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Italian meatballs cooked in a low carb homemade marinara sauce and baked with gooey mozzarella cheese!
Oh how I love the smell of Italian food cooking in my kitchen! This is such an easy Low Carb Italian style meatball recipe! They get tender from cooking in the marinara sauce and soak up all that great flavor!
I add shredded mozzarella cheese over the top and bake the meatballs in the oven till the cheese is golden and bubbly. These are the best Keto meatballs ever!!
Before Keto, I often made the typical “Sunday Sauce” (or gravy depending on who you ask!) and of course served it over some of my favorite pasta long fusilli, rigatoni or penne.
While I no longer indulge in pasta, I do still really enjoy a good meatball, Italian sausage or Beef Braciole. And these are the best tasting Low Carb meatballs!
How to Make Low Carb Italian Meatballs
Ingredients
1 pound grass-fed ground beef (I use 85%)
1 pound ground pork
1 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
28 ounce can of low carb tomato sauce
2 whole eggs
1/3 cup heavy cream
3 cloves garlic, minced & divided
3 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped & divided
1/3 cup white wine (I use Pinot Grigio) – or chicken stock
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil (for coating the pan)
Preparation
Preheat oven to 400F.
Combine the eggs, heavy cream, 2 cloves of garlic, parmesan cheese and half the basil in a bowl and mix well.
Add in the ground beef and pork and mix just until combined, do not over-mix.
Using an ice cream scoop, scoop out mixture into your hand, form the meatballs and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Wet your hands periodically, to prevent them from sticking to your hands.
Bake for 10 minutes or until firm enough to hold their shape.
Take the pan out of the oven, turn the oven off and transfer the meatballs to an oven-safe skillet that has a drizzle of olive oil in it.
Put the pan on the stovetop over medium heat and sauté for a few minutes on each side to brown.
Remove the meatballs from the pan and set on a plate. Drain off most of the fat, then add in the remaining clove of garlic. Sauté for about 20 seconds, careful not to brown it.
Deglaze the pan with the wine, scraping up the brown bits. Continue cooking until the liquid has reduced by half.
Stir in the tomato sauce, remaining basil, salt and pepper.
Return the meatballs back into the sauce and cook (covered) for another 45 minutes on medium low or until tender.
Preheat the oven to 425F.
Add the cheese over the top and bake for 10 minutes or until the cheese is golden.
Take out of the oven and allow to cool slightly before serving. Garnish with fresh basil and serve over zoodles, spaghetti squash or with some veggies on the side.
More Italian inspired Keto and Low Carb recipes…
Chicken Parmesan
Instant Pot Chicken Marsala
Shrimp alla Vodka
Italian Breadsticks
Creamy Tuscan Chicken Skillet
Baked Italian Meatballs - Keto, Low Carb & Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 1 pound grass-fed ground beef I use 85%
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 cup parmesan cheese grated
- 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 28 ounce can of low carb tomato sauce
- 2 whole eggs
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 3 cloves garlic minced & divided
- 3 tablespoons fresh basil chopped & divided
- 1/3 cup white wine I use Pinot Grigio - or chicken stock
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Olive oil for coating the pan
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Add eggs, heavy cream, 2 cloves of garlic, parmesan cheese and half the basil to a bowl and mix well. Add in the ground beef and pork and mix just until combined, do not over-mix.
- Using an ice cream scoop, scoop out mixture into your hand, form the meatballs and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Wet your hands periodically, to prevent them from sticking to your hands. Bake for 10 minutes or until firm enough to hold their shape.
- Remove the pan from the oven, turn the oven off and transfer the meatballs to an oven-safe skillet that has a drizzle of olive oil in it. Put the pan on the stovetop over medium heat and sauté for a few minutes on each side to brown. Remove the meatballs from the pan and set on a plate.
- Drain off most of the fat, then add in the remaining clove of garlic. Sauté for about 20 seconds, careful not to brown it. Deglaze the pan with the wine, scraping up the brown bits. Continue cooking until the liquid has reduced by half. Stir in the tomato sauce, remaining basil, salt and pepper.
- Add the meatballs back in and cook (covered) for another 45 minutes on medium low or until tender. Preheat the oven to 425F. Add the cheese over the top and bake for 10 minutes or until the cheese is golden.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before serving. Garnish with fresh basil and serve over zoodles, spaghetti squash or with some veggies on the side.
Went over well and easy to make
Great to hear you liked them!
Hi,
Making this now, when is the Parmesan cheese added?
Hi Sharon,
It’s added to the meatball mixture.
I’ve been wondering, when looking for fat content, do you look at the total fat or the saturated portion? I’ve been told just saturated, and if that’s so, it’s much lower than protein and I’ve been having a hard time minimizing my protein and getting on ketosis.
Hi Sara,
Personally, I look at total fat, but I display both total and saturated fat in the nutrition label for my recipes.
Hi there! Making these for dinner. Watched the video & it shows to add the Parmesan with the cream, eggs, etc but that’s missing in your step 2. Not sure if that was on purpose. Too late for me to add that in but I’m sure they’ll be delicious anyway 😊
how many meatballs is considered a serving?
Hi Kaleigh,
Each serving is 2 meatballs for the size that I made. If you make them larger or smaller, it would just be 1/8th of the recipe. I hope that helps!
I made this for supper last night, and it was delicious. I had it over steamed veggies (my spouse, who is not keto, enjoyed it over pasta). It was a nice change of pace from my usual fare, and I’m adding it to my “I need to treat myself” file. It’s an easy recipe, but the results taste special–like it required more work than it actually did. Two thumbs up!
My husband is not Keto either, though he eats most of what I make that is. He too, had it over pasta and enjoyed it. I’m glad you and you both liked it and consider it a treat 🙂
After the meatballs simmered for 45min. I poured them over spaghetti squash in a 9×11 dish, added the cheese and into the oven for 15min. ?
Great idea, sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing 🙂