Being Italian, I grew up eating pasta and meatballs every Sunday. But when I became gluten free, I could never find the right bread crumbs to make them taste right. My  oldest son also couldn’t have any egg, so my meatballs would never stay together. Now that he can have baked egg, I’m catching up on some things I’ve always wanted to make. Gluten free Italian meatballs were definitely on the list. 

After some trial and error I discovered Jeff Nathan Creations Panko breadcrumbs and I absolutely love them. But since you don’t use Panko breadcrumbs in meatballs I put them in the blender with my grated dairy free Violife parmesan and blend them together into a really fine crumb. 

Here’s what you need: 

• 2 lb lean ground beef (I buy grass fed) 
• 1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup dairy free parmesan 
• 2 egg
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup cold water
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

Mix all ingredients in a bowl until combined. Roll the beef mixture into balls (the number will depend on the size meatball you want). Place them on a foil lined baking sheet and bake them at 400 for 20-25 minutes. 

I made about 20 gluten free Italian meatballs with this recipe. You can cut it in half, but that barely gets us enough as a family of four. I was able to save some in an air tight container for later in the week. I used them to make meatball sandwiches and as as a topping on pizza. I know, right?

We used to have an employee at our restaurant make his own pizza at the end of every shift. One night he came up with this idea to put meatball and pepperoni on his pizza. We all laughed, but oh wow! it was so so good. 

I would love to hear how you like these meatballs. Another popular breadcrumb I hear a lot about is 4C brand. I haven’t tried it myself, but it’s on my list. 

What is your go-to gluten free breadcrumbs?