These Carne Asada Meatballs have all the flavor of traditional carne asada rolled up into a meatball. Carne asada will forever bring back memories of grilling with the family and an abundance of food like you can’t even imagine. It was as if we were going to be feeding a whole army of people! That is one thing that about these carne asada meals, everyone was invited regardless of what day it was. You always made enough food “just in case someone comes over”. Hey, the more food the more leftovers and it just meant I was going to eat so dang good for at least a couple of days!
Back to the delicious meatball version. Working full-time and having to meal prep my lunches, I need to be creative. Is there a more perfect thing to meal prep than a meatball?? They’re so easy to make, you can make double batches, and they reheat well. I remember when I first got the idea of making these and I ran it past my best friends they both said, “um, yeah! that sounds SO good!”. Not only do they sound good, they are seriously one of my favorite things now.
I wanted to really bring out the flavors of a traditional carne asada and knew that I had to make a marinade that would coat the meatballs. When you make carne asada to grill typically the meat is left to marinade in a delicious marinade made with onions, lime juice, and sometimes beer. I mean, beer is always a good idea, right? Unless you’re doing a Whole30, then don’t even think about it! I bring that up because these carne asada meatballs are Whole30 complaint but you wouldn’t know it because the flavor is just insane. Can something so delicious be Whole30 compliant?! Absolutely! Oh and just so you know, my salsa verde is the perfect way to top these off. Trust me, match made in heaven! Get the recipe for salsa verde here. Can’t wait for you to try these!
Carne Asada Meatballs
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1½ lb ground beef use ground meat of choice
- 1 green onion chopped
- 1 garlic clove minced
- handful of cilantro stems off and chopped
- ½ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp almond flour
Marinade
- ¼ cup green onion chopped; about 2 onions
- 1 garlic clove minced
- ¼ cup cilantro stems off and chopped
- ½ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp salt adjust to taste
- ⅓ cup lime juice about 3 large limes
- ½ cup beef broth
Instructions
Meatballs
- Preheat oven to 400° and line baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone mat.
- In a large bowl combine all of the ingredients for meatballs and, using your hands, mix just until combined.
- Use about 3 tbsp of mixture to shape into meatballs and place on baking sheet. For evenly sized meatballs use a cookie scoop.
- Place baking sheet in oven and bake for 17-20 minutes until cooked through. Adjust time based on your oven.
Marinade
- While the meatballs are cooking, combine the marinade ingredients in a small bowl and place the mixture in a large pan over medium heat.
- Simmer and let it reduce a little to slightly thicken the marinade.
- Add meatballs to pan and toss them in marinade.
These carne asada meatballs are what dreams are made of! I made a batch of 72 (yes, 72!) and they were gone within days. The way Jess writes her recipes always makes cooking so much easier than I think it is going to be. MAKE THESE! You will not regret it.
Thanks so much Danielle! So glad you loved them girlfriend and I LOVE that you made 72…I mean, cmon!
Cannot wait to try these again!!
I can’t wait either! They are so good!