Keto Meatballs Skillet
Keto Meatball Skillet is the perfect keto meatball recipe because it produces the best juiciest, most tender meatballs, bathed in a low carb, flavorful marinara, and topped with cheese. Absolute comfort food.
Make these low carb meatballs in a skillet with this fantastic keto marinara sauce or use these meatballs on their own in other ways. Keto meatballs make for a fabulous, family friendly, versatile dish. And taste great even if you don’t want to eat low carb!
Smothered with gooey mozzarella and homemade low carb marinara, this one skillet meal eliminates most of the mess while offering mouth watering deliciousness. Minimize the calorie intake and serve keto meatballs over zoodles for one complete keto friendly, gluten free meal.
Looking for a one skillet meal? Of all the skillet recipes these keto meatballs are a fave. Keto Meatballs Skillet is a low carb, gluten free, easy to make, winner of a dish.
How To Make Keto Meatballs:
This meal is so good it feels like it is a guilty pleasure, but it’s really not. With the elimination of carbs and a low calorie side, like zoodles, you have got yourself a low carb, lower calorie dinner. It’s a win on all fronts.
Plus it is not that time consuming or hard to make either. Here’s an overview of what to expect.
Keto Meatball Steps:
- Mix: Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.
- Form Meatballs: Divide meat mixture into 16 even sized balls.
- Pan Fry Meatballs: Brown on all sides of meatballs in bacon grease.
- Top with Marinara and Cheese: Top meatballs with marinara and cheese.
- Bake: Bake in in preheated oven at 350 for 20-25 minutes.
- Garnish and Serve: Top with parsley.
It’s an easy, yet delicious dish.
Note: For more detailed instructions, see recipe at the end.
What Kind Of Meat Should I Use For Meatballs?
If you look at the ingredients listed at the end, you will notice this recipe calls for three types of meat, ground beef, ground pork, and ground veal.
Now you can just use one type of meat when making meatballs. However, I recommend a combination.
When you use more than one type of meat, a greater depth of flavor is produced. Plus different meats tend to have different fat content, resulting in a good level of juiciness and tastiness when a variety is used.
This is critical for a tender meatball. But this recipe still works even if you only use one or two. Beef is the most important.
What Kind Of Beef?
- Beef with some fat, 80/20 is the best
Meat Used In This Recipe:
- Ground Beef (80/20)
- Ground Pork
- Ground Veal
If you don’t like any of the meats listed, or can’t find them, don’t have to use. Use one type of meat, two types, or all three listed. Whether you use one or all just make sure you use the same amount of meat that the recipe requires.
How To Make Juicy Meatballs:
Follow this recipe and you will have mouth watering, delicious low carb meatballs.
How To Make Juicy Meatballs:
- Follow a good recipe like this one.
- Add liquid. I use milk!
- Use a combination of meats. Beef and pork are my favorite
- Avoid lean meats. Fat is where you get both flavor and juiciness.
How Many Net Carbs Are There Per Serving?
One of the things I love about this recipe is that it feels like you are treating yourself to a decadent dish that is not diet friendly. However, it totally is!
Who said counting carbs and calories meant you couldn’t enjoy your meals has never had this Keto Meatballs Skillet.
The meatballs have 2 net carbs, and the sauce 3, so each serving has a total of 5 net carbs!
How To Prep Ahead:
Anyone who knows me knows that I love a good meal that you can freeze ahead of time. It is like my past self is giving me, my future self the perfect gift. You can read all about making meatballs ahead in this ultimate guide to meatballs.
Who doesn’t love a meal that is already prepped for those busy nights, which let’s be honest feels like every night.
How To Freeze For Later:
Cook ahead of time and freeze or shape the meatballs, seal em, and save the cooking for later. Either way will work.
How To Freeze Uncooked Meatballs:
- Mix your ingredients like usual.
- Shape your meat into even sized meatballs.
- Set on a lined baking tray for 1-2 hours.
- You want them to set first before putting them in freezer bags.
- Transfer from baking sheet into freezer bags.
- Store until ready to cook and eat.
How To Freeze Cooked Meatballs:
- Complete all the steps in the recipe.
- Allow meatballs to cool.
- Place meatballs in gallon sized freezer bag.
- Squeeze air out of the bag and then close and put in the freezer.
I personally like to just freeze the meatballs uncooked. Cooking, freezing, then reheating/cooking again seems redundant to me. As well as makes them less juicy. However if you just like the idea of not dealing with raw meat and knowing you are handling already cooked meat, I get it.
Choose the method that speaks to you.
To Cook Frozen Meatballs:
- Thaw in the refrigerator.
- Cook as directed in the recipe.
OR - Place into a baking sheet
- Bake until internal temp reaches 145 degrees
FAQS About Keto Meatballs:
- What Can You Use In Meatballs Instead Of Breadcrumbs?
Oats, quinoa, crackers, cornflakes, almond flour are all good substitutes. However, if you want the meatballs to be keto friendly stick with the almond flour. - Can You Use Almond Flour Instead Of Breadcrumbs?
