Happy Meatball Monday Peeps! It feels like ages since I’ve posted as we’ve been on vacation for the last two weeks! We returned to CT for the first time in 2 years for a wedding, and stayed to visit family and friends. In 13 days we traveled through 12 different states and slept in 5 different places – it was exhausting and awesome all at the same time!
While away, my laptop died and my phone went on the fritz as well, so I wasn’t in touch as much as I planned to be. Now that I’m back and getting used to my new computer (and Windows 8 – UGH), I have tons to catch up on, starting with this delicious Asian inspired low carb and gluten free meatball recipe!
This version is made with chicken, but you could easily substitute turkey, beef, or even pork with excellent results. The meatballs themselves are tasty, but this recipe is all about the sauce. I especially loved how it soaked into the broccoli – so much so that I’d make this with just the broccoli in the absence of meatballs. It’s that good!
In fact, I might make the broccoli and sauce again this week since I’m getting back on low carb and gluten free wagon after two weeks of indulgence. I can’t wait either, my body is NOT happy with me at all! My tendonitis and back pain has returned, not to mention the bloating, puffy face, lack of energy and digestive issues that I’m dealing with. As an added bonus, I gained seven pounds which I’m hoping to drop relatively quickly when I quit fooling around and get serious again.
I’m not going to say it was worth it necessarily, but I’m not beating myself up over it too much. I am looking forward to getting back on plan and feeling good again this week – though I’m dreading the 3 – 5 day gluten detox of headaches and fatigue that are inevitable. I promise not to complain though – I did it to myself after all!
One thing I’m not at all concerned about is whether or not I’ll have something delicious on hand to eat! I’ve already got buffalo wings, cobb salad, cauliflower puree, and meatballs alla parmigiana in the works to get back into the swing. One of these days I’ll have to share my 3-day meal plan for getting back into ketosis FAST when you’ve been cheating and need to get back in gear. It’s foolproof and painless, and I’ve done it more times than I can count!
For now though I highly recommend making these fantastic meatballs ASAP! They are super delicious and a complete meal that comes together in just minutes!
Chicken and Broccoli Meatball Recipe – Low Carb and Gluten Free
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
A low carb and gluten free meatball recipe inspired by the classic Chinese takeout dish Chicken and Broccoli.
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
- 1 lb ground chicken or turkey
- 1/4 cup almond flour
- 1 egg
- 1 Tbsp gluten free soy sauce or coconut aminos
- 1/2 tsp ginger powder
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 Tbsp minced scallions
- 1 Tbsp olive oil for frying
For the sauce:
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1/4 cup gluten free soy sauce or coconut aminos
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
- 1 Tbsp granulated sugar substitute
- 4 cups frozen broccoli florets, thawed
Instructions
- Combine all of the meatball ingredients except the olive oil and mix thoroughly. Form into 16 meatballs. Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick pan and fry the meatballs until golden brown on all sides and cooked through. Remove the meatballs from the pan and set aside. Add the sesame oil, soy sauce, onion powder, red pepper flakes, water, xanthan gum and sugar substitute to the pan you cooked the meatballs in. Whisk until smooth and bring to a boil. Add the broccoli and meatballs back to the pan and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 5 – 8 minutes or until the broccoli is bright green and tender. Serve hot.
Notes
Approximate nutrition info per serving: 322 calories, 20g fat, 4.75g net carbs, 27g protein
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4 meatballs & 1 cup broccoli
For more great low carb meatball recipes, you can now find my entire catalog of Meatball Monday posts in the Recipe Index!
Calvin says
Really healthy meatballs! Cool idea
Margot C says
This is a marvelous dish and you can spice up or down for kids or (in our house anyway) hot spicy food loving men.
Melinda says
Is there a problem substituting ground beef in some of the ground chicken/turkey meatball recipes and staying good on the Keto plan?
Ashley says
These should be called amaze-balls! Yum!
Vicki says
Just made this tonite for dinner … this was ssoooo good. Will definitely be adding this to one of my go-to recipes. Thanks so much.
Valerie says
We made these for dinner tonight and it was really great. I put mine on top of a bit of cauliflower rice so I could eat all the sauce. Very, very good!
Stephanie Wagner says
So so good!! Husband approved too!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Yay! :)