Italian Meatballs without Breadcrumbs (Keto & Whole30)
This easy meatball recipe features healthy, homemade meatballs made with beef, pork, and almond flour. Truly the most flavorful, moist, and tender meatballs without breadcrumbs! Freezer-friendly, keto meatballs– perfect for meal prep!
Table of Contents
What Makes This Recipe Great
Juicy, flavorful, tender, and packed with tons of Italian flavor. There are actually a ton of carbs in meatballs because of the breadcrumbs. However, these keto whole30 meatballs are just 2 net carbs per serving, with no added junk!
These Italian Keto 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 meatballs.
They taste just like your classic Italian meatball, just without the bread crumbs. Instead, 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 delicious meatballs are the perfect way to feed them red meat. The best part? They love them!
Watch The Recipe Video
Note: You can also watch this recipe video on YouTube.
How to Make Meatballs Without Breadcrumbs
The best part about this recipe is that you only need a few simple ingredients and a sheet pan! The oven does most of the work. My secret trick is to rest the meatballs on top of a wire rack on the baking sheet so they cook through and the grease drips to the bottom of the pan.
Ingredient Notes
- Ground Beef/ Ground Pork: The first key to 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.
- Almond Flour & Chicken Stock: For this recipe, I make a panade using almond flour and chicken broth. 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.
- Olive Oil
- Eggs
- Onion
- Garlic Cloves
- Seasonings: This recipe calls for Italian seasoning, salt and black pepper, parsley, and garlic. If you don’t have fresh garlic or parsley, feel free to substitute garlic powder and dried parsley.
Step-By-Step Instructions
- 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, meatball mixture, eggs, parsley, salt, pepper, and Italian seasonings in the same large 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 the meatballs on a wire rack on top of a lined baking sheet in a single layer. 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
- 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!
Serving Tips
Serve immediately while warm. I love serving the cooked meatballs over hearts of palm pasta or zucchini noodles with marinara sauce and parmesan cheese.
Storage Tips
Leftovers/Meal Prep: Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.
Reheating: 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.
Freezer: To freeze, place the raw meatballs on a baking sheet in the freezer for 1 day until fully frozen. Transfer to a freezer 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.
Recipe FAQS
The carbs in meatballs come from the breadcrumbs. They are used to keep the meatballs in the correct shape. Because these are 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 meatballs without breadcrumbs, plus the other ingredients I used, means they are Whole30 compliant.
More Keto Italian Recipes
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Italian Meatballs without Breadcrumbs (Keto & Whole30)
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.
Notes
Expert Tips
- 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!
184 Comments on “Italian Meatballs without Breadcrumbs (Keto & Whole30)”
Best meatball I’ve ever made.
Omg the best compliment! Thank you so much!
Is the serving size one meatball I’m the nutrition facts?
For 3 meatballs!
I was invited to an Indian themed potluck, so I made the meatballs with lamb, put them in a flat pan, added roasted golden beets and delicata squash and a jar of Jalfrezi simmering sauce, and simmered. It was absolutely fantastic, and the crowd ate it all up.
Alex! This sounds INCREDIBLE! So glad you were able to tweak this recipe for your event. Honored you used this recipe!
After trying many meatball recipes, this was our families favorite! We use ground turkey most of the time and they still turn out great. Thank you for sharing this recipe! ❤️
Thank you, Jenny! I’m so honored!
These are close to the way I make mine except I also add an egg parm cheese heavy cream worchestshire sauce and I cook them raw in my sauce.
Then I freeze in containers sauce and meatballs.
I don’t have an actual recipe. I just throw it altogether till the texture feels right.
Sounds delicious!
Is the nutrition information for one meatball?
Serving of 3 meatballs!
Finally a Whole30 meatball recipe that is a success! The last three recipes I tried were total failures, and I was starting to lose hope. These meatballs cured my husband’s blues from my subjecting him to another month of Whole30 dieting where a lot of his favorite foods get cut from the meal calendar. Thanks for coming up with this!
Hi Hayley! Yay!!! I am so so glad this recipe worked out for you and that your husband loved it too! Whole30 can be so tough, but you got this!
Instead of the oven, would we be able yo use the air fryer? If so, how lo g and at what temperature?
I would think so! I’ve never tried it, but I would think around 375°F for about 15-20 minutes. If you try it and it works let me know!
Yum!! Easy to make and delicious!
Thank you, Anna!! So happy to hear this!
These were moist but IMO lacked flavor but not sure what you meant by Italian seasoning? What is the mix you use ?But definitely a good base I can expand on.
Glad you liked them! You can get Italian seasoning from a bunch of brands. My favorite is by primal palate!
Writing this as I sit here eating my hot out of the oven meatballs! OMG they are amazing! I’ve only made my Italian Nonna’s recipe for my entire life, but stopped eating grains and dairy a while back and have been missing them. These are seriously just as good! Thank you for sharing this recipe :)
These are FANTASTIC! I found this recipe during my Whole30, but they are better than any meatballs I’ve ever made, my husband and picky kids all agreed with that sentiment, and these are now our new GO-TO forever. I will make these again and again.
I LOVE when my recipes are picky-eater approved! What a compliment! So glad your whole family loved these so much. Such an honor!
The first time I try a new recipe I make it as written. Huge mistake. Super dry, absolutely no flavor, weird texture. I’ll try this again leaving out the almond flour, using only 1 egg, adding 1 pound of sausage, and a LOT of spices.
Oh weird! I make these at least twice a month and they’re always perfect!
I’m pretty sure this is a typo! – under parsley- “You’ll need 1/4 cup dried parsley.
I made this tonight and it wasn’t thick enough so I needed to add more almond flour To get the right consistency
Ps I forgot to add it was really good though! Very tender and tasted lovely 🥰!
Thanks for catching that! Corrected!
I have made these before this is the best recipe for meatballs . My family loved them . I’m wondering if you can use coconut flour instead of almond flour ?
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you! Sadly, no coconut flour won’t work as a substitution for these. It’s too absorbent. You could use pork panko!
Hi is it 2 net carb per meatball? 112 calories each meatball? Thanks!
Yes! Per meatball!
THE BEST MEATBALLS EVER! On no-dairy keto temporarily but these will be the new recipe I use. Even the kids (ages 14-19) raved about them. Used chicken bone broth instead of broth (delicious!).
I left out the parsley and added extra oregano. Thank you so much for this recipe!!!!!
Hi Ellie! This means the world to me! I am so happy to hear even the kids are happy! So fun! Honored to have you here :)
AMAZING!!!!!! so easy to make. And I couldn’t agree more with all the comments around these being the best meatballs I have ever made.
Heather! This totally made my day! Honored that you’re here and love these meatballs like I do!
Easy & delicious! Thank you for the great recipe -:)
I love to hear that they were easy to make and flavorful Zanetta! Thank you so much for your feedback. It really means a lot to me.
Dear Natalie!!!! I made these meatballs tonight! My husband fell in love with me all over again!!! I made the meatballs exactly as written. I did use Jovial gluten free pasta, though! I love so many of your recipes. Another favorite is the zucchini patties! You are my “go to”! Love your little family! ❤️
You just made my day Lisa! I love that my meatballs made your husband fall in love with you again! ;) That just warms my heart! I am so happy you enjoy my recipes. I love zucchini fritters too and make them all the time. Thank you so much for your kind words about my family. You’re so sweet!