Absolutely! I did it in this recipe, and I highly recommend it. If you want to keep your meatballs keto friendly or low carb, nix the bread. Use a nut pulp instead. - What Do Breadcrumbs Do In Meatballs?
Breadcrumbs assist the egg in binding the meat together. Nut flour works well. - How Do I Achieve This Same Result When Making Low Carb Meatballs?
Use almond flour or almond meal. - Why Did My Meatballs Fall Apart?
Meatballs falling apart is usually and indication of not the right proportion of binder, filler, and meat.
The other reason is that there is not enough liquid in the meatball. Hence that is why you will see that the recipe at the end states that you may need to add a little warm water or milk.
Meatballs falling apart is such a frustrating thing. Follow this recipe and you shouldn’t have a problem with that, phew. But pay attention as meats come with different fat content, and you need to adjust based on what ingredients YOU have. - How Do You Keep Meatballs Moist?
No one wants dry shriveled up meatballs, yuck.
Keep meatballs moist by adding liquid, like milk or water to them. Also use some meat with a higher fat content, adding juices to the mix.
For this recipe I recommend using ground beef with an 80/20 ratio. - Do I Need An Egg In Meatballs?
Yes and no. There are substitutions for egg, like ricotta or tomato paste.
The point is that the egg serves an important role in the meatball. It is like the glue that holds all the ingredients together.
If you don’t want to use an egg for dietary restrictions or just because you simply don’t have it on hand, then you need use something else to bind everything together.
You can’t just omit the egg in a recipe.
A general rule of thumb is 1/4 c of ricotta per egg or 2 tbs tomato paste. - Do You Turn Meatballs When Baking Or Frying?
When frying yes. You want the meat to get browned on all sides.
However, after doing that you can just let them bake in the oven without having to turn the meatballs. - Why Do You Put Water/Milk in Meatballs?
Use liquid for moistness. No one wants dry, crumbly meatballs. Crumbly meatballs like a food fail and we want food success, right?
Other Sauce Options For Low Carb Meatballs:
I really, really, really like a good homemade meatball with a delicious keto marinara and smothered with gooey mozzarella cheese.
However, I did say there were other ways to use or eat these meatballs and I meant it. Treat these meatballs like a blank canvas and throw other sauces into the mix.
Tons of sauces will compliment these keto meatballs.
Sauce Options:
- BBQ Sauce
- Mushroom Sauce
- Teriyaki Sauce
- Sweet and Sour
While this list isn’t a list that you would typically think of as keto friendly, you can make low carb versions. You just have to be conscious of the ingredients used and use low carb sweetener like stevia instead of sugar.
Who Wants To Make An Easy Low Carb Treasure?
I do! I do! No excuses, here you have the perfect keto friendly dish waiting to be made and enjoyed.
Keto Meatballs Skillet is mouthwatering, pure deliciousness with each and every bite. Low carb meatballs smothered with easy to make homemade marinara and topped with melted, gooey, flavorful mozzarella cheese, makes each and every bite one to be savored with this dish!
Other Keto Friendly Dishes To Try:
- Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Veggies (keto)
- Low Carb Satay Beef (Keto)
- Butter Chicken (Low Carb, Keto)
- Keto Chicken Satay with Peanut Dipping Sauce
- Slow Cooker Zuppa Toscana (low carb, keto friendly)
- Beef and Broccoli
Video Tutorial for Keto Meatballs Skillet
Keto Meatball Skillet
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1/2 lb ground beef 80/20
- ½ lb ground pork
- ½ lb ground veal
- 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1/3 cup blanched almond flour
- 2 eggs large
- 2 Tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ⅓ cup warm water optional
Skillet:
- 2 Tablespoons bacon fat or olive oil
- 1 cup keto marinara sauce
- 4 slices of mozzarella cheese approx 4 ounces
- Fresh parsley garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Combine the meatball ingredients in a large bowl and use a spoon to mix well. Mix in a little but of warm water if needed to help the meatball mixture stick together.
- Once mixed, divide the meat mixture into 16 even sized balls, (about 2 tablespoons of meatball mixture) Meatballs should be about 2 inches.
- Pan fry the meatballs 5-6 at a time in a large oven safe skillet or oven-safe fry pan with bacon grease. Browning them on all sides.
- Once all have been browned, place the partially cooked meatballs into the skillet, and pour the marinara over the top.
- Cut each slice of mozzarella into 4 even sized pieces, and gently place one over each meatball.
- Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes until meatballs are cooked through and cheese is melted and golden.
- Garnish with fresh parsley.
Notes
You may or may not need water depending on the fat content of the ground meat you use. Use up to ⅓ cup of warm water in mixture to help mixture bind.
Nutrition
Our recipe card software calculates these nutrition facts based on averages for the above ingredients, different brands, and quality of produce/meats may have different nutritional information, always calculate your own based on the specific products you use in order to achieve accurate macros for this recipe.
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Matt Taylor says
This keto meatball skillet looks amazing and so easy to make too! 🙂
Aimee Shugarman says
made these for lunch with zoodles. SO GOOD.
Trang says
Cooking it in bacon fat? No wonder these are delicious! I’ve never seen this tip until now and it makes a difference versus olive oil! Yum!