Greek Meatball Salad: warm meatballs over a cool, herb-dressed bowl

This is a full meal in a bowl, built from 5 small components that are each simple on their own. Warm seasoned meatballs sit on cool cauliflower rice and fresh vegetables, dressed in a bright herb vinaigrette, with a cooling dairy-free tzatziki spooned over the top. Most of it can be made ahead and assembled whenever you are hungry.

The beef and pork in the meatballs are a source of zinc and iron, both involved in immune regulation and in carrying oxygen through a body doing repair work. The kale, parsley, and mint bring folate and vitamin C, the cucumber and carrot add water and gentle fiber that feed a healthy gut community, and the coconut yogurt tzatziki gives the bowl a creamy, dairy-free finish.

Notice how much color is here once it is assembled: green herbs, orange carrot ribbons, dark kale, pale rice, bronzed meatballs. Take the extra few seconds to layer it rather than pile it. The animals gave their lives for the protein at the center of this bowl, and a thoughtful plate is a quiet way of honoring that.

Ingredients

Meatballs

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cassava flour (binds in place of egg and breadcrumbs, keeps it egg-free)
• Salt, dried basil, garlic powder, onion powder

Cauliflower rice

• 12-ounce package cauliflower rice
• Salt, garlic powder, onion powder

Salad

• The cooled cauliflower rice
• Carrot ribbons
• Cucumber
• Kale
• 2/3 cup parsley
• 1/4 cup mint
• Red onion
• Kalamata olives

Vinaigrette

• Olive oil
• Lemon juice
• Coconut vinegar
• Fresh dill
• Salt, garlic powder, onion powder

Tzatziki

• 8 ounces coconut yogurt
• Cucumber, peeled and seeded
• Lemon juice
• Fresh dill
• Salt

Method

• Heat the oven to 400 F. Mix the meatball ingredients and scoop into small meatballs, about 1 to 1 1/4 inches. Spread the cauliflower rice on a second sheet pan and season it with salt, garlic powder, and onion powder.
• Bake both. Pull the cauliflower rice when it is just tender, around 10 minutes, before it crisps. The meatballs need about 30 minutes to reach 160 F internal; extend in 5-minute increments if needed.
• Combine the salad vegetables with the cooled cauliflower rice. Shake the vinaigrette ingredients together in a jar, dress with about 2 tablespoons, and chill.
• Blend the tzatziki ingredients until smooth.
• Fill bowls with the dressed salad, top with the warm meatballs and a spoon of tzatziki, and finish with a squeeze of lemon.

Air fryer variation

The meatballs air fry well. Arrange them in a single layer and cook at 380 F for roughly 12 to 15 minutes, shaking once, until they reach 160 F internal. Keep the cauliflower rice in the oven or warm it in a skillet, since it is too light to air fry cleanly. Times are an untested adaptation, check the internal temperature.

*Adapted from asquirrelinthekitchen.com*

*Re-grounded from the source archive file aip-source-archives/a-squirrel-in-the-kitchen/aip-greek-meatball-salad.md (guest recipe by Amanda Runnels of Unrefined Junkie for A Squirrel in the Kitchen). Ingredient list kept as factual reference; method reworded in ARM's own words. Cassava flour is retained as the egg-free, grain-free binder. The commenter's oat yogurt and oat flour swaps are dropped because oats are not elimination-stage AIP. Bake and air fryer times flagged for verification.*