Quinoa Broccoli Meatballs EggFree / Dairy Free / Gluten Free +9M

No doubt, meatballs are one of the easiest recipes to satisfy a picky eater and sneak in some veggies without complaints 😉

I’ve been rolling and rolling meatballs for my kids since they were little, any kind…meat/chicken/fish/veggie only. Pan fried or baked, with sauce or whiteout sauce. It’s always a win + win situation = kids happy + mama happy!

Today’s recipe is one of the latest I’ve been preparing for my family with thumbs up from both kids (yeah!!) Quinoa Beef and Sausage Meatballs with Broccoli in Marinara Sauce, pan fried. No Eggs, No Gluten.

From a nutritional point of view, this is a complete meal for your little ones: high protein and fiber content, good source of vitamins, minerals (IRON!!!) and antioxidants. Not bad for one small ball!!

An interesting fact about quinoa: being very high in fiber, it results as a natural laxative for your baby. It smooths the bowel movement and reduces gas, keeping your baby’s digestive system healthy!

Considering the ingredients (mainly the amount of fiber in the recipe) I would suggest this recipes for babies starting from 9/10 months of age as it might be a bit difficult to digest for a younger digestive system.

Also, the texture is very soft and even little ones can easily chew the meatballs with their gums 🙂

These meatballs have two big yummy features: they are super tasty (yes, thanks to the sausage..) and super moist (thanks to the broccoli/quinoa mix).

The procedure is simple (you know me..) but it takes some time (a good hour total). So, when I prepare this recipe, I usually make a big batch (the quantities below are for a double family meal of 4 people), I cook half and I freeze the other half for crazy dinner nights.

Simply start cooking the quinoa. The recipe requires 1 1/2 cup cooked quinoa. I cooked 1 Cup quinoa in 2 Cups water obtaining 3 cups cooked quinoa. I used half for the recipe and half for a salad at lunch.

Rinse the quinoa very well under running water to remove any debris. Place the quinoa in a saucepan with some water (usually the proportion is 2 Cups water every 1 Cup dry quinoa, but follow the packaging instructions). Bring to boil, reduce the heat to simmer, cover and cook for 12 min (check the cooking time on the packaging, it may vary).

At the same time clean the broccoli florets and steam them for 10 min.

In a food processor blend the steamed broccoli with the cooked quinoa and the garlic to obtain a grainy consistency.

Transfer the quinoa/broccoli mix in a big bowl. Add the ground beef, the sausages and the turmeric. Mix with a fork at the beginning and use your hands (I use some gloves) to combine everything together very well. You can always use a food processor to mix everything together, I simply didn’t want to wash another piece of equipment, hi hi!

Create small meatballs with your hands, the size of 1 Tablespoon.

In a large pan add 4 tablespoons of Extra Vigin Olive Oil, heat for 1 min and than add the meatballs. Cook them at medium heat for 5 minutes to brown them nicely on all sides.


Reduce the heat to minimum and add either the fresh tomatoes chopped OR the tomato sauce + water like I did in the video. Gently stir. Adjust with a pinch of salt (skip the salt if you are cooking for a baby under 12 months. You can always add the salt later for the adults!), cover and simmer for 15 min turning the meatballs few times.

If you want to bake the meatballs simply place them in a baking sheet lined with some parchment paper, one next to the other without touching. Drizzle some Extra Virgin Olive Oil on top and bake in preheated oven at 400F/180C for 20/25 min., flip once. Add 5 more minutes at the end in broil/grill mode to get that nice golden color. Prepare the marinara sauce while the meatballs are baking and coat the meatballs with it once they are cooked.

4 from 1 vote
Quinoa Broccoli Meatballs in Marinara sauce +9M
Ingredients
  • 1 head broccoli. Florets only
  • 1 1/2 cup cooked quinoa
  • 4 sweet Italian Sausages
  • 1 lb organic ground beef
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 2 teaspoons turmeric
  • pinch salt (skip for babies under 12 months)
  • 4 cups fresh tomatoes chopped OR
  • 2 cups tomato sauce + 2 cups water
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil extra virgin
Instructions
  1. Rinse the quinoa very well under running water to remove any debris. 

  2. Place the quinoa in a saucepan with the water, bring to boil, reduce the heat to simmer, cover and cook for 12 min.

  3. Clean the broccoli florets and steam them for 10 min.

  4. In a food processor blend the steamed broccoli with the cooked quinoa and the garlic to obtain a grainy consistency.

  5. Transfer the quinoa/broccoli mix in a big bowl. Add the ground beef, the sausages and the turmeric. Combine everything together very well. 

  6. Create small meatballs. One meatball = one tablespoon of mix.

  7. In a large pan add 4 tablespoons of Extra Vigin Olive Oil, heat for 1 min and than add the meatballs. Cook them at medium heat for 5 minutes to brown them nicely on all sides.

  8. Reduce the heat to minimum and add the fresh tomatoes OR the tomato sauce + water. Adjust with a pinch of salt (skip the salt if you are cooking for a baby under 12 months. Cover and simmer for 15 min turning the meatballs few times.

 

8 Comments

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  • Reply
    Svetlana
    December 30, 2018 at 2:38 am

    Hi, what is an approximate total weight of sweet Italian Sausages? They look smaller than those I get and I would like to get proportions right. Thank you!

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      Barbara Lamperti
      December 30, 2018 at 11:25 pm

      Hello my dear! Each sausage is about 100gr, so for the whole recipe you will need approx 400gr. Let me know if you like the meatballs 🙂 Thank you, ciao! b

  • Reply
    Bec
    November 10, 2020 at 4:01 am

    Is there something I can substitute for the sausages?

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      Barbara Lamperti
      November 18, 2020 at 7:33 pm

      Hi Bec, sure, you can substitute the sausage with the same amount of ground beef or you can skip it to reduce the overall meat amount and have a 1:1 veggie to meat ratio. Both ways work well 🙂 Ciao, b.

    • Reply
      Jenn
      June 21, 2023 at 8:55 am

      I tried making this today but the meatballs all fall apart, they didn’t hold together and it just became a mushy mess. What went wrong??

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        Barbara Lamperti
        October 17, 2023 at 11:47 pm

        Uhh, sorry to hear that. My first guess is that the broccoli were too watery. Few suggestions should it happen again. You can add a few tablespoons breadcrumbs, it will act as a glue. You can refrigerate the mix before forming the balls for 20/30min (or in the freezer for 10 min). The cold will solidify the fat in the meat and you will compact the mix. I hope it helps! Ciao, B

  • Reply
    Ashley
    August 8, 2023 at 7:01 pm

    I loved these, but mine fell apart
    To be fair, my quinoa may have been overcooked; so maybe that affected the turnout?

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      Barbara Lamperti
      October 17, 2023 at 11:49 pm

      Hi Ashley, yes, it might have been either the quinoa or the broccoli too wet. Should it happen again add some breadcrumbs (they will act as a glue) or refrigerate the mix to make it more compact. You can also add 1 Tbsp chia or ground flaxseeds, they both have a bonding effect and they also provide extra nutrients for the kids. I hope it helps, ciao. B

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