Spiced Caribbean Meatballs with Rice
Sweet heat is always a popular meal around our house. These spiced meatballs are super easy to prepare and a great light and healthy dish that incorporates sweet mango with the warm flavors in our Caribbean Spice blend. If you are looking for a little more heat, amp it up by adding a little more Red Pepper Flakes.
Our Caribbean Spice is hand blended from granulated garlic, minced onion, ground allspice, Spanish paprika, brown sugar, thyme, ground cinnamon, black pepper, nutmeg, lemon peel and cayenne pepper.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup dry whole wheat bread crumbs
- 1 lb lean ground beef - we used 93%
- 1 egg
- 1 Tablespoon Caribbean Spice
- 3 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 Tablespoons honey
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons water
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 2 Tablespoons lime juice (about 1 lime)
- 1 medium mango, peeled and diced
- 1 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes - add more if you prefer a bit more heat
- 3 cups hot cooked rice
Instructions:
- In a large mixing bowl, add bread crumbs, ground meat, egg and Caribbean Spice to the bread mixture. Mix with hands to thoroughly combine.
-
Shape meatballs from the ground meat mixture, about 1 inch balls. You should get at least 18 balls for 6 servings.
- At this point the meatballs can be placed on a tray, wrapped in plastic and refrigerated until ready to cook. Bring them back to room temperature before adding them to the hot oil.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Sprinkle the 3 Tablespoons of cornstarch on a plate or board.
- In a medium skillet heat the oil to medium high heat. When the oil is hot, roll the meatballs in the cornstarch and carefully add them to the hot oil. Turn the meatballs to brown all sides and remove them to a paper towel to absorb any extra oil.
- In a small bowl, combine honey, 2 teaspoons cornstarch, water, orange juice, mango and red pepper flakes - whisk to combine.
- Line the meatballs in one layer in a small baking dish. They can be touching, but not on top of each other.
- Pour the mango mixture over the meatballs and cook at 350 for 25-30 minutes, basting the meatballs with the mango mixture during cooking. Meatballs should be cooked through and sauce will thicken slightly.
- Serve over hot cooked rice.
