Classic Spaghetti and Meatballs (Gluten-Free)
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Classic Spaghetti and Meatballs make for a delicious and comforting meal. These meatballs are seasoned to perfection and so juicy. Easy and flavorful pasta sauce served over spaghetti and meatballs and topped with extra parmesan cheese. Gluten-free spaghetti and meatballs, made with extra nutrients for one healthy dish.
Classic Spaghetti and Meatballs (Gluten-Free)
When it comes to comforting and delicious meals, spaghetti and meatballs is right on top of the list. It’s just so satisfying, filling and can actually be pretty nutrient-dense. You could never go wrong with a large pot of Classic Spaghetti and Meatballs.
This recipe adds a few ingredients that not only add flavor to the overall dish, but they also add more nutritional value. The meatballs are made with almond flour making them gluten-free. This recipe also calls for gluten-free pasta making the whole meal allergy friendly. Don’t skip the tips below on how to perfectly cook gluten-free pasta.
What pasta goes with meatballs:
You can serve any kind of pasta you wish to with meatballs. The most common and classic way to serve meatballs is with spaghetti and sauce.
Can I use reserved pasta water with gluten-free pasta?
Reserved pasta water is the water that the pasta is cooked in. Some of this water can be reserved and added to the sauce you’re making for your pasta. This water adds flavor to the sauce and also helps thicken in. The flavor is enhanced due to the salt added to the water to cook the pasta in. The starch left in the water after it has cooked the pasta, helps thicken the sauce. Gluten-free pastas that are made with gluten-free flours or rice, still do contain starch. Therefore this reserved pasta water will still be helpful in thickening your pasta sauce.
Tips for cooking gluten-free pasta:
- Follow package cooking instructions- Gluten-free pasta cooks differently from regular pasta. In addition, different gluten-free pastas cook differently from others. This varies depending on the brand, type of gluten-free flour, etc. Make sure to follow package instructions on how to cook the gluten-free pasta you’re using for cooking it al dente.
- Salt your water- This adds flavor to your pasta.
- Rinse pasta once it’s cooked and drained- This will stop the cooking process preventing your pasta from being overcooked and keeping it al dente.
- Drizzle a bit of oil on your cooked pasta once it’s drained and rinsed- Gluten-free pasta tends to clump up and stick together as it cools off. Drizzling a bit of oil over it and stirring wile it’s still hot will prevent it from sticking together. I like to use extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil for this.
- Reserve water you cooked your pasta in- Reserved pasta water will still be helpful in thickening your pasta sauce and adding more flavor to it.
What you need to make this Classic Spaghetti and Meatballs:
Ingredients:
- Ground Beef
- Egg
- Parmesan Cheese
- Almond Flour
- Italian Seasoning
- Dried Oregano
- Dried Thyme
- Garlic
- Fresh Parsley
- Green Onion
- Pink Sea Salt
- Black Pepper
- Gluten-Free Spaghetti
- Water
- Avocado Oil
- Tomato Sauce
- Diced Tomatoes
- Yellow Onion
- Fresh Basil
- Baby Spinach
Equipment:
- Baking Sheet
- Cast Iron Skillet or Medium Sauce Pan
- Large Cooking Pot with Pasta Strainer
How to make Classic Spaghetti and Meatballs:
Gluten-Free Meatballs:
- Preheat oven at 400 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet pan with parchment paper and set to the side. Prep ingredients for meatballs; mince garlic, thinly slice green onion, and finely chop fresh parsley.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine ground beef and all of the ingredients for it; egg, Parmesan cheese, almond flour, pink sea salt, Italian seasoning, oregano, black pepper, thyme, garlic, fresh parsley, and green onion.
- Using a spatula or your hands, mix all ingredients well into the beef. It should all be well incorporated. Once all the ingredients are combined, bring back your prepped baking sheet pan and start scooping out ground beef and rolling it into balls using your hands. You can roll beef into 2-3 inch balls or make them smaller or bigger if you’d like. I have kids so I usually will roll most into 2-3 inches and make a few smaller ones for them. If you make all your meatballs 2-3 inches you will end up with 15-20 meatballs that size. Place meatballs on prepped sheet pan lining them up next to each other leaving 1-2 inches of space between them.
