Thai Basil Beef Balls
I am a cheap ass…well, that sounds bad. I don’t leave crappy tips or anything…so maybe I should rename myself thrift-ass. I don’t like to pay full price for clothes and I most certainly don’t want to spend more than I have to on good quality food. I understand “You get what you pay for.”, but that doesn’t mean I have to constantly pay for the pricer cuts of meat. Thai Basil Beef is usually made with flank steak, which, sure, it’s not the moooost expensive cut, at around $10-12/lb, but when you’re feeding 2 carnivores that try to eat mostly grass-fed animals, that sh*t adds up fast. So I’ve made a thrift-ass version of Thai Basil Beef using ground beef.
Ingredients
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 lbs ground beef (preferably 80/20)
- 1/2 c almond flour
- 2 eggs
- 1 roasted red pepper, about 1/3 c, chopped
- 1/4 c wheat-free soy sauce or coconut aminos
- 1 t fish sauce
- 1 t sriracha, chile sauce or hot sauce
- 1 handful fresh basil leaves, chopped
- 1 lime, zested
- salt
Method
Preheat your oven 400ºF.
In a small skillet, heat up a teaspoon or 2 of your fat of choice and saute the garlic until it’s golden, but not brown.
In a large bowl, whisk together all ingredients (except the beef). Now add the beef and mix well, making sure everything is thoroughly combined.
Portion out the mixture, using a cookie scoop, onto a parchment or silicone/silpat lined baking sheet.
Pop in the oven until cooked through, and the tops have slightly browned (you may need to switch to broil), about 20-30 minutes.
those look incredibly delicious! you guys make my mouth water!
These look kick ass. My mental pantry inventory tells me I have everything I need for those.
It just recently occured to me that any meatball I make can, sans binder, become a lettuce wrap. Like larb. Because they’re fun.
I’m having a hard time finding chili sauce or sriracha that does not have sugar in it. What brand do you use and where do you get it? Thanks! I really really really want to make these!
we don’t really worry about microscopic amounts of sugar, especially in things that don’t taste sweet–like chili sauce, hot sauce and the likes.
Holy balls these are good.
so glad you liked them amy. thanks!!
Had these tonight with the paleo pad thai and it blew my mind. You help make my life so much better!
yay! thank you so much marlo!
I made these last night with the Sunshine Sauce from the Well Fed cookbook, and they were ridiculously good. They’re definitely a new favorite. Thank you!
awesome. thanks jillian!
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Made these tonight and they are amazing!!!! Any reason though you suggest 80/20 ground beef? Mine were a bit fatty.
i find (personally) anything leaner is just too dry.
Yum. Made these up as a dinner with dip and veggies.Much like the Asian Pork Meatball recipe, this one is going into regular rotation.
Oh yeah, with all that I have learned from your recipes here I whipped together a mayo dip with chili garlic sauce, wheat free soy sauce and a splash of fish sauce. So good with the meatballs and carrots celery and broccoli.
I <3 Health Bent!
my husband said they were the best meatballs he’s ever had! ever!!!
can i use turkey instead of beef, bragg’s amino acids and dried basil?
Made these last night, with a 50-50 mixture of grass fed ground beef (which is too lean by itself IMO) and ground pork (provides the fat needed to bind grass fed ground beef). I used a 1.5″ “dough” scoop which made made enough for 2 baking pans of meat balls (about 2 doz on each pan), which for our family of three is enough for a meal and plenty of leftovers. I used a Silpat on one sheet pan and a rack on the other. Both methods worked well.
I also made a basil dipping sauce for the meatballs (can also be used as salad dressing). I already had some homemade mayo in the fridge (pure olive oil; whole egg; white wine, or rice vinegar and/or lemon juice; bit of prepared brown mustard; sea salt & pepper; dash of paprika), so I used about a half cup of the mayo, the juice of one lime, a quirt each of fish sauce and wheat-free raw & traditionally fermented tamari-soy sauce, 1/4 cup chopped and packed fresh basil leaves, a tiny bit of red Thai curry paste, and a clove of fresh garlic. I blended it in a tall narrow container with an (hand held) immersion blender until very smooth and creamy, adjusting seasonings to taste. I served the sauce in tiny Asian fish shaped Asian bowls and we ate the meatballs with chopsticks. It was a big hit.
