Juicy Pork Meatballs - Healthy Recipes Blog (2024)

FAQs

What can I use instead of breadcrumbs in meatballs? ›

Rolled Oats

Oats are the perfect substitutes for breadcrumbs in meatballs or meatloaf. While they aren't ideal for a crispy coating, they add the right amount of texture to bind meat, eggs and flavorings together into a delicious Italian-inspired feast.

If the meatballs are made with high-quality lean meat, minimal added fats, and a balanced mix of spices and seasonings, they can be a more nutritious option. Frying Method: The way the meatballs are fried matters. Deep-frying in a large amount of oil can make them less healthy due to the added calories and fat.

However, if the meatballs have a high meat content they can easily become dry in the oven, so it's best to try this with recipes that contain a higher proportion of other wetter ingredients such as finely chopped or grated vegetables.

How Long to Bake Meatballs? In an oven preheated to 350 degrees F, these meatballs should be fully cooked through and evenly browned in about 30 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the middle of the meatball should read at least 165 degrees F.

Coconut flour is high in fibre and healthy fats, making it a nutritious substitute for breadcrumbs. It can be used to bread chicken, shrimp, or vegetables, and then bake or air fry them for a crispy and delicious meal.

A brine introduces more salt to your pork chops than a marinade, which can make the meat more tender and juicy. A brine is usually thinner and imparts less flavor to your meat. This is great if you plan to make a pan sauce, a gravy, or if you just like your pork chops simple.

Moisten Bread Crumbs – Remove the crusts and dice 3 slices of bread. Soak in water for 5 minutes, then mash with a fork. Do not skip this step- this 'panade' mixture acts as the binder to keep your meatballs together and adds moisture to create such juicy meatballs.

Bake your pork chops in liquid or fat

A very common method of making pork chops is to lay the pork chops in a baking dish, fill the dish with liquid, and then bake them. This re-heating method follows the same process, re-introducing the chops to liquids or fats in order to keep them moist and tender.

Baking will result in meatballs with a crunchy exterior, though the caramelisation achieved from frying will be superior. Baked meatballs take the least amount of effort, as you'll only need to turn them once or twice throughout the cook and you can make a larger batch at once.

If you are making meatballs and are wondering how long you need to cook them, you came to the right place. After all of the Italian meatballs I've been making lately, I consider myself a meatball expert. A good rule of thumb is to bake meatballs for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees fahrenheit.

What else can I use to bind meatballs? ›

Add a lightly beaten egg, but not too much. Egg acts as a binder for the ingredients, but you only need a small amount. One small egg will do for one pound of minced meat. Alternatively, if you're following an egg-free diet, you could soak fresh bread in milk, squeezing out any excess milk, to use as a binder.

Go with a Grain

Puffed quinoa is a great sub for breadcrumbs to create satisfying, crunchy food, says Becker. "Set up three bowls: ground puffed quinoa, raw scrambled eggs, and puffed quinoa. Plunge chicken, fish, or veggies into the ground puffed quinoa, then the egg, then the puffed quinoa, and sear or bake.

Ground meat needs no assistance in holding its form when cooked. Bread crumbs are there to keep the fat in the meatballs. Yes, you heard me right, we want the fat to stay in our meatballs and not leach out.

Breadcrumbs are soaked in milk before being added to meatball mix. It's called a panade and it helps the meatballs retain moisture and tenderness. Cornmeal doesn't hold moisture like breadcrumbs, so it won't serve any purpose, other than making the meatballs gritty.