Baked Italian Meatballs

Keto Recipes > Keto Dinner Recipes

Traditional carb heavy Italian dishes can be something people miss when following a ketogenic diet. With this recipe you can recreate those familiar comforting flavors with a vastly reduced carb count!

Baked Italian Meatballs

The meatballs are made with Italian herbs, and covered in a rich tomato sauce with a mozzarella topping. The dish is finished in the oven which allows the flavors to mingle and develop whilst creating a delicious crispy cheesy topping.

It’s important to keep a wide variety of vegetables in your diet, and tomatoes pack a big punch nutritionally with high antioxidant levels and essential minerals such as potassium.

Serve with dark leafy greens such as kale or a green salad for an extra nutritional boost! If you want a pasta substitute you could also use spiralized zucchini or celery root – just adjust the nutritional breakdown accordingly.

Yields 4 servings of Baked Italian Meatballs

The Preparation

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes
  • ½ cup diced red onion
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 2 ounces fresh mozzarella
  • handful fresh basil (for garnish)

The Execution

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. In a large bowl mix together the ground beef, oregano, and thyme and season with salt and pepper.

Baked Italian Meatballs
2. Divide the beef mixture and form 16 meatballs.

Baked Italian Meatballs
3. On a medium heat fry the meatballs for around 5 minutes, until they are brown all over. Remove the meatballs from the pan.

Baked Italian Meatballs
4. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the cooking juices in the pan and add the whole peeled tomatoes, onion, garlic and tomato paste. Break down the tomatoes into small chunks and mix the sauce well. Simmer for 10 minutes, until the sauce has thickened.

Baked Italian Meatballs
5. Arrange the meatballs in a baking dish and top with the tomato sauce.

Baked Italian Meatballs
6. Break the mozzarella into small chunks and distribute evenly over the top of the dish. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for around 5 more minutes, until the cheese has browned.

Baked Italian Meatballs
7. Garnish with fresh basil and serve with sautéed leafy greens or salad.

Baked Italian Meatballs

This makes a total of 4 servings of baked Italian meatballs. Each serving comes out to be 379 Calories, 25.84g Fats, 8.01g Net Carbs, and 24.78g Protein.

Baked Italian Meatballs Calories Fats(g) Carbs(g) Fiber(g) Net Carbs(g) Protein(g)
1 pound 80/20 ground beef 1148 90.4 0 0 0 77.61
1 teaspoon dried oregano 5 0.08 1.24 0.8 0.44 0.16
1 teaspoon dried thyme 4 0.1 0.9 0.5 0.4 0.13
28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes 135 0 33.11 13.5 19.61 6.59
½ cup diced red onion 32 0.08 7.47 1.4 6.07 0.88
2 cloves (6 g) garlic 9 0.03 1.98 0.1 1.88 0.38
1 tablespoon tomato paste 13 0.08 3.03 0.7 2.33 0.69
2 ounces fresh mozzarella 168 12.52 1.23 0 1.23 12.42
3 tablespoons chopped basil 2 0.05 0.21 0.1 0.11 0.25
Totals 1516 103.34 49.17 17.1 32.07 99.11
Per Serving(/4) 379 25.84 12.29 4.28 8.01 24.78
Baked Italian Meatballs

Baked Italian Meatballs

This makes a total of 4 servings of baked Italian meatballs. Each serving comes out to be 379 Calories, 25.84g Fats, 8.01g Net Carbs, and 24.78g Protein.
No ratings yet

Ingredients
  

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 28- ounce can whole peeled tomatoes
  • ½ cup diced red onion
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 2 ounces fresh mozzarella
  • handful fresh basil for garnish

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 375°F. In a large bowl mix together the ground beef, oregano, and thyme and season with salt and pepper.
  • Divide the beef mixture and form 16 meatballs.
  • On a medium heat fry the meatballs for around 5 minutes, until they are brown all over. Remove the meatballs from the pan.
  • Reserve 1 tablespoon of the cooking juices in the pan and add the whole peeled tomatoes, onion, garlic and tomato paste. Break down the tomatoes into small chunks and mix the sauce well. Simmer for 10 minutes, until the sauce has thickened.
  • Arrange the meatballs in a baking dish and top with the tomato sauce.
  • Break the mozzarella into small chunks and distribute evenly over the top of the dish. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for around 5 more minutes, until the cheese has browned.
  • Garnish with fresh basil and serve with sautéed leafy greens or salad.