Baked Meatballs Recipe (No Breadcrumbs) - Healthy Recipes Blog (2024)

FAQs

What is a healthy substitute for bread crumbs in meatballs? ›

Rolled Oats

Oats are a fantastic healthy swap-in for bread crumbs, and they can be a gluten-free alternative if you're choosy with your oats. Simply place them in the food processor and pulse until they become a fine powder.

Filler ingredients like breadcrumbs or flour are important too because they stop the meatballs becoming dry. The breadcrumbs absorb the juices from the meat as it cooks, trapping them within the meatball. Again quantity is important here; too much and your meatball will be more like stuffing or a dumpling.

Add a lightly beaten egg, but not too much. Egg acts as a binder for the ingredients, but you only need a small amount. One small egg will do for one pound of minced meat. Alternatively, if you're following an egg-free diet, you could soak fresh bread in milk, squeezing out any excess milk, to use as a binder.

Will meatballs fall apart without breadcrumbs? No. In fact, if you add too many breadcrumbs, you risk them becoming too dry and falling apart. But when you make them with just ground beef and seasonings, they are perfect.

An egg is usually a good start, as that can help with the tenderness and texture, but the king of meatball binders is breadcrumbs soaked in milk (also known as a panade). Soaking the breadcrumbs first makes them pliable and soggy, which allows them to easily and evenly mix into the ground meat.

Egg: A lot of meatball recipes add egg to the mince mixture because it helps to bind the balls together. Breadcrumbs: Breadcrumbs also help to bind your meatballs. If the mince mixture is quite wet, breadcrumbs will help soak up excess moisture so that the balls don't fall apart.

Use breadcrumb navigation for large websites and websites that have hierarchically arranged pages. An excellent scenario is e-commerce websites, in which a large variety of products is grouped into logical categories. You shouldn't use breadcrumbs for single-level websites that have no logical hierarchy or grouping.

Egg and breadcrumbs are common mix-ins to add moisture and tenderness. Another binder option that people swear by is a panade, which is fresh or dry breadcrumbs that have been soaked in milk. “The soaked breadcrumbs help keep the proteins in the meat from shrinking,” as food writer Tara Holland explained in the Kitchn.

Why did my meatballs fall apart in the oven? ›

Because meat shrinks when cooked, mince proteins are likely to separate and crumble unless bound together. Whether it's breadcrumbs or egg (or both), or simply salt, binding the mince is a crucial step in maintaining the softness of your meatballs while preventing them from falling apart.

In an oven preheated to 350 degrees F, these meatballs should be fully cooked through and evenly browned in about 30 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the middle of the meatball should read at least 165 degrees F.

After all of the Italian meatballs I've been making lately, I consider myself a meatball expert. A good rule of thumb is to bake meatballs for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees fahrenheit.

This is especially important when working with pork, turkey and chicken, which are very wet when ground. Refrigerating gives the fat in the meat time to solidify, which helps maintain the shape. Chill your meatballs for anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes, depending on their size.

A traditional size for this sort of meatball is 2 to 3 inches across, but you can make them any size you want. Once you roll the meatball in your hands, roll it in the flour to give it a good coating. Set each one on a baking sheet as you work.

4. Ground Nuts: For an added touch of texture when substituting bread crumbs, consider ground nuts like almonds, walnuts, or pecans as an alternative. After finely chopping, swap the bread crumbs with an equal amount of ground nuts in your recipe. The result is a meatloaf boasting even richer flavors.

Corn Flakes

"Toss them in butter or oil with seasoning and toast in a 325 degree oven for five to seven minutes," Xie suggests. Crush them to smithereens for a smoother coating or leave small chunks of cereal if you're breading chicken. You'll get an extra crunch that way.

Believe it or not, panko breadcrumbs are healthier than golden/natural breadcrumbs.