This Keto Enchilada Meatball Skillet is a surefire crowd-pleaser. This super easy dinner recipe is perfect for busy weeknights or a quick flavorful lunch.
We love meatballs and this Keto Enchilada Meatball Skillet is one of our new favorite meals! Our favorite part is the enchilada sauce, but we're sauce-loving folks. There are plenty of pre-made store-bought enchilada sauce options that are keto-ish or you can make one at home, like this one.
To begin, we used a pound of ground chicken for these and rolled them out into 16 meatballs. That way each meatball has roughly 1 ounce of ground chicken. It may seem trivial, but we like it because it allows us more control over our macros. By doing it this way we can tailor our protein intake more effectively than opposed to whatever size/weight of chicken breast or thigh is available.
How Can I Make these meatballs more/less Spicy?
You can turn the heat up in these by adding more jalapeño or if you're brave, try replacing the bell pepper with a spicier alternative like a poblano.
For a milder dinner reduce the amount of jalapeño or replace it entirely with extra bell pepper.
Can I Use a Different Protein?
Sure, go for it! Use this recipe as a template and swap out the ground chicken for beef or pork. You can also use a plant-based beef like Beyond Meat. Swap out the red enchilada sauce for a low-carb green sauce, and all of a sudden you've got Verde Enchilada Pork Meatballs.
Making this recipe dairy-free and/or plant-based
To make this recipe dairy-free, make the following swaps:
- Mexican blend cheese --> use a dairy-free kind such as Violife
- Sour cream --> use a dairy-free sour cream, we like Forager
To make this recipe 100% plant-based, use the swaps above plus use a vegan meat alternative like Beyond Meat's ground "beef."
If making these swaps, the instructions stay the same.
Looking for more meatballs? Check out the recipes below!
- Keto Meatballs
- Breakfast Meatballs
- Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
- Asian BBQ Meatball Noodle Bowl
- Keto Garlic Bread Italian Meatball Sliders
What should I serve the Keto Enchilada Meatball Skillet with?
We love this with our Keto Mexican Cauliflower Rice!
Keto Enchilada Skillet Dinner
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 1 bell pepper minced
- 1 jalapeño minced
- ½ white onion minced
- Handful cilantro minced
- 1 tablespoon taco seasoning
- ½ lime juiced
- 1 cup Mexican blend cheese
- 3 tablespoons oil for frying
Toppings:
- 8 ounces enchilada sauce we use fronterra
- ½ cup Mexican blend cheese
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 1 jalapeño thinly sliced
- Cilantro minced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven broiler to high.
- Combine all of the meatball ingredients except for the oil in a medium bowl and mix until combined.
- Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a 10.5″ cast iron skillet until hot. Add in the meatballs and cook 2-3 minutes per side until browned and cooked through.
- Pour in the enchilada sauce and top with the ½ cup of Mexican blend cheese. Place under the broiler for 3-5 minutes until the cheese is melted.
- Top with sour cream, sliced jalapeños, and cilantro to serve.
Kimber Candelaria says
How many meatballs per serving?
Alex Lester says
Approximately 16 but you can make them as large or as small as you want, the serving size will just be 1/6th of the recipe. Hope that helps!
Belle says
How many meat balls does this make and how many meat balls per serving??
Alex Lester says
Approximately 16 but you can make them as large or as small as you want, the serving size will just be 1/6th of the recipe. Hope that helps!
Jen says
I love the taste but mine fell apart. Next time I’m going to add 2 eggs to see if it helps.
TheaMaria says
These look delicious. I'm surprised there's no egg in the meatball mixture?
Alex Lester says
Nope no egg but you could totally add one if you'd like.
Marty says
I do not understand "one-half lime, juiced". Do we use the flesh of the lime, the flesh and peel, or just the juice?
Alex Lester says
It is the juice from 1/2 of a lime.
Jess says
Super creative recipe...my family loved it! I made my own enchilada sauce so the overall net carbs reduced (and fat increased), but we managed 4 meatballs w/sauce and avocado each just under 6 net carbs. I budget 6 carbs per meal, so I couldn't add the cauliflower rice. But next time...and there WILL be a next time, I'll budget my carbs accordingly throughout the day. Thanks for the recipe!!
Kelly says
These are soooo good! I learned to use a spatula to scrape them from the pan after the first side is done and then turn them with the tongs thereafter. I usually get about 21 golf ball sized meatballs out of the mix. My husband hates cilantro and spice, and laps these up 😛 Thanks for the recipe!!
Anita Sue Coleman says
Have you found a good recipe for green enchilada sauce? Many of the store bought ones have high fructose corn syrup in them. I favor green over red, but I will try making the red.
Alex Lester says
We use Fonterra, hope this helps!
Nancy says
I like it, but is is a heavy meal!
Ronda says
This is one of my favorite recipes. My family loves them. I use ground turkey and triple the recipe. I bake them in my convection oven (350 for 20 minutes) and they turn out amazing every time. Thank you for this recipe, it’s delicious!