- Place meatballs in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes. Take the meatballs out and check one on the inside. If it’s too pink for your liking, place back in the oven for another 10-12 minutes or until it’s cooked to your temp of liking.
Gluten-Free Spaghetti:
- While meatballs are cooking, fill up a large pot with a pasta strainer with water and salt. Stir to get salt to dissolve in water. Place on stovetop on high-heat and bring water to a boil. Add spaghetti and cook according to the package instructions. Make sure to follow the directions the package comes with. Different types of pastas, especially gluten-free ones, can take different times to cook al-dente.
- Once pasta is cooked, drain (don’t forget to reserve 1/2 cup of the water for the sauce) and rise with cold water. This will stop the cooking process and prevent your gluten-free spaghetti from overcooking and getting mushy. Place back in the pot and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Stir making sure the spaghetti is well coated with the oil. This will prevent your noodles from sticking together.
Spaghetti Sauce:
- As your pasta cooks, get the ingredients for the sauce ready. Dice yellow onion, mince garlic, slice basil by rolling the leaves and then slicing into it, measure baby spinach and slice using the same method as with the basil, finely chop fresh parsley.
- Place skillet on stovetop and drizzle olive oil over it. Bring to a heat on medium-high-heat. Toss in onion and sauté for about 2 minutes until onion starts to soften and become translucent. Toss in garlic and sauté for another minute. Pour in tomato sauce and diced tomatoes mixing together with the onions and garlic. Stir in spices and herbs; Italian Seasoning, basil, parsley, pink salt, black pepper, and oregano. Pour in the reserved water you set aside after draining the spaghetti. Mix well into the sauce. At this point your sauce should be bubbling. Bring down to a low heat and add in baby spinach. Stir and then allow it to simmer for 3-5 minutes. Turn heat off and pour sauce over cooked spaghetti. Stir combining sauce and pasta well.
- Once meatballs come out of the oven, add them to the spaghetti and toss gently. Top with extra Parmesan cheese and garnish with more basil if you wish. Serve and enjoy!
Meal Prepping it:
This recipe is perfect for meal prep. It makes a large pot of spaghetti and meatballs. Having plenty of leftovers for lunches or dinner the next day.
Can meatballs be frozen?
Meatballs can be frozen in a freezer bag or freezer friendly container. A great tip for freezing meatballs without them clumping together is to freeze them separately first. Line a baking sheet pan with parchment paper. Line meatballs over prepped sheet pan and place in the freezer for 2-4 hours. Once meatballs are frozen, place them in a freezer bag. Freeze meatballs for up to 3 months. Thaw out in the fridge overnight. reheat in the oven at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.
Did you like this Classic Spaghetti and Meatballs (Gluten-Free) Recipe? You may also like these other comforting recipes:
- Baked Turkey Meatballs
- Kale Chicken Meatballs
- Baked Vegetarian Meatballs
- Veggie Loaded Homemade Tomato Sauce
- Spaghetti Squash Boats (with Veggie Turkey Meat Sauce)
- Chicken and Veggie Meatballs
Classic Spaghetti and Meatballs (Gluten-Free)
Ingredients
Gluten-Free Meatballs
- 2 lbs lean ground beef
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp pink sea salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 3 tbsp fresh parsley
- 1 green onion
Gluten-Free Spaghetti
- 12 oz gluten-free spaghetti pasta
- 3 quarts water
- 1 tbsp pink sea salt
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
Spaghetti Sauce
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 yellow onion
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 15 oz tomato sauce
- 15 oz diced tomatoes
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp pink sea salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp fresh basil
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley
- 1 cup baby spinach
- 1/2 cup reserved pasta water
Instructions
For Gluten-Free Meatballs:
Preheat oven at 400 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet pan with parchment paper and set to the side. Prep ingredients for meatballs; mince garlic, thinly slice green onion, and finely chop fresh parsley.
