Spaghetti and Quinoa Beef Meatballs

As if I needed something else to do with quinoa, I found this recipe at Whole Foods and just had to try.

Instead of using all meat in the meatballs, these are a combo of beef and quinoa.

Red quinoa totally blends in with the red meat and is practically invisible.

These are my new favourite.

Seriously, not even in a crunchy and mind over matter health freaky way.

These are good.

Spaghetti and Meatballs, done right, is my favourite thing to eat.

Whole Foods got it just right with these!

Clara even gave these a high review. "I really love these meatballs, Mum. And I'm not just trying to be polite!"

A little note, this recipe calls for 3/4 of a cup of cooked quinoa. I had a little less than a pound of ground beef so used about 1 1/2 cups of quinoa and it was great.

Quinoa Beef Meatballs

(Wholefoods.com)

See bottom of recipe for how to cook quinoa.

1 pound ground beef
3/4 cup cooked quinoa **
1/4 cup finely chopped onions
1/4 cup grated carrots
1/4 cup grated zucchini
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon chopped garlic (or 1/2 tsp garlic powder)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 egg

Preheat oven to 500°F. Line a large baking sheet with foil then grease with cooking spray; set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together beef, quinoa, onions, carrots, zucchini, ketchup, garlic, soy sauce, pepper, salt, oregano, thyme and egg until well combined. Shape beef mixture into 16 balls and transfer to prepared baking sheet. Roast until cooked through and golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Serve hot.

**Note: To cook quinoa, bring 1 cup water to a boil in a small pot. Pour in ½ cup quinoa, cover and simmer until water is absorbed, 10 to 12 minutes. Set aside off of the heat for 10 minutes then fluff with a fork. Makes about 1 1/2 cups.