Slow cooker meatballs | Paleo, migraine-friendly, low-sodium
Hearty meatballs; make extra to freeze!
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp coconut oil divided
- 1 bunch onions (green) scallions, spring onions
- 2 cloves garlic
- 24 ounces beef (grass-fed) ground, or a mixture of ground beef and ground pork, 85% lean
- 1/3 cup sunflower seeds ground (35 g)
- 2 eggs pastured
- 1 tsp basil (dried)
- 1 tsp oregano (dried)
- 1/4 cup Italian flat-leaf parsley (fresh) chopped
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Turn your slow cooker to low and add 3 cups of tomato sauce.
- Wash the green onions, remove the tops, bottoms, and any bad leaves. Slice thinly.
- Peel and mince the garlic cloves.
- Heat 1 tablespoon coconut oil in a heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat.
- Sauté the onions and garlic about 5 minutes until starting to turn gold.
- Turn out into a large bowl and let cool. Do not clean the pan.
- Add the meat, eggs, sunflower seeds, the browned onion mixture, and the spices. Mix with your hands or a large spoon just until well blended. (Overmixing toughens the meat.)
- Form 16 meatballs (about 2"/5 cm) with your hands or an ice cream scoop.
- Add another tablespoon of coconut oil to the onion pan. Heat to shimmering on medium-high heat.
- Add meatballs and brown on all sides, about five minutes per side. Do not crowd the pan. Cook in batches if necessary.
- Add meatballs to sauce in slow cooker. Stir until each is coated with sauce. Put on lid and cook for 4-6 hours.
Notes
Per meatball:
- 116 calories
- 8 g fat
- 2 g saturated fat
- 1 g monounsaturated fat
- 1 g polyunsaturated fat
- 0 g trans fat
- 31 g cholesterol
- 37 mg sodium
- 56 mg potassium
- 1 g carbohydrate
- 1 g fiber
- 0 g sugars
- 10 g protein
- 3 Weight Watchers Points Plus