OK, guys, let’s talk about something I’ve been messing around with in the kitchen lately: gluten-free, dairy-free chicken meatballs. You know, I’ve been trying to eat a bit healthier, cutting out some stuff, and this is one of the things I cooked up.
So, first off, I grabbed about a pound of ground chicken. Just regular stuff from the grocery store. I dumped that into a big bowl, because, you know, you need space to mix things up. Then I chopped up like half an onion. Not super fine, just small enough so you don’t get a huge chunk of onion in a meatball.
Next, I threw in a couple of cloves of garlic. I love garlic, so I might have gone a bit heavy, but you do you. I just minced them up real good and tossed them in. For spices, I kept it simple: salt, pepper, some dried oregano, and a bit of basil. I didn’t measure, just eyeballed it. A good pinch of each, I guess.
Now, here’s the trick to keep them gluten-free: instead of breadcrumbs, I used almond flour. About half a cup did the trick. It gives the meatballs a nice texture, I think. And for a binder, since we’re not using egg, I just put in a bit of dairy-free milk. Any kind works, I used unsweetened almond milk. Just a splash, maybe a quarter cup?
After that, I got my hands dirty. I mixed everything together until it was all combined. You don’t want to overmix it, though, or the meatballs can get tough. Then I rolled them into little balls. I made them about an inch, maybe a bit bigger. You can make them whatever size you like.
- Cooking time! I heated up some olive oil in a big pan over medium heat.
- Once the oil was hot, I carefully placed the meatballs in the pan.
- I didn’t overcrowd them because I wanted them to brown nicely.
- I cooked them for about 5-7 minutes on each side. They should be golden brown and cooked all the way through.
I made a simple tomato sauce to go with them. Just canned crushed tomatoes, a bit of garlic, and some more of those Italian herbs. I let that simmer while the meatballs were cooking. And that’s pretty much it! I served the meatballs over some zucchini noodles, but you can use whatever you like. Pasta, rice, whatever floats your boat. They’re pretty versatile, these meatballs.
Honestly, they turned out great. They were juicy, flavorful, and you wouldn’t even know they were gluten-free and dairy-free. My family loved them, and they’re pretty easy to make, so it’s a win-win. I’ll definitely be making these again.
I’ve made this dish a few times since the first experiment, tweaking things here and there. Once I added some grated carrots into the mix for extra veggies. Another time I used ground turkey instead of chicken, also turned out great. It’s a pretty forgiving recipe, so you can play around with it.
Anyways, that’s my little kitchen adventure for today. Hope you guys give it a try!