Hi, y’all! I’m Erin, and I blog over at The Speckled Palate. I’m a casual (read: lazy) entertainer by nature… and while I’m not a Whole30 blogger, I’ve shared several Whole30-friendly recipes in the past year because part of entertaining is meeting your guests dietary needs, as well as your own. I’m here to tell you that YES, you can totally entertain (read: host a guests for dinner—nothing fancy here, y’all) while doing a Whole30, and it can be fabulously delicious.
A little backstory: My husband and I did our first Whole30 more than a year ago after Cheryl told me all about how it changed her way of eating. We viewed it as a reset to eating whole, delicious foods without depriving ourselves. By month’s end, we both felt amazing! And ever since then, we try to eat Whole30 meals weekly, even though we haven’t done a Whole30 in a while.
Which brings me to Whole30 entertaining… y’all can do this! And when entertaining while doing the Whole30, I’m more inclined to make a meal I love, love, love that I am to make appetizers and canapés for my guests to enjoy. Which brings us to these Whole30 Spaghetti and Meatballs.
Not only are they perfect for entertaining, but these Whole30 Spaghetti and Meatballs of my favorite comfort food turned into a Whole30-compliant dish… It was a smashing success. Yes, the spaghetti is zucchini noodles, so it’s not really spaghetti. I know. Yes, the meatballs have some almond meal instead of bread. I know. But if you can get over that, you’ll realize the flavors are spot on. The longer you let ‘em simmer, the more flavorful they’re gonna be.
Won’t this Whole30 spaghetti and meatballs make me miss the real thing? Well, I can’t speak for you, but I can tell you what happened with our family: The three of us gobbled our food down in silence—our 3-year-old included—as my husband and I occasionally made statements that were along the lines of, “OMG SO GOOD.” It’s not spaghetti and meatballs, but it has the same comforting elements and flavors as the well-loved non-Whole30-compliant dish. Also, as we were eating this dish, my husband and I both said we’d wished we’d invited our friend with celiac for dinner because we knew he’d love it.
What if I have a nut allergy? You can very easily leave out the almond meal if you have a nut allergy. The meatballs will have a little bit of a different texture, but the overall flavor will not change!
How can I make the zucchini noodles if I don’t have a spiralizer? Before I had a spiralizer, I used my trusty vegetable peeler. Yes, it’ll take a whole heck of a lot more time, but you can peel the zucchini into thin “noodles.” That said, if you’re a fan of spiralized anything and don’t have a spiralizer, I highly recommend it. We use ours weekly on ALL the veggies and fruits!
What kinds of tools do I need to make these Whole30 Spaghetti and Meatballs? Spiralizer Dutch Oven Glass Bowls Measuring cups Tongs
Y’all ready to check this goodness out? Scroll on down to learn how simple it is to make at home!
Have you ever completed a Whole30?
