quick basil pesto meatballs

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Necessity is the mother of invention

I came up with this banger of a recipe on a summery Saturday night, when I had some minced beef I needed to use, and all the pesto ingredients were staring me in the face, begging not to be ignored another night.

It really does take 30 minutes from woe to go (including the pesto). The meatballs are supercharged with good fats and antioxidants from the lovely greens, nuts and Extra Virgin Olive Oil. And - most importantly - they are moist and incredibly delicious!

My children honestly fell upon them and were gobbling them down at a rate before they even hit the plates (it was about 8.30 by this stage after all). So gratifying!

low fodmap swapsies

If onion and garlic are not your friend, simply swap out the garlic in the pesto for 1.5 tsp garlic infused oil, and swap the onion for finely chopped spring onion tips (the green bits).

Pesto in the mix makes for more moisture and flavour in these speedy meatballs

How to serve pesto meatballs

Okay, so the recipe I’ve posted below shows you how to make the pesto, the meatballs and then make it into a lightening quick dinner by adding a jar of tomato based sauce. But here’s some other ideas:

1. Drain the meatballs on absorbent paper once cooked, and refrigerate to serve later on a grazing platter or at a picnic.

2. Keep leftover meatballs and sauce to make into a meatball sub, in a crunchy bread roll with a slice of cheese and some lettuce.

3. Serve with Greek salad for a lower carb lunch or dinner.

4. Pop into your lunch box for a quick high protein snack.

I really hope you give these a go and let me know how they go down with your crew!

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Speedy pesto meatballs

Serves: 4

Author: Marnie, Fork That Nutrition

Pesto meatballs can be served with tomato based sauce over pasta, but you shouldn't stop there! They are utterly delicious cold, in lunch boxes, with salads and on grazing platters.

Ingredients

For the pesto

• 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts (or cashews/almonds)
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
• 2-3 cups fresh basil, picked, washed and dried
• 1 big or 2 medium garlic cloves, chopped
• Generous squeeze of lemon juice (~1/2 lemon)
• 2/3 cup (or more) of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/2-1 tsp salt, plenty of fresh ground pepper

For the meatballs

• 500g Lean beef or pork mince
• 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1/2 red onion, finely chopped (optional)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup pesto
• 1/2 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
• Salt and pepper

Instructions

To make pesto

1. Toast the nuts for ~5 minutes in a dry pan, on medium low heat (watch them like a hawk!)
2. Then add all pesto ingredients to your food processor, and blitz.
3. Taste and add more lemon juice / oil as needed to get a nice (sloppy) consistency - we don't want it it be dry.

Make the meatballs

1. Add all meatball ingredients to a large bowl and combine well with your hands. Roll into small (5cm) balls.
2. Heat some more Extra Virgin Olive Oil in a large frypan and add the meatballs. Cook for 5-7 minutes on medium heat, gently tossing to keep them moving so they brown evenly.
3. Once you're satisfied they're just cooked through, remove and drain excess oil on absorbent paper.
4. For meatball pasta dish pictured, keep meatballs in the pan, add a jar of nice tomato based pasta sauce and serve immediately over pasta of your choice.

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