These simple and delicious meatballs have been a staff favorite for the past year, ever since Chef Jackie Major came on board to lead the onsite catering program, overseeing the menus and cooking for the multitude of professional learning programs, public events, and more across campus.
“This is a great recipe for groups, because the meatballs keep well in a crockpot or held warm in a baking dish,” she shares. They’re a great vessel for any sauce (marinara included), but the maple soy glaze has been a real crowd-pleaser. The recipe makes about 30 small meatballs that are a little smaller than a golf ball. If that’s just too much, freeze a portion after baking. “You’re never not happy to remember you have ready-to-go meatballs in your freezer.”
Chef Jackie adapted the recipe from New School Cuisine — our cookbook created by school nutrition professionals for school nutrition professionals. “A few extra veggies are added to the mixture, which is important for everyone, but extra important for school meal programs, which have to meet a lot of nutrition standards.” Download the cafeteria-scale recipe for school nutrition professionals.
Yield: about 30 meatballs
Ingredients
For the Meatballs
- 2.5 lb ground beef
- ½ cup kale or spinach, sliced thin (fresh preferred, but frozen is fine if that’s what you have)
- ¾ cup oats, ground into a course crumb (you can grind the oats using a food processor or blender)
- 1 egg
- ½ cup milk
- ¼ cup ketchup or tomato paste
- 1 Tbsp tamari
- 1 Tbsp parsley, chopped
- ½ Tbsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp ginger powder
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
For the Maple Soy Glaze
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp canola oil
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 ¾ cups water, reserving ¼ cup for corn starch slurry
- ½ cup soy sauce or tamari
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup rice wine vinegar
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ cup ketchup
- ¼ tsp chili flakes
- ¼ cup corn starch
Method
- Add all meatball ingredients into a large bowl. Mix all ingredients until it resembles a meatloaf- or sausage-like consistency.
- Roll about 1 Tablespoon of mixture per meatball, smaller than a golf ball. Dipping your hands in water will help prevent the meat mixture from sticking to your hands and create a smoother surface on the meatball.
- Bake on a parchment-lined sheet pan for 8-12 minutes at 325°F in a convection oven or 350°F for conventional ovens. Bake for a longer time if you make larger meatballs. The meatballs should reach an internal temperature of 150-155°F, and once out of the oven, they will continue to cook from residual heat and reach 165°F, which is the proper doneness for any ground meat product.
- While your meatballs are cooking, make the maple glaze. In a saucepan, sauté your garlic in canola oil. When the garlic has become aromatic, add all your remaining ingredients, reserving the ¼ cup of water and corn starch. Bring to a boil.
- While waiting for the liquid to boil, mix your cornstarch slurry by combining ¼ cup water and cornstarch.
- Slowly mix the slurry into your boiling liquid with a whisk. Continue to boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and cool until warm.
- Toss your meatballs in sauce and enjoy!