In a large mixing bowl, combine ground beef and all of the ingredients for it; egg, Parmesan cheese, almond flour, pink sea salt, Italian seasoning, oregano, black pepper, thyme, garlic, fresh parsley, and green onion.
Using a spatula or your hands, mix all ingredients well into the beef. It should all be well incorporated. Once all the ingredients are combined, bring back your prepped baking sheet pan and start scooping out ground beef and rolling it into balls using your hands. You can roll beef into 2-3 inch balls or make them smaller or bigger if you'd like. I have kids so I usually will roll most into 2-3 inches and make a few smaller ones for them. If you make all your meatballs 2-3 inches you will end up with 15-20 meatballs that size. Place meatballs on prepped sheet pan lining them up next to each other leaving 1-2 inches of space between them.
Place meatballs in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes. Take the meatballs out and check one on the inside. If it's too pink for your liking, place back in the oven for another 10-12 minutes or until it's cooked to your temp of liking.
For Gluten-Free Spaghetti:
While meatballs are cooking, fill up a large pot with a pasta strainer with water and salt. Stir to get salt to dissolve in water. Place on stovetop on high-heat and bring water to a boil. Add spaghetti and cook according to the package instructions. Make sure to follow the directions the package comes with. Different types of pastas, especially gluten-free ones, can take different times to cook al-dente.
Once pasta is cooked, drain (don't forget to reserve 1/2 cup of the water for the sauce) and rise with cold water. This will stop the cooking process and prevent your gluten-free spaghetti from overcooking and getting mushy. Place back in the pot and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Stir making sure the spaghetti is well coated with the oil. This will prevent your noodles from sticking together.
For Spaghetti Sauce:
As your pasta cooks, get the ingredients for the sauce ready. Dice yellow onion, mince garlic, slice basil by rolling the leaves and then slicing into it, measure baby spinach and slice using the same method as with the basil, finely chop fresh parsley.
Place skillet on stovetop and drizzle olive oil over it. Bring to a heat on medium-high-heat. Toss in onion and sauté for about 2 minutes until onion starts to soften and become translucent. Toss in garlic and sauté for another minute. Pour in tomato sauce and diced tomatoes mixing together with the onions and garlic. Stir in spices and herbs; Italian Seasoning, basil, parsley, pink salt, black pepper, and oregano. Pour in the reserved water you set aside after draining the spaghetti. Mix well into the sauce. At this point your sauce should be bubbling. Bring down to a low heat and add in baby spinach. Stir and then allow it to simmer for 3-5 minutes. Turn heat off and pour sauce over cooked spaghetti. Stir combining sauce and pasta well.
Once meatballs come out of the oven, add them to the spaghetti and toss gently. Top with extra Parmesan cheese and garnish with more basil if you wish. Serve and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Tips for cooking gluten-free pasta:
- Follow package cooking instructions- Gluten-free pasta cooks differently from regular pasta. In addition, different gluten-free pastas cook differently from others. This varies depending on the brand, type of gluten-free flour, etc. Make sure to follow package instructions on how to cook the gluten-free pasta you’re using for cooking it al dente.
- Salt your water- This adds flavor to your pasta.
- Rinse pasta once it’s cooked and drained- This will stop the cooking process preventing your pasta from being overcooked and keeping it al dente.
- Drizzle a bit of oil on your cooked pasta once it’s drained and rinsed- Gluten-free pasta tends to clump up and stick together as it cools off. Drizzling a bit of oil over it and stirring wile it’s still hot will prevent it from sticking together. I like to use extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil for this.
- Reserve water you cooked your pasta in- Reserved pasta water will still be helpful in thickening your pasta sauce and adding more flavor to it.
*Number of total servings in estimated. Actual number of servings may vary depending on your own personal preference in portion sizes.
**Nutritional values shown are general guidelines for 1 serving using the ingredients listed above. These numbers do not reflect and may vary depending on substitutions, additions and/or different brands and/or other ingredients that may be used.
**Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links and sponsored content. All the opinions are my own and I only recommend products I use in my own home with my own family.
