Beef Meatballs and Broccoli is a twist on your traditional Asian restaurant’s beef & broccoli recipe and has been made gluten free!
Ahhhh, yes. ‘Tis another dish that we gluten free foodies must shun from our list of options when we dine out. Lucky for me, however, I live in the magnificent city of Austin, TX where not only do people actually KNOW what gluten is (*gasp!* I know!) but most places actually even have numerous options on their menus. I can normally find gluten free sandwich bread, pizza crust and soy sauce at most restaurants. So while I cannot complain tooooo much, there are still some things I have yet to find that make it quite like I like it. Like for instance… this somewhat traditional beef meatballs and broccoli.
What makes this beef meatballs and broccoli dish so awesome?
- The sauce is pretty spot-on to what you will find in most Asian restaurant dishes.
- There is a little variation in the form of the beef. Instead of using flank steak, you get to eat adorable little meatballs!
- Roasting the broccoli gives it a lot more flavor and crunch versus cooking it along with the sauce.
If you are feeling adventurous, or simply do not have any ground beef on hand, try this meatballs and broccoli recipe with ground venison, chicken, or turkey. Making this recipe the traditional way, with ground beef, will have a bit more flavor but feel free to try any of the various ground meats mentioned above! If you do substitute one of them I would love to hear about it in the comments section below!
Hope you enjoy this Beef Meatballs and Broccoli recipe 🙂
Want a few more quick, gluten-free ethnic dishes like this meatballs & broccoli recipe to try?
Balsamic Glazed Flank Steak & Veggie Roll-Ups
Peanut Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps
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Beef Meatballs & Roasted Broccoli
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Ingredients
Beef Meatballs
- 1 lb ground beef turkey, or venison
- ½ c bread crumbs gluten free (or non-GF if not GF)
- 1 egg
- ½ t salt
- ¼ t pepper
- ½ t garlic powder
- 3 T olive oil
*Broccoli*
- 2 stalks broccoli chopped
- 3-4 T olive oil
- ¼ t salt
- ¼ t pepper
Brown Sauce
- ½ c soy sauce . + 2 T. , gluten free (or non-GF if not GF)
- 2/3 c water
- 2 T cornstarch sifted
- 1 T sesame oil
- ½ - 1 t Sriracha sauce
- ¼ t ground ginger
- 3 T honey
- 2 T brown sugar
- Cooked rice or rice noodles
Instructions
For the Beef Meatballs:
- Combine all ingredients, except olive oil, and mix until well combined. Roll meatballs into about 26-30 small meatballs.
- Heat deep skillet or pan to medium heat with olive oil in it. Place meatballs in the pan and cook for 10-14 minutes, flipping the meatballs about 3 to 4 times to ensure even cooking. I like to cut one of the meatballs open to make sure they are at least almost completely done before moving on to the next step (since they will cook a little more).
For the Broccoli:
- If you would like your broccoli roasted, preheat oven to 375 degrees while meatballs are cooking.
- Toss chopped broccoli in olive oil, salt and pepper and lay flat on a baking sheet.
- Bake for 8—10 minutes.
- (You can also steam your broccoli and the dish will taste great, too!)
To Combine:
- While broccoli is in the oven and the meatballs are almost done cooking, combine all brown sauce ingredients in a bowl and whisk until well combined. Pour mixture into meatball skillet and reduce heat to medium-low. Whisk for 4-5 minutes on a low simmer.
- Turn off heat and mix in broccoli. Serve with rice or rice noodles. Enjoy!
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Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Have made this a few times and love it. The sauce has really great flavour. It’s a good combination of ingredients because they are basic and always on hand in our pantry.
We have enjoyed it with both steamed and roasted broccoli. Both ways were amazing.
Yay! So happy you enjoyed it, Kirn! And I totally agree – the sauce is SO good! Thanks so much for the comment and rating 🙂
Hey LB…I made this last night and it was fantastic!! Nice to have a noodle and meatball recipe…yum!!
I made a couple changes and thought I’d share them with you: changed to 1/2 tsp ginger, 5 Tb brown sugar, 1 tsp sriracha. Plus…I added 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes and 1/4 cup crushed cashews.
Will definitely make it again…thanks for sharing!!
Hi Michele! I love your addition of crushed cashews!! I will definitely have to try that out next time I make this dish 🙂 Thanks for the great suggestions!