Delicious gluten-free appetizer meatballs that are perfect for parties or dinner. These tender meatballs are full of flavor and are covered with zesty and sweet barbeque sauce. The beauty of this recipe is that you can bake them all at once or freeze some or all of them for later.
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This was another one of our family’s favorite recipes that had to be updated to be gluten-free and dairy-free. We had too many sweet memories of enjoying these as a family to leave them behind.
If you decide to freeze them, you’ll be so happy with yourself later on when all you have to do is pull them out of the freezer and place them in a baking pan, mix up the sauce, and pop them in the oven.
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Ingredients
- Beef – Whenever possible, try to get grass-fed beef. For the best price on grass-fed beef, I buy from a local farmer. But I’ve also found it at my local grocery stores, Meijer and Aldi.
- Gluten-Free Bread Crumbs – You can make bread crumbs by putting torn-up pieces of bread into a food processor and pulse until it’s all crumbs. You can use soft bread or bread that’s been left out to dry; either is fine. Use your favorite gluten-free bread. My favorite brand is Canyon Bakehouse.
- Unsweetened Almond or Cashew Milk
- Ketchup – Use ketchup that is gluten-free and free of high fructose corn syrup. I use Walmart’s Great Value Organic Ketchup or Thrive’s.
- Liquid Smoke – This is strong stuff, so don’t add more than the recipe calls for. It’s basically bottled smoke to give a smoky BBQ flavor to foods. A couple of brands that are labeled gluten-free are Stubb’s Hickory Smoke and Lazy Kettle Brand. You might be able to find these locally for less.
- chopped onion, eggs, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper.
Instructions
The easiest way to make meatballs is by using a stand mixer, but you can also do this by hand. If doing it by hand, you can use rubber gloves if desired and just get in there and mix it all up.
When using a stand mixer, put all the meatball ingredients in the bowl and mix, then add the beef and mix. That way, your breadcrumbs won’t go flying out everywhere. Trust me on that one.
Once all the meatball mixture is thoroughly combined use either your hands or a cookie scoop to measure out walnut-sized meatballs. You’ll need to decide if you’re going to bake all of them at once or freeze them.
If baking these all at once, you’ll need to place them in a single layer in a large baking pan that has sides. Cover them with the sauce and bake for 1 hour at 350°
If baking a portion of them, place the meatballs in a single layer in a 9×13-inch casserole dish. Cover with the sauce and bake for 1 hour at 350°
Storage and freezing
Store any leftovers in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
To freeze the meatballs, place them a little bit apart from each other on a baking pan that will fit in your freezer. You can also line the pan with parchment paper for easy removal once they’re frozen. Freeze for a couple of hours, take them out of the freezer, and place the meatballs in a freezer bag. They can be frozen for 2-3 months.
More gluten-free recipes you’ll love
Gluten-Free Appetizer Meatballs (Dairy-Free)
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 75 meatballs 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Oven
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Serve up these Gluten-Free Appetizer Meatballs at your next party or Dinner. Can be made ahead and frozen for an easy no-fuss dinner.
Ingredients
- 3 lbs ground beef (grass-fed if possible)
- 1 ½ cup almond or cashew milk
- 2 cups gluten-free bread crumbs
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup chopped onion
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon pepper
Sauce for 9×13 casserole dish:
- 2 cups ketchup
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon liquid smoke
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ cup chopped onion
Sauce for a large pan with all the meatballs:
- 2 ½ cups ketchup
- 1 ¼ cups brown sugar
- ¾ teaspoon liquid smoke
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ cup chopped onion
Instructions
- The easiest way to make meatballs is to use a stand mixer, but you can also do this by hand. If you do it by hand, you can wear rubber gloves if you prefer and just get in there and mix it all up.
- When using a stand mixer, put all the meatball ingredients in the bowl and mix, then add the beef and mix. That way, your breadcrumbs won’t go flying out everywhere. Trust me on that one.
- Once all the meatball mixture is thoroughly combined, use a cookie scoop to measure out walnut-sized meatballs.
- If baking these all at once, you’ll need to place them in a single layer in a large baking pan that has sides. Cover them with the sauce and bake for 1 hour at 350°
- If baking a portion of them, place the meatballs in a single layer in a 9×13-inch casserole dish. (freeze the remaining meatballs) Cover with the sauce and bake for 1 hour at 350°
To freeze the meatballs:
- Place them a little bit apart from each other on a baking pan that will fit in your freezer. You can also line the pan with parchment paper for easy removal once they’re frozen.
- Freeze for a couple of hours, take them out of the freezer, and place the meatballs in a freezer bag. They can be frozen for 2-3 months.
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