Meat Cookies (AKA Baked Meatballs)

Meatballs are the best, am I right? However you choose to prepare them: with gluten free pasta, with pesto and veggies, or over cauliflower rice, meatballs can be super easy to prepare. These “meat cookies” are just baked meatballs you can use for a main entrée or pop as a protein rick power snack.

I love baked meatballs, but most contain egg or breadcrumbs. If you have an autoimmune condition, you might need to avoid gluten and egg, but don’t despair; you can still have meatballs. It’s easy to whip up a batch that excludes eggs, bread, and even nightshades. If you’re ok with eggs, use them for extra nutrients!

Even better, you can bake these meatballs for ease of prep so you don’t have to pan-fry in batches!

Baked meatballs are easy to make and require little cleanup. I recommend a combo of pork and beef or pork and lamb. Ground beef and lamb offer a wonderful array of nutrients like zinc, l-carnitine, B vitamins, iron, and protein. These meatballs also have veggies and spices for added nutrients.

Meat Cookies AKA Baked Meatballs

YOU NEED:

1 pound ground lamb, beef, turkey or pork
2-3 slices bacon, diced.
1 small shredded sweet potato
1 cup diced mushrooms
1-2 diced garlic cloves
sea salt and pepper to taste
*spices: I added 1tsp of cumin, which pairs well with lamb, but you could add any slice profile like Italian seasoning, cayenne, chipotle, etc.
NOTE: you could also sneak some liver into this for extra nutrients too.

YOU NEED TO:

Preheat oven to 375 and prep all ingredients. Dice bacon and add to cold skillet, then cook until mostly done. Mix everything together with your hands until well incorporated. Form into cookie-sized balls and place on cookie sheet covered with parchment. Bake for about 20 minutes (check after 15), then remove and let cool. Eat them alone (like I did), as breakfast “sausages,” atop greens, or mix with your sauce of choice to top zucchini noodle “pasta.”

Enjoy.