Keto Meatballs and Tomato Sauce
Posted: 08/04/21
Updated: 12/13/21
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These keto meatballs are full of flavor, tender, and super quick and easy to make. Tossed in a savory Italian tomato sauce, they’re perfect by themselves or over palmini, zoodles, or shirataki noodles. Only 5g net carbs per serving of meatballs and sauce, and 0g net carbs per serving of meatballs alone.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- This is such a simple recipe once you get into it, and yet it tastes SO GOOD. Keto meatballs are an easy, delicious, filling dish that can be used in several ways. Enjoy them on their own or with tomato sauce, serve them over a keto pasta, or make them into a keto meatball sub with your favorite keto bread.
- Traditional meatballs unfortunately aren’t keto (womp womp) because they’re typically made with breadcrumbs as binding. There’s no breadcrumbs (or flour) in this meatball recipe at all, so it’s totally keto AND it’s gluten free!
- Pan-frying keto meatballs gives them this light, really amazing crust, and the insides of the meatballs come out super tender. You could also bake them if you’d like a slightly lighter option. They’ll be a little softer but still delicious. I’d recommend baking them at 400° Fahrenheit for 15-20 minutes or so.
- These are a great option for freezer meals! Cook the meatballs as written, let them cool fully, then freeze them in a sealable freezer bag. You can reheat them from frozen or let them thaw first. They’re also perfect for meal prep, since the freshly cooked meatballs will keep up to 5 days.
Key Ingredients
Ground Beef & Ground Pork – I love the flavor you get by using these two together. If you don’t eat pork, you can try swapping it out for ground turkey, or just doubling the ground beef. The flavors won’t be quite the same, but they’ll still taste great!
Parmesan & Mozzarella – For binding! Since there’s no breadcrumbs or flour in the meatball recipe, the cheese works with the eggs to hold everything together. Plus it adds a great cheesy flavor and a nice, tender texture to the keto meatballs!
San Marzano Tomatoes – Most tomato products actually aren’t keto-friendly, and if you’re strict keto you might avoid canned tomato products altogether. Totally fine! You can make these meatballs and enjoy them with another type of sauce. If you do use canned tomatoes, I recommend the whole San Marzano tomatoes, not only for their flavor but also for their ingredients. Whatever brand you use, be sure to choose one that has no added sugars at all. Any sugars in the tomatoes should come from the tomatoes themselves.
Chef’s Tips
- Chilling the formed meatballs before pan-frying them will help them hold their shape better! Don’t over-handle them, either, or you can make them tough.
- As always, you’ll want to grate and shred your own cheese rather than using the pre-packaged options. If you don’t want to bother with it, the pre-packaged shredded cheeses will work. They just include added fillers to prevent clumping, which adds unnecessary carbs to the cheese.
- If you bake the keto meatballs instead of pan-frying them, try putting them under the broiler right at the end of the bake time to give them a little of that pan-fried crust. Be careful not to overcook them, though!
You’ll Love These Keto Recipes, Too!
- Keto Chicken Salad (Classic Shredded Chicken Salad)
- Keto Banana Bread
- Everything Bagel Chicken with Scallion Cream Cheese Sauce (Keto)
- Keto Carbonara
- Addictive Hot Crab Dip (Low Carb, Keto, Gluten Free)
- Egg Roll in a Bowl Meal Prep (Whole30, Paleo, Keto)
- Baked Keto Empanadas
- Cauliflower Potato Salad
- Marry Me Chicken
- Keto Broccoli Cheese Soup
Keto Meatballs and Tomato Sauce
These keto meatballs are full of flavor, tender, and super quick and easy to make. Tossed in a savory Italian tomato sauce, they're perfect by themselves or over palmini, zoodles, or shirataki noodles. Only 5g net carbs per serving of meatballs and sauce, and 0g net carbs per serving of meatballs alone.
Ingredients
- oil for frying, preferably refined coconut oil or avocado oil
For the Keto Meatballs
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound ground pork
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese or romano cheese
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella
- 1 ½ tablespoons chopped Italian flat leaf parsley
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
For the Tomato Sauce
- 1 28-ounce can whole San Marzano tomatoes drained, see Notes
- ½ cup water
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon fresh basil chopped
Equipment
- Large bowl
- Disher
- Large non-stick skillet
- Plate lined with paper towels (or cooling rack over paper towels)
- Blender (or immersion blender)
Instructions
For the Keto Meatballs
- In large bowl, mix together all meatball ingredients until thoroughly combined. Don't overmix.
- Use disher (preferably 1 ½ tablespoons sized) to dish out identically portioned meatballs. Roll meatball mixture between palms of hands to smooth, then set aside and repeat until all of mixture is formed into meatballs.
- Heat oil in large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add meatballs to skillet, being careful not to overcrowd. Fry in batches as needed. When meatballs are browned and slightly crisp, transfer from skillet to plate lined with paper towels. Repeat until all meatballs are fried.
For the Tomato Sauce
- Add drained tomatoes and water to blender and purée until smooth. Alternately, add drained tomatoes and water to large bowl and use immersion blender to blend until smooth.
- Pour out excess oil from cooking meatballs, then add 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil to large skillet. Heat over medium-low heat.
- When oil is hot, add garlic and sauté approximately 30 seconds or until fragrant. Be careful not to burn garlic.
- Stir in puréed tomatoes, Italian seasoning, crushed red pepper flakes, and kosher salt. Bring mixture to boil, then reduce heat and simmer 1 to 2 minutes.
- Stir chopped basil and meatballs into tomato sauce. Coat well and serve warm over shirataki noodles, palmini noodles, zoodles, or on their own.
Notes
- Tomatoes: Instead of a can of San Marzano tomatoes, you can use crushed tomatoes. They’ll be slightly higher in carbs, so keep that in mind. If you use crushed tomatoes, don’t add the ½ cup water – just purée the crushed tomatoes on their own.
Nutrition Information
Serving: 1serving of meatballs with tomato sauce, Calories: 429kcal, Carbohydrates: 6g, Protein: 27g, Fat: 33g, Saturated Fat: 13g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 15g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 143mg, Sodium: 600mg, Potassium: 618mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 299IU, Vitamin C: 2mg, Calcium: 188mg, Iron: 11mg, Net Carbs: 5g
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
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