Keto Buffalo Turkey Meatball Lettuce Wraps
Keto Buffalo Turkey Meatball Lettuce Wraps Recipe + Video – Just 5 net carbs! Turkey meatballs tossed in a low carb buffalo sauce, served in lettuce topped with ranch dressing. Whole30, paleo, gluten free, grain free, dairy free, sugar free, clean eating, real food.
This meal tastes like everything you love about buffalo wings, but without deep frying and all the extra carbs! These Keto Buffalo Turkey Meatball Lettuce Wraps only 5 carbs, light yet filling, and packed with flavor.
Bonus, leftovers make an amazing meal prep lunch, so go ahead and make a double batch and have a yummy lunch for the whole week!
Keto Buffalo Turkey Meatballs
It’s no secret I’m a huge fan of meatballs. I’ve got my keto italian meatballs, keto pesto meatballs, and keto thai curry meatballs. It’s such a great way to use ground meat, they bake quickly, and I love sneaking vegetables in them that my kids don’t even notice! Meatballs also freeze beautifully, so it’s a great meal to double and freeze half for a busy weeknight in the future. (See Recipe Notes below for freezing instructions!)
These keto buffalo turkey meatballs are new favorite. I make them with ground turkey, but ground chicken would work too! I like using 85% lean turkey so I can get in a heavier serving of fat for keto macros.
The meatballs are mixed with almond flour, finely chopped celery, carrots and green onions which gives them tons of flavor and a great crunch. It also makes them pretty!
Keto Buffalo Turkey Meatball Lettuce Wraps
After the meatballs are done baking, I toss them in buffalo sauce to get them nice and coated. I’m a spice wimp, so I use a mild buffalo sauce. (This one by Noble Made, not sponsored!) Feel free to use your favorite buffalo sauce with the heat level you prefer. My husband likes his SPICY! So if he had his way I would coat these in pure fire, haha!
After the meatballs are coated, I love serving them on butter lettuce with a few more shredded carrots, sliced celery and drizzled in my homemade keto ranch dressing. The meal feels really light. I don’t feel heavy and overly full like I do when I eat fried buffalo wings. It’s perfect for lunch or dinner!
Kid Friendly
Even though the buffalo sauce is really mild, it’s still to spicy for my kids (2 and 4 year old boys). When I serve them this for dinner. I’ll pull out some meatballs for them BEFORE coating them in buffalo sauce. They’ll get the plain turkey meatballs (that are stuffed with veggies!), and ranch dipping sauce on the side. I’ll also make them some homemade french fries, a side of sliced carrots and celery, and a fruit.
They gobble the whole dinner down!
Watch Buffalo Turkey Meatball Recipe Demo
PrintKeto Buffalo Turkey Meatball Lettuce Wraps
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground turkey (I prefer 85% lean)
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1/2 cup shredded carrots, finely chopped
- 3 green onions, thinly sliced
- 2 ribs of celery, thinly chopped
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup buffalo hot sauce (I use Noble Made Mild Buffalo Sauce)
- 2 tablespoons grass fed ghee (or butter), melted
- Serving: butter lettuce leaves, shredded carrots, sliced celery + homemade Whole30 + Keto Ranch Dressing
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425ºF. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper (for easy cleanup) and set in the wire rack.
- In a large bowl, combine the ground turkey, almond flour, shredded carrots, green onions, celery, egg and salt. Combine using a potato masher (or go in with your hands!) until the meatball mixture is fully combined.
- Use a medium size cookie scoop to make the meatballs (or measure out 1.5 tablespoons per meatball and roll by hand). Set the meatballs on the wire rack. Should make 27-28 meatballs.
- Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes, until the meatballs are golden brown on the top and have an internal temperature of 165ºF.
- In a medium size bowl, add the buffalo sauce and melted ghee. Stir to combine. Toss the warm meatballs in the buffalo sauce until fully coated.
- Serve the buffalo meatballs on the butter lettuce with desired amount of shredded carrots, sliced celery + ranch dressing.
- Leftovers will keep in an airtight container refrigerated for at least 5 days.
Notes
Meat Substitution: I love using ground turkey, but you could also use ground chicken. Even ground pork or beef could work!
Nut Allergy: If you have an almond allergy, you can use pork panko or tiger nut flour in place of almond flour.
Onion Replacement: You can use finely chopped white onion in place of green onions.
Spice Level: I am a spice wimp. The Noble Made Mild Buffalo Sauce is as spicy as I can handle. If you like more spice, they also make a Medium and Hot version you can use!
