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Spaghetti and Meatballs was my absolutely favorite meal growing up. My mom had this killer tomato sauce she would make from scratch. She usually made it with ground beef, which was awesome. But when she made it with meatballs that had parmesan cheese in them…it was divine.
But then came the discovery of my nightshade sensitivity in June of 2013, and I had to say goodbye to that wonderful dish. Although I could still have spaghetti and meatballs with my nomato sauce, it just wasn’t the same. I reserved my sauce for pizza and pasta bakes mostly. Things that had lots of cheese in addition to pasta and meat.
Then I tried AIP, and one night I was really craving meatballs and marinara sauce. As it turns out, nomato sauce works great with meat and veggie noodles. It totally satisfied my craving.
Then while on GAPS Intro, I discovered that I could use the same techniques to have spaghetti and meatballs, even on this restrictive, healing diet. I love the taste of my nomato sauce – with the right seasonings it just sings over meatballs and zucchini noodles. This past weekend I made this dish for my mom, and we spent the whole evening raving about how delicious it was! Even my husband, who is a bit of a food snob, tried a bite of this paleo spaghetti and meatballs while eating tomato sauce over pasta – and he told me it was really good!
I may have not had “real” spaghetti and meatballs in far too long, but the reviews have done a good job of convincing me that it is not just my adjusted taste buds that will love this meal.
Here is how it breaks down for those following special diets:
- Everything mentioned in this post is AIP friendly.
- Add extra healing power by making the nomato sauce with broth instead of water.
- My Nomato Sauce is legal for Stage Three of GAPS Intro due to the fibrous vegetables and sauteing the onions.
- The meatballs could be made plain and boiled to be Stage One legal, but this isn’t worth it to me. Wait until Stage Two for herbs, Stage Four to brown them, and Stage Five to add spices.
- Simmer the veggie noodles in the sauce, water, or broth for ten minutes to make them Stage One legal.
- In summary, this recipe is safe for Stage Four, but can be modified for earlier stages.
Paleo Spaghetti and Meatballs
For this recipe, you will need two cups of Nomato Sauce, a pound of ground meat, and enough of your favorite vegetable noodle to feed four people. Feel free to add spices and herbs to enhance flavor as your tastes desire and your diet allows.
This amazing dish is simple to make and tastes amazing! It will totally satisfy your spaghetti and meatballs craving.
Ingredients
- 4 zucchini, 1/2 a spaghetti squash, or other vegetable to make noodles with
- 2 cups Nomato Sauce
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 small onion, finely chopped (in a food processor with the S blade works best)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp fresh herbs or 1 tsp dried herbs and spices
- 2 tablespoons cooking fat (lard, tallow, ghee, butter)
Instructions
- Prepare the vegetable noodles by cooking the spaghetti squash (note that this takes an hour, plus time to cool and scrape) or spiralizing them. If spiralizing, toss in a generous amount of salt and let sit.
- Mix the ground beef, onion, garlic, and seasonings together in a bowl. Divide into 16 meatballs.
- Heat a large pot over medium and melt 2 tablespoons fat.
- Add the meatballs. Cook and turn them until the outsides are browned.
- Add the nomato sauce and any other desired seasonings. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
- While the meatballs are cooking, rinse spiralized noodles thoroughly. Add the vegetable noodles to the pot and stir in.
- When the meatballs are fully cooked and the noodles are done to your likeness, remove from heat. Salt to taste and serve with a mug of broth. Enjoy!
Notes
Variation: If you prefer to ladle your sauce and meat over your noodles, after rinsing lightly saute the noodles in a separate pan over medium heat until tender.
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Shared on AIP Roundtable, Allergy Free Wednesday, and GAPS Recipe Roundup.
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