What a story these meatballs: a long time ago in a Facebook group of friends on a diet, I saw a really inviting photo showing baked meatballs. Erika, the girl who posted the photo, claimed she hadn’t used eggs or oil. Imagine me! As soon as I read without eggs and oil, I perked up and asked her how she made them. Erika was very kind, she wrote me her recipe, gave me various tips, and also the permission to write the recipe on the blog if I liked these meatballs. And “liked” is an understatement!
First of all, I’ll tell you right away that 44 meatballs disappeared in the blink of an eye. Even my son, who doesn’t like meat and is always a bit reluctant to be a guinea pig, devoured them one after the other. But the most interesting thing was the comment from the Dutchman: he, my most fierce critic, said: “the best meatballs ever eaten“.
In short, I was so happy that I decided to park all the rest of the work on the blog to write the recipe right away, which is also very simple. And of course, I thank Erika again, who gave me not only the opportunity to enrich my blog but mainly my table! Let’s prepare them together.
Do you love meatballs? Here are some other ideas:
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 44 meatballs
- Cooking methods: Oven, Air Fryer
- Cuisine: Healthy
- Seasonality: All Seasons
Ingredients
- 1.1 lbs lean ground meat
- 0.4 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 onion
- 0.4 cups low-fat yogurt (unsweetened, even plant-based is fine)
- 2 tsps aromatic salt (or a mix of salt and herbs)
- Total WW points = 37
- WW points for 4 meatballs = 3
- WW points for 6 meatballs = 5
Tools
- Air Fryer
Preparation
First, weigh all the ingredients. If you don’t have the Herb Aromatic Salt, use a mix of dried herbs of your choice: rosemary, thyme are examples.
Place the ground meat, flour, yogurt, aromatic salt, and finely chopped onion in a large bowl.
Mix the ingredients, and if the dough is too hard, add a bit more yogurt. If using the oven, prepare a baking tray or the baking sheet by covering it with wet and well-squeezed parchment paper. If using the air fryer, no lining of the basket is needed.
With the help of a teaspoon, take a little dough at a time and form many balls. I got 44 meatballs. When placing the meatballs on the parchment paper or in the air fryer basket, avoid flattening them so they do not stick to the base during cooking.
OVEN COOKING:
Place the tray in the oven at 356°F for about 15 minutes, then turn all the meatballs so they get a nice uniform color on all surfaces. Put back in the oven for another 10-15 minutes.
AIR FRYER COOKING:
Elisabetta, one of my readers who tried making these meatballs, cooked them in the air fryer. She simply placed them directly in the basket and cooked them at 392°F for about 7 minutes. And then she even took them to work in her lunchbox! Here are her photos and thanks, Elisabetta.
Our baked meatballs are ready! You can serve them piping hot right from the oven, but they are also delicious cold. And moreover, I can confirm they are very tasty in a good fresh tomato sauce.
These meatballs are ideal for a buffet, perhaps skewered on sticks along with some veggies or a piece of cheese. Of course, they are perfect as a main course accompanied by a vegetable and some slices of good whole wheat bread.
Everyone will enjoy them, from the oldest to the youngest in the house. In fact, I can guarantee that it is one of the most kid-approved recipes on my blog by the children of my readers. What are you waiting for to try them? Let me know if you made them in the comments below or on Facebook.
Enjoy your meal!
by Giovanna Buono
Storage
These meatballs can be stored cooked in the fridge for 3 days or in the freezer for 3-4 months. You can also prepare the dough in advance the day before and keep it in the fridge, then form and cook the meatballs.
What type of meat can I use?
You can use any type of lean meat, even ground chicken.
