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Jumbo Italian meatballs mingle with marinara and pockets of creamy ricotta cheese in these Keto Ricotta Meatballs. Easy weeknight dinner for only 5.4g net carbs per serving.
Keto Ricotta Meatballs
I have a few meatball recipes on this site, but this is the first real Italian-style meatball recipe. While I don’t eat spaghetti anymore, this recipe gives me all the comfort of a big plate of spaghetti and meatballs, without all the carbs.
The Meatballs
I used a mixture of ground beef and sweet Italian sausage here, plus finely grated parmesan cheese along with my regular meatball ingredients of almond flour
, flaxseed meal
, and egg. I also added some Italian Seasoning
. This makes for a really flavorful meatball, with a nice texture.
It can be difficult to find pre-made sausage that doesn’t contain sugar, corn syrup, or other carb-laden fillers. I make my own very simply with 1 lb ground pork, 3/4 tsp toasted fennel seeds, 1 1/2 tsp dried parsley, 1 1/2 tsp salt, a few turns of freshly ground black pepper, and 1/2 tsp each of garlic and onion powder.
I opted to make jumbo sized meatballs– I got 12 out of 2 lbs of meat, but you could easily make 16 large ones or 24 smaller ones.
The Sauce
For the sauce, I cheated and used Rao’s Homemade marinara
. No, it’s not as good as making it yourself. But dude, I’ve got kids. I don’t have an extra hour to simmer fresh tomatoes and also it’s winter in Minnesota. And Rao’s is really clean, without any added sugars or weird ingredients.
These meatballs are browned in the skillet, then the sauce is added and they’re baked in the oven, covered. After they’ve baked through, I added little dollops of ricotta throughout. Then I threw it back in the oven uncovered to let the ricotta warm through.
These pockets of ricotta give a wonderful creaminess to this dish and make it a little reminiscent of lasagna.
That’s it! It’s a very simple recipe, but the flavors are spot on and every member of my family loves it. And with macros like these, my keto-loving body loves it too!
Consider serving it with a side of Low Carb Cheese Bread!
Keto Ricotta Meatballs
Jumbo Italian-style meatballs simmered in marinara and studded with pockets of ricotta.
Ingredients
- 1 lb sweet Italian sausage
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1/2 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1/2 cup flaxseed meal
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 tsp salt
- freshly ground pepper
- 1 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
- 1 Tbsp avocado oil
- 1 jar Rao's Homemade Marinara
- 4 oz. whole milk ricotta
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F ( C°)
- Combine sausage, beef, parmesan, almond flour, flaxseed meal, eggs, and seasoning together in a large bowl. Form into large meatballs.
- Heat avocado oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown meatballs on all sides.
- Add marinara, and turn meatballs to coat.
- Cover skillet and bake 25-30 minutes, or until meatballs are cooked through.
- Remove from oven and uncover. Place dallops of ricotta throughout skillet, and return to oven for 10 minutes, uncovered.
- Serve and enjoy!
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Amount Per Serving: Calories: 552Total Fat: 45.7gSaturated Fat: 14.2gSodium: 1018mgCarbohydrates: 7.9gNet Carbohydrates: 5.4gFiber: 2.4gSugar: 2.8gProtein: 26.8g
is there a substitute for flax meal?
I think it would work to use more almond flour, but I haven’t tried it. Flax meal binds a little better than almond flour, but I think it’s doable anyway.