Bacon Meatballs
I’m all about fulfilling traditions during the holidays. Which is why I’m willing to entertain the idea of letting my kids make a mess of my kitchen making German spritz cookies. The kitchen seriously looks like a bomb went off in there. Traditions are also one of those things that I allow for leeway in what I eat and don’t adhere to strict rules during the holidays. I still made the spritz with loads of butter but I did switch out the sugar in the dough for honey and used a healthier einkorn wheat flour. My girls got a little crazy with the sugar sprinkles on top and I now have colorful sugar all over the floor. I swear it’ll be sticky for at least two weeks no matter how many times I wash it. Anyway… about these bacon meatballs…
These are a fabulous make ahead paleo approved meatball made with breakfast sausage, bacon, onion and a sweet potato for some veggie power first thing in the morning. I used a white sweet potato this time so my kids won’t notice and think it’s just regular potato 🙂 I lightly sweetened these bacon meatballs with medjool dates that I pulsed into a meal with the bacon in food processor. You could totally just leave them cut into small chunks and it would also be great. I’m pairing these with my vanilla pear donuts for a special Christmas morning breakfast. Make these a day in advance and place them in the fridge over night made up into balls ready to bake in the morning or you can make them further in advance and freeze them which is what I did. To freeze them, after you make them into balls, place them on a parchment lined baking sheet and put the whole sheet in the freezer. Once frozen, peel them off the parchment and place them in a zip top freezer bag or other freezer proof container. Take out as many as you want at a time and bake right from frozen! You’ll just need to increase the bake time if they are frozen when you put them in the oven.
- 2 pounds breakfast sausage
- 1 sweet potato, shredded
- 1 yellow onion, finely diced
- 4 medjool dates, pitted and finely chopped or pulsed in food processor with the bacon
- 8 slices bacon, cooked and finely chopped or pulsed in food processor with the dates
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons coconut flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. The best way to do this is by using your hands.
- Roll into balls approximately 1.5" diameter.
- Place balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment. **At this point, you can freeze them on the baking sheet. When frozen, take them off the parchment and store in a ziptop freezer bag or other freezer-proof container. Take out as many as desired when ready to bake. You will need to increase baking time 10 minutes. Check to be sure they are fully cooked in the center before serving.
- Bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes until centers are cooked.
You can use 8 regular pitted dates or 2 tablespoons maple syrup in place of the medjool dates.
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