Pork Quinoa Meatballs
A simple weeknight meal! Baked pork quinoa meatballs with marinara sauce, parmesan cheese and fresh basil.
The haze of the first newborn weeks is finally lifting and there’s bright light at the end of the tunnel. I’m getting more sleep, exercising again, putting on makeup, and easing back into work.
Last week I was strangely giddy while I made and photographed these pork quinoa meatballs uninhibited during nap time. It was fun! I’m finally starting to feel like my old self again.
These pork quinoa meatballs were a huge hit with the whole family, and I’m happy to have a new solid recipe to add to the rotation. The meatballs are simple— just ground pork, cooked quinoa, eggs and some seasoning. After browning the meatballs they’re finished off in a bath of marinara sauce, which you can make homemade or buy from the store.
Top with fresh basil and grated Parmesan cheese, serve with a big salad and maybe some crusty bread, and boom! Dinner is served.
Pork Quinoa Meatballs
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup quinoa , I like to use rainbow quinoa(120 grams)
- ⅔ cup water (170 ml)
- 1 lb ground pork (455 grams)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
- 1 quart marinara sauce (950 ml)
- ¼ cup fresh basil , for serving
- Parmesan cheese , for serving
Instructions
- Add quinoa and ⅔ cup water to a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes until quinoa is tender. Remove from heat, fluff with a fork and cool completely.
- In a large bowl combine the quinoa, pork, eggs, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Mixture will be very wet. Shape into 12 round balls.
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish. Space the meatballs evenly in the pan and bake until meatballs are evenly browned, about 10-12 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and add the marinara sauce to the baking dish. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F and bake meatballs until cooked all the way through (internal temperature should read 165°F), about 10-15 minutes more.
- Top with Parmesan cheese and basil before serving.
Notes
Ahhh seriously – i want a big bowl of these right now!! Hope you and the babe are doing well mama!!
OMG yummy these look so good! I have literally just added quinoa onto my next shopping list for this 🙂
I made these for dinner last night and they were awesome! Miss your face! xoxo
Yay! So glad you enjoyed them. Miss you too!
Looks great . I already have cooked quinoa. How much do you use already cooked? Thanks!
1/3 cup dry quinoa will yield 1 cup cooked quinoa.