Love a good meatball parmesan sandwich?  Well, these Gluten Free Meatball Sub Skewers put a fun twist on the classic.  Gluten free pizza dough is twisted with homemade gluten free meatballs.  Top with mozzarella and a side of sauce for dunking, and you’ve got one amazing appetizer for the big game.

This is a recipe with a story, and if you love foodie stories and the background about how recipes were born, then read on!

Before I was a blogger, I was an avid competitive home cook.  I loved entering recipe contests and participating in cook-offs.  I have had some amazing foodie experiences, won some serious money, and made some wonderful friends along the way.

For the competitive cook, one of the most coveted competitions to participate in is the Pillsbury Bake Off.  It’s no easy task to make the cut, but if you do, you are in for an amazing journey!  The contest has undergone some revamping of late, but when I had the honor of competing in Las Vegas (2013) and again in Nashville (2014), I was one of 100 semi-finalists vying for $1,000,000!  That is some serious money.

In order to make the cut, you needed to have a pretty unique recipe…something that had never been done before, something that was sure to catch the eye of the judges.  In the day of blogs and digital recipes, coming up with something new that has never been done before is not easy.  But amazingly I managed to do just that.

My recipe for Meatball and Breadstick Sub Skewers was something new.  It was a simple twist on a classic.  At the time, there was nothing like it on Pinterest or Facebook; there were no bloggers that had tried it.  It was new in every sense of the word.  In the days following the Bake Off, many would copy and slightly tweak the recipe, and similar versions began to crop up on various blogs.  But I know the origin of the recipe and where it was birthed.  It’s a recipe with a story all my own, and I keep it as little treasured tidbit!

Interested in reading more about my experience at The Pillsbury Bake Off?  Check out my 3 part story below:

• The Road to the Pillsbury Bake Off
• The Road to Vegas
• It’s Not All About the Dough

At the time of the Bake Off our home was not a dedicated gluten free home, but now it is.  And for the past several years I have wanted so badly to recreate that recipe in a gluten free form.  Well, that day is here.

After stumbling across a ball of gluten free pizza dough from Wholly Gluten Free in my local grocer’s freezer section, I decided to see if it would work.   I loved the fact that their gluten free dough was also free of dairy, egg, soy, nut, casein, and sesame.  For me, this meant everyone in my house could enjoy this!  I was ecstatic.

I found the dough extremely easy to work with and shape.  After very lightly dusting my work surface with a bit of gluten free flour, I had no problems with the dough sticking or coming apart.  It truly was perfect.

When all was said and done, the dough baked up wonderfully and tasted amazing.   The texture was spot on too.  I was glad that I stumbled upon this gem!  If you’re curious as to where you can find Wholly Gluten Free products near you, check out their product locator.

 

Start with the Meatballs

Before you even begin to think about assembling these neat skewers, you will need to make the miniature gluten free meatballs that twist around the pizza dough.  The recipe for my GLUTEN FREE MEATBALLS is just a click away.  The recipe will yield approximately 36 meatballs, which will be just enough to make 12 skewers (each with 3 meatballs).  When making the meatballs, I recommend using a one-tablespoon sized spring loaded scooper to ensure that the meatballs are uniform in size.

To make assembly simple, I like to line a baking sheet with parchment paper and neatly place the uncooked meatballs on the tray as I finish rolling them.  Then when I need to place them on the skewers they are easily within reach with no fuss needed.

Before getting started make sure you have everything that you need:

• prepared meatballs on a parchment lined baking sheet
• thawed gluten free pizza dough
• a bit of gluten free flour to sprinkle a work surface with
• a knife
• 12  – 10″ metal skewers (wooden skewers can prove to be difficult to work with in this recipe, so I opt for metal).
• 2 large parchment lined baking sheets for the skewers (place 6 skewers on each sheet)

How to Assemble the Skewers

1. Begin by lightly sprinkling your work surface with a bit of gluten free flour.  Using a rolling pin or your hands, shape the pizza dough into a 6″ x 4″ rectangle.
2. Using a knife, slice the dough into 12 relatively equal portions.
3. Remove one section of the dough and gently roll it into an 8″ rope.  I would recommend working with half of the dough at one time.  Make six ropes, and then move on to assembling the skewers.

4.   Begin by laying one 10″ metal skewer onto your work surface.  Thread one end of dough rope onto the skewer; add 1 meatball, leaving 1/4 inch of space between the dough and each meatball.

5 & 6.  Repeat this back and forth threading motion with the dough rope and 2 additional meatballs. Place the completed skewers 1 inch apart on cookie sheet.

TIP:  I find it best to let the metal skewer do all of the work for you.  The dough and meat will slide easily through the skewer.  Instead of pushing the dough and the meatball onto the skewer,  I would instead push the skewer through them.

I would opt to use two baking sheets, each with 6 completed skewers on each.  Overcrowding the baking sheets can make things a bit messy.

Bake the skewers at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted into the center of the meatballs registers 165 degrees.

Remove the baking sheets from the oven.  Scatter 1 tablespoon of shredded mozzarella cheese over each skewer.

Return the baking sheets back to the oven and bake at 375 degrees for an additional 3 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

While the cheese is melting, warm up 2 cups of your favorite marinara sauce to serve with the skewers.

Remove the skewers from the oven.  Allow them to sit for 2 minutes before serving.  Please note that the skewers may still be hot; use caution when serving.  You may opt to remove the skewer before serving.

 

This post and recipe are a paid sponsorship with Wholly Gluten Free.  However, my opinions are my own, and I will only partner with products and brands that I use myself and trust.

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