MAKES: 5 servings (4 meatballs per serving) · PREP TIME: 15 minutes · COOK TIME: 30 minutes

I just love adding avocado to meatballs. It makes them so tender and juicy. If you aren’t avoiding dairy, be sure to check out the White Cheddar and Sun Dried Tomato Avocado Stuffed Meatballs on my site, peaceloveandlowcarb.com.

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE SAUCE:

•½ cup beef stock or bone broth (here)

•1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce or other hot sauce, or more to taste

•1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

•1 tablespoon fresh orange juice (see tips)

•½ cup diced red onions

•1 teaspoon garlic powder

•½ teaspoon sea salt

FOR THE MEATBALLS:

•2 pounds ground beef

•1 small avocado, peeled, pitted, and cubed

•3 cloves garlic, minced

•1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Sriracha sauce or other hot sauce

•1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

•1 teaspoon grated orange zest

•1 tablespoon fresh orange juice

•1 teaspoon grated lime zest

•1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

•1 tablespoon dried minced onion

•1½ teaspoons sea salt

•1 teaspoon ground ginger

•2 tablespoons avocado oil or olive oil, for the pan

DIRECTIONS

1. Make the sauce: Put all the ingredients for the sauce in a small mixing bowl. Mix to combine and set aside.

2. Make the meatballs: In a large bowl, mix the ground beef, avocado, garlic, Sriracha, Worcestershire sauce, orange zest, orange juice, lime zest, lime juice, dried minced onion, salt, and ginger until the ingredients are well incorporated. Form the mixture into 20 meatballs, about 2 inches in diameter.

3. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

4. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot, cook the meatballs in batches until browned all over. Transfer the browned meatballs to a rimmed baking sheet, leaving the drippings in the skillet.

5. Bake the meatballs for 10 minutes, or until cooked through. While the meatballs are baking, cook the sauce.

6. Add the sauce to the skillet with the pan drippings and use a rubber spatula to scrape up and mix in any browned bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pan. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let the sauce simmer until it has started to thicken.

7. Add the baked meatballs to the pan and toss to coat in the sauce.

tips: The trick to getting your meatballs to keep their shape and develop a nice brown crust is not to turn them too soon or too often. Once the meat has started to brown and develop a crust, it will release itself from the pan. Have you ever gone to flip a steak and had to practically rip it off the pan? That means it was not ready to be flipped. Use a pair of tongs to give the meat a gentle tug. If it is easily lifted, it is ready to be turned or flipped.

For this recipe, I recommend using freshly squeezed orange juice to avoid added sugar from store-bought orange juice. Juicing fresh oranges will also prevent you from having a leftover jug of orange juice in the fridge that you likely won’t drink.

PER SERVING:

CALORIES: 584

FAT: 46.2g

PROTEIN: 32.9g

TOTAL CARBS: 7.9g

FIBER: 2.5g

NET CARBS: 5.4g