Keto Italian Meatballs without Breadcrumbs
This easy keto meatballs recipe features healthy, gluten-free meatballs made with beef, pork, and almond flour. Truly the most delicious, moist, & flavorful meatballs without breadcrumbs! These freezer-friendly low carb meatballs are the perfect meal prep and make for easy lunches or dinners.
Table of Contents
What Makes This Recipe Great
Juicy, flavorful, tender, and packed with tons of Italian flavor. Typically, there are actually a ton of carbs in meatballs because of the breadcrumbs. However, these keto meatballs are just 2 net carbs per serving, with no added junk!
These meatballs without breadcrumbs are keto, Whole30, gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, sugar-free, and 100% clean eating. I tweaked my previous go-to recipe to make these easy, healthy, gluten-free meatballs. I use an alternative to breadcrumbs: almond flour. Almond flour is low-carb and the perfect way for meatballs to keep their shape.
Mom Hack: This keto meatball recipe is also my favorite way to get red meat into my boys’ diet. They have a super hard time chewing steak, so I needed an alternative. These low carb, gluten-free meatballs are the perfect way to feed them red meat.
The best part? They love them! Keto meatballs recipe for the win!
Watch The Recipe Video
Note: You can also watch this recipe video on YouTube.
Ingredient Notes
Please see the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients.
Ground Beef/ Ground Pork: The first key to keto meatballs without breadcrumbs is using both ground beef and ground pork. This combo adds a lot of flavor and fat to keep these meatballs juicy.
Alternative to Breadcrumbs: For this recipe, I make a panade using almond flour and chicken stock. This works beautifully, and is such a great alternative to breadcrumbs! Almond flour is the perfect gluten-free breadcrumbs substitute. It adds even more protein to the meatballs.
Seasonings: This recipe calls for Italian seasoning, salt and pepper, parsley, and garlic. If you don’t have fresh garlic or parsley, feel free to substitute garlic powder and dried parsley.
Recipe Step by Step
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or foil and set it on the wire rack.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the almond flour and chicken stock. Stir and set aside while it absorbs the liquid.
- Heat a medium-size skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil, onions, garlic, and a pinch of salt & pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally until the onions are soft and turning golden brown, about 8-10 minutes.
- Combine the cooked onions & garlic, meat mixture, eggs, parsley, salt, pepper, and Italian seasonings in the same bowl as the almond flour and chicken stock. Use a spatula or hands to mix until completely combined.
- Use a large cookie scoop (or measure out 3 tablespoons) to scoop out meatballs. Place Whole30 meatballs on a wire baking sheet. Will make 23-24 meatballs.
- Bake the meatballs in the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown. While baking in the oven, prepare your tomato sauce and hearts of palm pasta.
Expert Tips
Serving: Serve immediately while warm. I love serving the cooked meatballs over hearts of palm pasta or zucchini noodles with marinara sauce and parmesan cheese.
Meat Choice: This recipe combines ground beef and pork. I get my meat through ButcherBox, which I highly recommend! You could use all beef or substitute ground turkey for turkey meatballs. You’ll need 2 pounds of ground meat for this keto meatballs recipe.
Nut-Free: If you have a nut allergy, you can use pork rind panko in place of almond flour. If you don’t need this to be Whole30 + keto, you can use gluten-free breadcrumbs or regular breadcrumbs. Same quantities for all substitution options.
Egg Free: You should be able to use a flax egg or chia egg to make this meatball recipe egg-free. You’ll need 2 tablespoons flaxseed meal or chia seeds soaked in 5 tablespoons water for 5 minutes until thickened.
Parsley: If you don’t have fresh parsley on hand, dried parsley can work too. You’ll need 1/4 cup of dried parsley.
Noodles: My favorite Whole30 & keto noodle swap is hearts of palm pasta (code TASTESLOVELY for 15% off). This tastes the closest to regular noodles that I’ve found. You can also use zucchini noodles. Or even serve over mashed cauliflower.
Slow Cooker: You can make this keto meatballs recipe earlier in the day as instructed above. After they’re done baking, transfer all the meatballs to your slow cooker with a jar of spaghetti sauce over LOW. They’ll stay warm in there for hours!
FAQS
Yes! Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.
Reheat in the microwave until warm, about 3-5 minutes. I like to sprinkle in a little water to help it steam and prevent the meatballs from drying out. Or reheat in a 350ºF oven until warm, 10-15 minutes. When meal prepping, I prefer serving these with hearts of palm spaghetti because they reheat better.
Yes! Freeze the raw meatballs on a baking sheet for 1 day until fully frozen. Transfer to a freezer ziptop bag for up to 6 months. Bake the frozen meatballs on a baking sheet in a 350ºF oven for 35-45 minutes until heated through.
The carbs in meatballs come from the breadcrumbs. They are used to keep the meatballs in the correct shape. Because these are keto meatballs without breadcrumbs, that eliminates most of the carbs! There are just 2 net carbs in each serving of this keto meatballs recipe!
Yes! Making keto meatballs without breadcrumbs means they are also Whole30 meatballs!
More Keto Italian Recipes!
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Keto Italian Meatballs without Breadcrumbs
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup almond flour
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic, grated or finely minced
- 1 pound ground beef, 85% lean
- 1 pound ground pork, 80% lean
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup packed finely chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon dried Italian herb seasoning
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425ºF. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or foil (for easy clean up), and set in the wire rack.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the almond flour and chicken stock. Stir and set aside while it absorbs the liquid.
- Heat a medium size skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil, onions, garlic and a pinch of salt & pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft and turning golden brown, about 8-10 minutes.
- In the same large mixing bowl that has the almond flour and chicken stock, add the cooked onions & garlic, ground beef, ground pork, 2 eggs, parsley, salt, pepper and Italian seasonings. Use a spatula or hands to mix until completely combined.
- Use a large cookie scoop (or measure out 3 tablespoons) to scoop out meatballs. Place meatballs on wire baking sheet. Will make 23-24 meatballs.
- Bake the Whole30 meatballs in the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown.
173 Comments on “Keto Italian Meatballs without Breadcrumbs”
These were delicious! I halved the recipe, used just beef (100% grass fed from Costco), and used vegetable bouillon instead of the chicken stock. I have no idea why some people said they don’t have any flavor. They were probably the best meatballs I’ve ever had!
I made these about a year ago and loved. This time I would amend the ingredients at bit because I believe that very little almond flour and broth are needed. I would cut that in half. And, add at least a tablespoon of coconut aminos. Grateful for the tip to cook on open rack not on cookie tray.
Thank so much Elena! I’m so glad you were able to make some tweaks to this recipe and it turned out so well!
These are so good! My husband, who isn’t keto or whole30, said they are incredible!
Wow, thanks for sharing Caroline! Such a great compliment!
Amazing recipe! They are so moist and delicious. A true favorite in my family. Highly recommend this recipe.
I’m so happy to hear this! What an honor!