It’s October and you’ve made all the pumpkin recipes. The pumpkin bread, the pumpkin muffins [1], pumpkin waffles [2]. Maybe you made my Gluten Free Pumpkin Pasta [3], or my Harvest Pasta Sauce [4]. There’s a little bit of pumpkin hidden within each recipe!
And now you have that tiny little bit of pumpkin puree sitting in the fridge. What will you do with it? I decided to make a batch of meatballs!
Can you add pumpkin to meatballs?
I usually add a small amount of tomato sauce to my Italian Meatballs. In this recipe I switched out the tomato for pumpkin puree. Topped with my Harvest Pasta Sauce [4] they were delicious!
This post contains affiliate links.
***CONTAINS OATS (SEE Notes ♫)***
Ingredients:
- 8 oz. 90% lean ground beef
- 3 oz. Italian Chicken Sausage [5] (about 1 link)
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup pumpkin puree [6]
- 1/4 cup gluten free rolled oats (certified, purity protocol) [7]
- 1/4 cup mashed potato flakes [8]
- 1/4 cup gluten free seasoned bread crumbs [9]
- cooking spray
- Italian parsley for garnish, optional
Preparation:
Whisk together the egg and pumpkin puree.
In a separate bowl, combine the rolled oats, potato flakes and seasoned breadcrumbs.
Pulse the sausage in an electric chopper to a fine mince.
Add the sausage and ground beef to the pumpkin mixture and mix well.
Add the breadcrumb mixture a little at a time, working it in with your hands. Form 10 meatballs, and place on a foil lined baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Set the broiler on high. Broil the meatballs for 4-5 minutes per side, turning once.
Remove from the oven and cool slightly to set before adding them to your sauce. Garnish with fresh parsley.
Notes ♪ You won’t taste the pumpkin in these meatballs, it blends right in with the other flavors, and they are moist and delicious!
Notes ♫ Oats continue to be highly controversial when it comes to celiac disease. Whether or not you consume oats is a personal choice. As a courtesy to my readers, I will identify any recipes that include oats and suggest ingredient substitutes when possible.