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Spaghetti and Meatballs

Spaghetti and meatballs was never a meal that I was really interested in as pre-paleo Hayley, so I was a bit surprised at how anxious I was to attempt this recipe. Bill and I don’t suffer from any pasta or bread cravings. Removing grains from our diets, luckily for us, was effortless. I was gluten free for a long time before going completely grain free, so the idea of not eating grains altogether made a lot of sense for me. Bill on the other hand, went grain free cold turkey, and has never looked back (he’s amazing, I know). Now before you think we are immune to human temptations, if you were to put a bag of Peanut M&Ms; or Reeses cups in front of us, memories of those melt in your mouth, not in your hand treats might send us searching for a dark chocolate and almond butter fix. However, filling the grain void with “faux grain” meals is not one that we have any desire to feed into.

Although we prefer a hunk of meat or fish with a big side of veggies over faux spaghetti, cauliflower rice, or coconut flour bread, we still managed to whip up a delicious recipe for a simple home made marinara tossed with perfectly paleo meat balls. This dish was mouth watering, simple yet filling, and very fun to create!

Meatball Ingredients:

  • 1 lb lean ground turkey, or choice of ground meat
  • 3/4 cup finely chopped onion
  • 1 egg, whisked
  • 2 tablespoons coconut aminos
  • 1 teaspoon each of garlic powder, salt, and pepper

Meatball Process:

  1. Preheat oven to bake at 350.
  2. In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine all ingredients.
  3. Form ground meat mixture into 1 inch balls, and place on two parchment lined baking sheets.
  4. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.
  5. Serve.


Marinara Ingredients:

  • 2 cans salt free Muir Glen diced tomatoes
  • 3/4 cup chopped onion
  • 2 tablespoons minced garlic
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons fresh flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Marinara Process:

  1. In a sauce pan, saute onion and garlic in olive oil on medium heat.
  2. Once onion and garlic have reduced and infused the olive oil with flavor, add two cans of diced tomatoes.
  3. Add salt, pepper, oregano, and parsley to sauce and stir, blending all ingredients.
  4. Bring sauce to a boil, turn down to simmer, and let simmer for 20 minutes covered. If sauce starts to boil when covered, then remove lid.
  5. Toss spaghetti squash* with sauce, top with meat balls, and serve.
    * Cut spaghetti squash in half, remove seeds, microwave each half for 10 minutes, and scoop out squash with a fork into a bowl.

This was a fantastic home made “pasta” dish that would calm the cravings of any former spaghetti lover. Another perk to this meal was that any left over meatballs were a great addition to our eggs the next morning. They were like mini turkey sausages. Absolutely delicious!

As always, enjoy!
Primal Palate Spice Blends

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    COMMENTS

    1. January 24, 2011

      My older rugrat was just asking for spaghetti and meatballs last night! The two of us are gonna make it for dinner this week…

    2. January 24, 2011

      There's really nothing like it! Something about marinara & ground beef is just so scrumptious…

      🙂

    3. January 27, 2011

      Just found your site through Melissa's link for the ice cream recipe. I love your site. I'm not doing Primal but I love food porn and you got it. 🙂

    4. January 28, 2011

      @Nom Nom – so glad you and the little ones enjoyed it!

      @Simplesunshine – indeed!

      @Dee – Thank you! Glad you're loving the site.

    5. February 1, 2011

      I found your site while searching for a primal banana bread recipe. I just tried this recipe for spaghetti and meatballs. So delicious! I look forward to trying many more of your creations. Thanks!

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