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meatballs and meatloaf

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preslyann50
preslyann50 Posts: 114 Member
in Social Groups
These are two of my favorite foods. The meatballs are a staple for my husbands family spaghetti sauce. Of course they are made with bread crumbs. What are good alternatives? I tried gluten free oatmeal since I have made meatloaf with oatmeal before but it was no bueno. There were crunchy things in it lol.

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  • jbonow1231
    jbonow1231 Posts: 75 Member
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    For use in a homemade recipe?

    There's a few options:

    - Corn Meal (available at nearly any store, so easy to find)

    - GF Bread Crumbs - Schar, Glutino, Mary's Gone Crackers, Orgran - there's a lot of brands out there

    - For the meatballs at least, another option is to use more cheese as a binder (something harder like Parmesan) rather than the breadcrumbs.

    - For the meatloaf, you could mix in some cooked rice (brown for better nutrition) to act as a binder and give it a bit more body


    If you want to get some store bought ones, there are a few gluten free options:

    - Jeanio Turkey Meatballs use no gluten ingredients
    - Trader Joes has Gluten Free Chicken Meatballs
    - Al Fresco Chicken Meatballs are awesome
  • hdlb
    hdlb Posts: 333 Member
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    We use GF rice bread crumbs, they don't hold together quite as well as they do with breadcrumbs, but tasted good. I think I might try oat flour next time.
  • cals83
    cals83 Posts: 131
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    I take the end pieces of gluten free bread and toast them to dry them out, then put them in the food processor with some seasoning (italian, onion, garlic).
  • MaggieSporleder
    MaggieSporleder Posts: 428 Member
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    I use stale GF bread and make my own bread crumbs. Or I pulverize GF corn or rice chex and use that. :)
  • alaskaang
    alaskaang Posts: 493 Member
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    Smashed rice crackers and extra egg will bind just about the same as bread crumbs.
  • JaceyMarieS
    JaceyMarieS Posts: 692 Member
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    Many gluten free options are out for me because I have corn and soy intolerances as well as celiac sprue. I'm also diabetic, so I avoid rice products. I use a mixture of flax meal and parmesan cheese. Gets the approval of my husband and his Sicilian family.
  • MoniMoni2u
    MoniMoni2u Posts: 211 Member
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    If I use oatmeal in my meatloaf or meatballs I whirl it in the blender first. It really helps with the "crunch bits!" LOL
  • krisjnic
    krisjnic Posts: 24 Member
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    Every just try skipping the bread crumbs/oatmeal/binder? I've always been under the impression that breadcrumbs in meatballs and meatloaf were just used to stretch the meat - making a bigger batch without the extra cost of the meat. Of course it lightens it a bit, but I'm good with dense meatballs...
  • macybean
    macybean Posts: 258 Member
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    I just made my first batch of swedish meatballs since going gluten free. I used homemade gluten free bread (but store bought would work the same). They turned out the same as they have before. I use a panade, so I added an extra egg (but my eggs are a little on the small side). The texture is just as soft and no flavor difference. You could try using oats in a panade too, I would think that would solve the problem of having crunchy bits.

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