August 20 2017 recipe by Anne Aobadia![Anne Aobadia]()
, photo by Emma Shevtzoff![Emma Shevtzoff]()
, nutritional review by Franziska Spritzler, RD, CDE![Franziska Spritzler, RD, CDE]()
in Recipes, Dinner, Meal
, photo by Emma Shevtzoff
, nutritional review by Franziska Spritzler, RD, CDE
in Recipes, Dinner, Meal Italian keto meatballs with mozzarella cheese
Tomato sauce, rich and comforting. Mozzarella, fresh and creamy. Meatballs, with just the right touch of onion and basil. It's like spaghetti night, without the carbs. Enjoy every ketolicious bite!
USMetric
servingservings
Ingredients
- 1 lb 450 g ground beef or ground turkey
- ¾ cup (2 oz.) 180 ml (60 g) shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1 1 eggeggs
- 1 tsp 1 tsp salt
- ½ tbsp ½ tbsp dried basil
- ½ tsp ½ tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp ½ tsp ground black pepper
- 3 tbsp 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1¾ cups (1 lb) 425 ml (425 g) canned whole tomatoes
- 2 tbsp 2 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 7 oz. (6½ cups) 200 g (1.6 liters) fresh spinach
- 2 oz. 55 g butter
- 5 oz. (1¼ cups) 140 g (300 ml) fresh mozzarella cheese
- salt and pepper
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www.dietdoctor.com
Making low carb simple
Instructions
- Place ground beef, parmesan cheese, egg, salt and spices in a bowl and blend thoroughly. Form the mixture into meatballs, about 1 oz (30 grams) each. It helps to keep your hands wet while forming the balls.
- Heat up the olive oil in a large skillet and sauté the meatballs until they're golden brown on all sides.
- Lower the heat and add the canned tomatoes. Let simmer for 15 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add parsley and stir. You can prepare the dish up to this point for freezing.
- Melt the butter in a separate frying pan and fry the spinach for 1-2 minutes, stirring continuously. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the spinach to the meatballs, and stir to combine.
- Serve with mozzarella cheese on top, torn into bite-sized pieces.
Tip!
Like it hot-hot-hot? Swap out half the ground beef with spicy Italian sausage. Add red pepper flakes, as needed.
140 comments
No, we would not recommend adding carbohydrates. If you're feeling fatigued, you may be experiencing a bit of the "keto flu." Here's more info and tips on how to feel to better! https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/keto/flu-side-effects
I thought the recipe was delicious - i had never made meatballs before.
The basic recommendation is to use what you prefer and what is on sale. 85/15 is a good bet for most recipes, but 90/10 will work as well.
Thanks for sharing!!
Nice variation! I am glad you enjoyed it.
Thank you
Cheddar has a higher fat percentage than parmesan does and may result in greasy meatballs.
Yes, you could add a bit more spinach if you'd like. A cup of raw spinach adds less than a net carb.
The nutrition information is per serving. This meal is 5g net carbs per serving so yes, 5g for dinner and 5g for lunch. For the green and orange circles, that also has to do with protein and fat percentages. Generally, as long as the meal you're choosing will keep you at 7-10g net carbs for the meal, you're on the right track!
https://www.dietdoctor.com/how-low-carb-is-low-carb
Great idea to make a big batch and freeze for another day.
Yes, that is correct.
That is going to depend on how many Servings you had selected when you prepared the dish.
Love the idea of adding jalapeno! Thanks for sharing!
This is absolutely a perfect cheeseburger replacement but in a restaurant quality dish although I usually am a pretty simple eater! So thank you for this easy dish . The best dishes are simple dishes that are delicious and also you really don't have to be exact with the ingredients, I just tried to get in close to the measurements you provide (which are a must for me as a guideline) but pretty much just added what looked right.
I may need to tweak it but it came out pretty good the first time. A little too much liquid but I just kinda returned the excess liquid to the pan so it worked out. Not sure if going with diced tomatoes made it too liquid or it was the olive oil. You really helped me to start out with my keto "journey" . I think I can do this now. This I will eat weekly or biweekly for sure.
Great, Robert! So glad you love it and this can be a staple for you!
So sorry it didn't work for you! It sounds like there may have been too much egg. I would recommend making 4 servings next time in order to utilize a whole egg. And leftovers are always great!
Wonderful! Thanks so much for the compliment!
I wasn't sure what to expect but this was really good and filling. My daughter had some and said she'd eat it again. Vegan wife was like "smells good".
You're so right! So glad you love it!