“Thrift-ass”
LOL!
Love it.
These look amazing. Will make this the next time I get a hankering for meat balls.
Question for ya: what’s the purpose of coconut aminos or soy sauce? Can’t do soy sauce right now, and I’m not sure I could source coconut aminos without having to give up my first child.
Thanks!!!
Hi, I’m about to make these today only I’m wondering whether ‘t’ means tablespoon or teaspoon…
Um, just seen the answer to my question, lol. Cheers!
Made these tonight, with half ground pork, they were freakin amazing! Will be making again and again. Thank you!!!!
These are great. My (non-paleo) husband has even requested them multiple times. Kudos to you and THANKS for all your great stuff!!!
you are very welcome maggie!
Hi,
From the picture it looked so ridiculously tasty I had to have’m too. So I followed the recipe to the letter but the end result was rather bland tasting so obviously I must be doing something very wrong. Can someone clue me in on this?
i don’t usually discuss salt quantities, as it’s such a personal preference…but i’m guessing that may be the issue. it’s incredibly important in helping bring out/enhance the flavors in the meatballs.
These look so good, I can’t wait to make them! I had a question about spice level. I love spicy food but the children can’t handle too much. Any thoughts? I can split the batch in two but will the recipe as written be too spicy for 6 year old’s?
Thanks!
These meatballs are AMAZING! Vi gobbled them up (pretty good, considering her not-yet 5yo palate) and J. says he wants them in heavy rotation in our meal prep schedule. Thanks, Megan & Brandon!! Hope to connect with you guys IRL soonest!
xoxo Bridget
yay!!! i had to double check who wrote this after i read IRL. what a great surprise!
These were delish! I made these with some left over ground beef that I had in the fridge last week. I didn’t have any almond flour on-hand so I made them without flour. They stayed together really well and were extremely moist (yummm…).
Served alongside the Paleo Pad Thai dish on this site and the two recipes blended perfectly together. Thanks! You guys make great food.
awesome. thanks so much kate!
Holy wow! I had my 14 year old foodie daughter whip this up for dinner tonight. She opted to turn it into a loaf instead of balls, and it turned out amazingly yummy!!! We had some Thai basil that she used in it instead of the regular. This is totally going into our regular rotation! Thank you!!!
how awesome! thanks so much adronscatherine
Does the recipe call for adding lime juice as well as the zest?
just the zest
I added the lime juice, and they were still delish!
Best. Meatballs. EVER. These are so good! We’re thinking of baking up quadruple batches and freezing them so as to have some on hand at all times. So, so tasty.
could I use tobasco sauce?
Would be fine ‘n dandy.
These were outstanding! I can’t wait for leftovers! I would definitely recommend serving with a Sriracha mayo dipping sauce. I think this is another entertaining-worthy recipe. The advice to stick to using 80/20 ground beef is true. Any leaner and it will taste dry. I love going through the recipe archives because there are so many great ones I haven’t tried yet! I just can’t wait for the cookbook to come out. Will it be available for pre-order soon?!
aw, thank you so much liz.
we’ve turned in the manuscript. gotten great feedback, but still waiting on final info a/b release date and everything. a bit frustrating, as i’m just sitting here, twiddling my thumbs.
We’ll be waiting in anticipation, along with you and Brandon. I’ll need to figure out a way to have you guys sign our book when we get it. Do I feel a book tour coming to Colorado?!
I don’t normally comment on blog posts…ever, but I couldn’t let this one slide. I made these tonight with grass-fed beef from Whole Foods and OMG they were SO GOOD! I could taste every flavor perfectly and they all complimented each other so divinely. I look forward to making many more of your recipes and digging into the Paleo lifestyle!
[...] few balance poses, but overall I am pleased with my performance. Went home to the boy who had made these, which he is obsessed with. (I will convert him to primal….its already starting…) I skipped [...]
When you say roasted red peppers are you referring to red bell peppers? If not is there a particular place to get that or is there a substitute?
Yep, red bell peppers are the ones.
Paired great with the pad thai!