Gwyneth Paltrow roasted as she shares 'weird' meatball recipe
Ella Scott
Featured Image Credit: NBC
Critics have come for a meatball recipe promoted by Gwyneth Paltrow live on television, with one savagely claiming she deserved ‘jail time’ for her seemingly controversial suggestion.
The American businesswoman, 53, who last year made headlines for sharing a video of herself cooking a ‘Tuscan-inspired high protein #boyfriendbreakfast skillet’ whilst topless, recently returned to TODAY FOOD to show off her Goop Kitchen turkey meatballs recipe.
The Marvel actress took to the TV show kitchen to reveal her non-dairy meatball recipe, seemingly causing fans and commentators alike to absolutely lose it.
If you’re not huge on checking your food ingredients, then you may not know that traditional and store-bought recipes often rely on dairy products such as milk to create a juicy texture and prevent meat from drying out.
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Grated cheese is often included for additional moisture and flavour, and sometimes egg is used to bind and provide structure and sturdiness.
If you’re vegan, want to cut back on your dairy intake, or prefer a simpler approach to cooking, then Paltrow’s meatball ‘trick’ may be right up your street.
“If you want to avoid dairy, one trick that I do is I dice up arugula and put it in,” she confessed to presenter Savannah Guthrie.
“It sounds weird but it kind of adds a nice texture to it and it’s delicious,” the mother-of-two reasoned.
A quick Google search will show that Paltrow isn’t the only person in the world adding arugula (or rocket, as it is known in Britain) to her meatballs, with some recipes directing cooks to finely chop it with a knife before adding it to the meat mix.
Social media is seemingly less convinced that you can replace dairy with a herb in the meatball mix, with one critic commenting on Instagram: “Gwyneth I’ve had a long day.”
“Girl WTF straight to jail,” someone else said, alongisde a third who claimed: “When I run out of croutons for my salad, I just grab a handful of mulch from my garden.”
A fourth savagely added: “Please keep these 'tricks' out of my feed.”
Others have come to the Goop founder’s defence, including one Instagram user who said: “It sounds odd but I think it’s out of context.
“Instead of adding grated Parmigiano, you can absolutely add diced arugula. This will lighten the texture and add flavour and moisture.”
Another added: “Honestly she’s so funny for this.”
Paltrow previously followed the paleo diet, an eating plan with emphasis on whole, unprocessed foods such as: lean meats, fish, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds.
Most people who follow the diet do not eat grains, dairy, or refined sugars.
Last year, the Marty Supreme star admitted she’d somewhat abandoned the paleo diet on her Goop podcast.
“I’m a little sick of it, if I'm honest, and getting back into eating some sourdough bread and some cheese,” she confessed in April 2025. “There, I said it. A little pasta after being strict with it for so long.”
Music producer Benny Blanco recently revealed that Paltrow’s Goop Kitchen was a favourite haunt of his wife, Wizards of Waverly Place actress Selena Gomez.
The 38-year-old, who tied the knot with Gomez last December, said the star enjoyed eating ‘the s**t’ out of the business, which has delivery-first sites in New York and Los Angeles.
Goop Kitchen sells ‘clean takeout’ items, such as wraps, chopped salads, organic soups, turkey chilli bowls, and chicken salad summer roles.
Gomez is apparently a fan of the Goop chicken salad.
However, Blanco told the Oscar winner during a live podcast taping that she enjoys picking out ‘everything on top of the salad’ and leaves the lettuce and greens for him to finish.