Serving To Kids: The Mild sauce is still too spicy for my kids. When I’m making this for my kids, I’ll set aside meatballs for them BEFORE adding it to the buffalo sauce. They’ll get the meatballs plain with ranch to dip it in. They love it!
Appetizer: These meatballs are delicious on their own served as an appetizer! Just drizzle them with the ranch dressing and stick a toothpick in them and serve on a large plate! They’re the perfect bite size.
Freezing: These meatballs freeze beautifully! After step 4, let them cool completely after baking in the oven. Then freeze. When reheating, thaw then bake again in the oven at 425ºF for about 10 minutes to warm through. Then continue with step 5.
Meal Prep: These make a great meal prep! I’ll store the buffalo sauce coated meatballs with some butter lettuce, toppings and the ranch dressing in a ramekin. I’ll eat it cold like a salad! Will keep in the fridge for 5 days meal prepped this way.
Nutrition Information: Nutrition info is a rough estimate allowing 6 meatballs on 3 butter lettuce leaves topped with a sprinkle of shredded carrots, sliced celery and 2 tablespoons ranch dressing per serving.
Meal Prep
These keto buffalo turkey meat ball lettuce wraps make an amazing meal prep! I’ll meal prep 3 lettuce wraps in my favorite glass meal prep container, just like shown above.
I’ll eat them cold out of the fridge. The lettuce doesn’t get soggy!
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19 Comments on “Keto Buffalo Turkey Meatball Lettuce Wraps”
So pretty – you and the meatballs!
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You’re so nice Susan!
Yum!
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So glad you liked them Hannah!
SO YUMMY AND EASY!! Another great recipe. You’re the best Natalie!
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Thank you so much for your kind words Natascha! They really mean the world to me! I am so glad you liked my lettuce wraps.
Oh my goodness this dish is amazing!! Truly everything I make from Tastes Lovely is fantastic. I made extra meatballs and didn’t roll them in the buffalo sauce, my kids LOVE them. I put the meatballs over a simple salad of bibb lettuce with a little whole 30 ranch. Such a satisfying and filling meal. Lunch for the week is perfection. Natalie, thank you for putting this recipe together!!
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Thank you for the nicest comment ever Rachel! You seriously made my day! I am so glad you enjoy my recipes! I love how you served the meatballs with a simple salad! Sounds absolutely perfect!
Natalie I have the meatballs in the oven and I don’t even care how they turn out because everything I have ever made from you is sooooo good. So I know these will be the same!!!! Thank you for your creativity and passion in the kitchen, you have made this quarantine better with cooking new things 🧡
Wow! Thank you! You just made my day Bridgette! I thought I was the only one who has taken comfort in cooking during quarantine. It feels so good to do something creative and good for my family. I am so happy you have enjoyed my recipes! I sure hope those meatballs turned out well for you! LOL! I love how you didn’t even care if they turned out. Thanks so much for your feedback, I really appreciate it!
These are scrumptious! Husband loves them, daughter loves them, and I love the easiness and flavor. New weekday meal. Thanks again for appeasing my whole family!
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So good that you husband and daughter enjoy them too Anna! I love that this is a new weeknight meal for you.
Just finished making these, and while I ran into a bit of an issue with my meatballs sticking to the wire rack, these turned out really tasty. Will definitely be making again
Usually the meatballs don’t stick to the rack. Sometimes it’s actually the rack. I have one rack that I always have to spray with non stick spray prior to cooking anything on it. Give that a try next time.
The flavours are spot on! I’ve made this a few times now. We love them!
I just wish ground turkey was easier to do roll into balls. It’s so wet and sticky.
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I am thrilled that you find the flavors spot on Leanne. I love that! I couldn’t agree more with you. What is it about ground turkey that makes it so wet and sticky? It’s so funny I hadn’t thought about it till I read your comment. Oh well, it’s still yummy! :)
I want to try it but any recommendations on another product to marinate it in besides buffalo sauce?
If you don’t like buffalo sauce you could just skip it. Some substitutions are:
BBQ sauce
most Asian sauces
honey mustard
melted butter (or extra virgin olive oil) with garlic, Parmesan cheese, and your favorite herbs
lemon or lime juice & salt vinegar & salt
Here is a link to my BBQ sauce:
https://www.tasteslovely.com/easy-whole30-bbq-sauce/
I sure hope you like it!
Looks delicious. Wondering why there are trans fats.