Saucy Beef & Bacon BBQ Meatballs with Sweet Potato Fries

Today’s special is for the boys – beefy paleo meatballs with bacon, all smothered in tangy barbecue sauce and served bar food style in a basket of hot sweet potato fries – grab a fork guys and dig in! 

Actually anyone with a man-sized appetite for a savory and saucy meal is going to love this casual combo of roadhouse rounders and fries – the kids will be all over this one I’m sure.

The meatballs (the recipe makes about 20) are loaded with bacon and they get rolled around a hot pan of bacon drippings for a light browning before they’re finished off in the oven.

In the true spirit of casual bar food, I’ve made this one a really easy paleo and gluten-free recipe to pull off.

The sweet potato fries are super simple to make, but you can also serve the meatballs and sauce over a baked sweet potato if you want to save yourself some chopping time.

Just a few helpful tips from the kitchen:

• I grated an onion to give the meatballs a little extra flavor, but you can just dice your onion small if you prefer. Just remember to freeze your onion first or you will be crying your eyes out like I did!

• When you’re hand mixing the meatballs, don’t overdo it – a lighter touch is best. Too much squeezing and compacting can result in meatballs that might be a little firmer than you’d like.

• If you’re doing the sweet potato fries, you can bake both the meatballs and fries in the oven at the same time on different racks. Just remember the meatballs will be ready in about 20 minutes, while the fries will take a little longer – around 25-30 minutes.

• I’d recommend my Tangy Paleo Barbecue Sauce to go along with this recipe – it’s really easy to whip together and you can make it ahead of time if you like – but feel free to use your favorite pre-made paleo BBQ sauce. [av_sidebar widget_area=’Lockerdome’ av_uid=’av-13071′]

Got leftovers? You can add these savory meatballs to other paleo dishes, or simply reheat and eat them by themselves. You can pop them in your lunch, have a couple with breakfast, or even chomp on them for a quick snack. I bet the kids would love these in their lunch bag with fresh fruit and veggies.

Hope you all enjoy this easy paleo recipe when you’re hungry for something more casual that’s savory, saucy and so good!