meatballs and meatloaf

preslyann50

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.

jbonow1231

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

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

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

I use stale GF bread and make my own bread crumbs. Or I pulverize GF corn or rice chex and use that.

alaskaang

Smashed rice crackers and extra egg will bind just about the same as bread crumbs.

JaceyMarieS

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

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

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

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.