These Keto Meatballs are an easy low-carb comfort food recipe that you'll turn to again and again! This recipe can easily be made plant-based as well!
Hearty…Saucy…Delicious…these are just a few of the words you could use to describe these perfect Keto Meatballs! Simmered in a delicious Italian marinara sauce these meatballs are perfect for adding to low-carb pasta or on top of mashed cauliflower or even tucked into our Keto Rolls as a Keto Meatball Slider!
We love meatballs, we have a variety of meatball recipes here on CIK and make baked meatballs, stewed meatballs, and pan-fried meatballs pretty much weekly to have on hand for easy meals throughout the week.
This recipe for Keto Meatballs though uses a stewed style meatballs where the meatballs (how many times do you think we can say meatballs in this post?? 😜) get cooked IN the marinara sauce leading to the best flavor!
INGREDIENTS IN Keto Meatballs
- ground beef (see below for plant-based options)
- eggs
- heavy cream
- almond flour
- salt and pepper
- fresh garlic
- onion
- fresh parsley
- parmesan cheese
- marinara sauce
How to make Keto Meatballs
Just 3 simple steps!
- Mix all the ingredients (except the sauce) in a large mixing bowl until combined. Form into meatballs.
- Add the marinara to your dutch oven, followed by the meatballs. Bring to a low simmer, cover, and continue to cook for about 60 minutes.
- Top with ¼ cup parmesan, a sprinkle of parsley, and serve.
What to use in place of bread crumbs:
To make this recipe super simple we opted for straight-up almond flour as the binder instead of a Keto bread crumb replacement. HOWEVER, we LOVE using pork rinds in place of breadcrumbs so if you have those on hand you can swap out the almond flour for a crushed pork rind bread crumb substitute.
Making this low-carb meatball recipe vegan:
If you're dairy-free or plant-based, we've provided substitutes in the recipe for making these meatballs 100% vegan. 😁 Just dairy-free? Feel free to just swap out the regular cream and cheese for their vegan substitutes listed below. Easy peasy.
Other cookware options besides cast-iron
In theory, you could use a deep skillet to make these meatballs but we prefer to use our cast iron Dutch oven or our enameled cast iron Dutch oven.
Using a Slow Cooker to make meatballs
Yes! A slow cooker works great here. Follow the instructions but cook on low for 5-6 hours or on high for 2-3 hours.
How to serve Keto Meatballs
Here are a few of our ideas:
- on top of low-carb pasta
- on top of mashed cauliflower
- tucked into our rolls to make Keto Meatball Sliders!
Other protein options
Yes! This is so delicious! Just use half ground beef and half ground pork.
Have ground turkey on hand? Turkey would be delicious as well.
For our plant-based readers, we love Beyond Meat's ground "beef" in this recipe!
How to make homemade marinara sauce in 3 simple steps
- Start with a 28-oz jar of crushed tomatoes.
- Heat a bit of olive oil (about 2 tablespoons) in a pot and sauté 2 cloves of minced garlic for one minute.
- Add in 2 tablespoons of Italian seasoning, ½ teaspoon onion powder, and a pinch of salt. Simmer for 5 minutes.
Our favorite store-bought marinara sauce?
Totally! Just be sure to look for one without added sugar. Primal Kitchen makes a great Keto friendly marinara pasta sauce.
Making the Meatballs dairy-free is super simple!
Sure thing! Simply leave out the parmesan cheese or use a dairy-free substitute, we love Violife Parmesan!
nutritional information
As always, you can find the full nutritional breakdown including the carb count (total carbs and net carbs) at the bottom of the recipe card. You can find the serving size/yield at the top of the recipe card. You should always double-check your specific ingredients as different brand’s ingredients may have different values.
To get a specific serving size you’ll want to weigh the final dish then divide by the number of servings. We can’t provide this information as your cooking style will vary from ours as well as the brand ingredients you choose to use.
Check out these other low-carb Meatball recipes:
📖 Recipe
Keto Meatballs
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 lb ground beef or a beef substitute like Beyond Meat
- 2 large eggs or chia eggs for plant-based
- ¼ cup heavy cream or plain unsweetened almond milk
- ¼ cup almond flour
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- ½ cup diced onion
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley minced
- ¾ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese divided (½ cup in meatballs, ¼ cup as topping) or a vegan substitute such as Violife Parmesan
- 1 28-oz jar marinara sauce, without added sugar OR the recipe below
Homemade Keto Marinara Sauce:
- 1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- Sea salt to taste
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the beef, eggs, cream, almond flour, spices, garlic, onion, and ½ cup of the parmesan. Mix well and form into meatballs.
- Heat the oil in a 5-quart or larger Dutch oven over medium heat. Sear the meatballs for 2-3 minutes per side then add in the marinara. Bring to a low simmer, cover, and continue to cook for about 30-45 minutes.
- Top with ¼ cup parmesan, a sprinkle of parsley, and serve.
Homemade Marinara (if using)
- Heat the oil in the Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook the garlic for one minute, add in the Italian seasoning and onion powder. Taste for salt. Remove and set aside.
Sara says
Can I do this in a skillet or do I need a deep dutch oven? Do you use a lid while it cooks?
Thanks!
Alex Lester says
The skillet would need to be a bit deep because of the sauce. No, no cover is needed because the steam created would make the sauce too watery. If splattering is a concern you can use a splatter screen.
Sarah says
I read that the recipe is for 6 servings, but how many meatballs does it make? How many is considered a "serving" according to the macros.
Alex Lester says
It depends on how big you make your meatballs, it's really a personal preference. I made about 12 meatballs here which would be 2 per serving.
Catherine says
Mixed all the ingredients and ended up with a mix that did not look what i reckon it was not to look like, so its gone in the oven as a meatloaf. lol. Hope it tastes nice
Dotty says
These were amazing. Thank you so much for the recipe.
Alex says
Do I use the oven or the stove?
Thanks!
Cast Iron Keto says
Hi Alex, you'll use the stovetop! I've edited the recipe to be more clear 😊