Gluten-Free Meatball Sub Sandwich
There are three key steps involved in making this meatball sub recipe. The first involves getting your sweet potatoes prepped and ready for use as your ‘bread’. In order to do this, simply pierce each of them with a fork several times and then place them in the oven to bake for about 45 minutes or so.
Paleo Meatballs
With that out of the way, the next key step is to make the meatballs that will be going in your sub. There’s no shortage of ways to make tasty homemade paleo meatballs, but this particular recipe is definitely one of my favorites. You’ll be using lean ground beef, one egg, almond flour, green onions, garlic cloves, red pepper flakes, and chopped parsley. The garlic and red pepper will each work to add a very distinctive flavor to these meatballs, while also ensuring that they end up being quite healthy as well. Garlic in particular is widely regarded for both its culinary and its therapeutic benefits, including having the ability to help lower blood pressure in individuals with hypertension. (1) After mixing everything together, bake your meatballs for 18-20 minutes.
The Secret Sauce
As they are baking, you can begin to make the sauce as well. Heat up your olive oil and add in the garlic. After about 30 seconds, you can gradually stir in the tomato puree, crushed tomatoes, and other ingredients. While not everyone is a fan of eating foods that belong to the nightshade family, there are many health benefits that you can gain from including tomatoes in your diet. They’re an excellent source of vitamin C, antioxidants, and other beneficial properties that help to lower the ‘bad’ levels of LDL cholesterol in your body and reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease. (2)
Once your sauce is finished, you can combine it with your meatballs. The only thing left to do is make a few slits in the top of your sweet potatoes and then open them up with a fork. From here, stuff the potatoes with your sauce and meatballs and then bake them for another 15 minutes or so.
When your meatball subs come out of the oven, sprinkle them with a bit of fresh basil or parsley while they are still warm and enjoy them immediately. As soon as you take your first bite, I’m sure you’ll agree that you won’t be finding anything that tastes nearly as good as these meatball subs at your nearby Subway anytime soon. This recipe is a great example of why I love the paleo diet so much. It’s all about finding new, healthy ways to enjoy your old favorites. Using sweet potato as sandwich bread is genius and you won’t believe how well it works until you try it for yourself.
P.S. – If you’re looking for more ways to enjoy a tasty sandwich while still keeping things 100% paleo friendly, then you should definitely check out these great recipes:
#1 – Paleo Meatball Sandwich with Zucchini “Bread” and Coconut Curry Sauce
#2 – The Best Cauliflower Toast
#3 – Seed and Nut Sandwich Bread
-Ingredients
- For the meatballs
- 1 pounds lean beef
- 1 egg, beaten
- ¼ cup almond flour
- 2 green onions, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
- 2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
- salt and black pepper to taste
- For the sauce
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 cups tomato puree
- 1 cup canned crushed tomatoes
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- salt and black pepper to taste
- For serving
- 2 tbsp shredded fresh basil or parsley
- 4 medium unpeeled sweet potatoes, thoroughly scrubbed and washed
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Pierce each sweet potato several times with fork and place on a baking sheet lined with foil.
- Bake until tender, about 40 – 45 minutes.
- Remove from the oven.
- To make the meatballs, in a large mixing bowl place all the ingredients.
- Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
- Mix to combine.
- Form the mixture into 1 inch meatballs and place them on a lightly greased baking sheet.
- Bake in preheated oven for 18-20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the sauce.
- In a saucepan heat the olive oil over medium heat.
- Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
- Stir in the tomato puree and crushed tomatoes and season sauce with salt and pepper.
- Bring sauce to a bubble then reduce the heat, and simmer for 10 minutes
- Combine meatballs and sauce.
- Make a slits in the tops of sweet potatoes and open them with a fork.
- Stuff the sweet potatoes with meatballs and sauce.
- Return the sweet potatoes to the baking sheet.
- Return the baking sheet to the oven and bake for 10 – 15 minutes or until the potatoes are hot.
- Remove from the oven, sprinkle with shredded basil and serve immediately.