one day at a time and prep as much as you can ahead of time.
I just started whole30 with my hubby Jan. 1, 2016. We were wondering what to do with a lb of ground beef and I found your recipe! It was a huge hit! I’m a veggie but my dh and three sons eat meat and they want me to put this in regular rotation:). Oh and the house smelled great as it was cooking!
I’m so glad! Thanks for stopping by and good luck on your journey this month!
can I freeze these? pre cooked, or already cooked?
You can freeze either way, Liz, whatever you prefer! Happy cooking!
no salt???
You could definitely add salt to taste!