This delicious and nutritious meal ticks all the boxes. It’s gluten-free, keto-friendly, and quick to whip up—it’s sure to be a family favorite!
Traditional meatballs and spaghetti can be carb-heavy and hard to digest. This recipe lightens the classic up by integrating zucchini noodles and a light, flavorful sauce to pair with the meatballs. Adding in both ground chicken and pork helps keep the meatballs tender while remaining high in protein. Pork has a higher fat content than chicken, which will make these meatballs juicy and keep you coming back for more.
You can even get your kids to help make the meatballs. Rolling them out is fun and interactive for the whole family. You can even get creative by adding some spices or herbs of your choice like oregano, chili flakes, or paprika.
Zucchini noodles, or “zoodles” as they’re most commonly known in the low-carb community, are spiralized zucchinis used as a noodle replacement. They’re low in calories but high in fiber and antioxidants, making them an excellent choice for those wanting to lose weight or include more veggies into their diet.
Zoodles pair perfectly with the slightly zesty, light sauce. Adding a squeeze of lemon cuts through the richness of the meatballs and gives a nice kick to the whole dish. This recipe also keeps well as meal prep for the next day, but remember to keep the meatballs and zoodles separate so they remain fresh and not soggy.
Yields 4 servings of Keto Garlic Butter Meatballs with Lemon Zoodles
The Preparation
- 8 ounces ground chicken
- 8 ounces ground pork
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
- 4 teaspoons fresh garlic, minced
- 1 whole chicken bouillon cube, crumbled
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 4 medium zucchini, spiralized
- 1/2 medium lemon, juice of
The Execution
1. Measure out and prepare all the ingredients.
2. In a bowl, combine ground chicken and ground pork, shredded mozzarella, minced garlic, chicken bouillon cube, parsley, and salt and pepper. Stir well to combine.
3. With your hands, form this into balls.
4. In a frying pan over low to medium heat, add the butter and allow it to melt. Then, add the meatballs and cook thoroughly for about 8 – 10 minutes. Be sure to cook all sides. Once thoroughly cooked, remove from pan and set aside.
5. In the same pan, add the juice of lemon and crushed red pepper flakes. Then add the spiralized zucchini to the pan and stir together. Cook the zoodles for about 3 – 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
6. While the frying pan is still on the stovetop, add the meatballs back into the pan, staying on one side of the pan.
7. Top with lemon slices.
8. Serve and enjoy!
This makes a total of 4 servings of Garlic Butter Meatballs with Lemon Zoodles. Each serving comes out to be 393 calories, 29.2g fats, 6.1g net carbs, and 25.3g protein.
| NUTRITION | CALORIES | FAT | CARBS | FIBER | NET CARBS | PROTEIN |
| 8 ounce ground chicken | 324 | 18.4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39.6 |
| 8 ounce ground pork | 596 | 48.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36.7 |
| 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella | 168 | 12.3 | 1.2 | 0 | 1.2 | 12.3 |
| 4 teaspoon fresh garlic | 17 | 0.1 | 3.8 | 0.2 | 3.5 | 0.7 |
| 1 whole chicken bouillon cube | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1/2 cup fresh parsley | 11 | 0.2 | 1.9 | 1 | 0.9 | 0.9 |
| 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes | 3 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.1 |
| — salt and pepper | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 tablespoon butter | 305 | 34.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.4 |
| 4 medium zucchini | 130 | 3.1 | 23.4 | 8.7 | 14.7 | 9.9 |
| 1/2 medium lemon | 12 | 0.1 | 3.9 | 1.2 | 2.7 | 0.5 |
| Totals | 1572 | 117 | 35.7 | 11.3 | 24.4 | 101 |
| Per Serving (/4) | 393 | 29.2 | 8.9 | 2.8 | 6.1 | 25.3 |
Garlic Butter Meatballs with Lemon Zoodles
Ingredients
- 8 ounce ground chicken
- 8 ounce ground pork
- ½ cup shredded mozzarella
- 4 teaspoon fresh garlic minced
- 1 whole chicken bouillon cube crumbled
- ½ cup fresh parsley chopped
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- salt and pepper to taste
- 3 tablespoon butter
- 4 medium zucchini spiralized
- ½ medium lemon juice of
Instructions
- Measure out and prepare all the ingredients.
- In a bowl, combine ground chicken and ground pork, shredded mozzarella, minced garlic, chicken bouillon cube, parsley, and salt and pepper. Stir well to combine.
- With your hands, form this into balls.
- In a frying pan over low to medium heat, add the butter and allow it to melt. Then, add the meatballs and cook thoroughly for about 8 - 10 minutes. Be sure to cook all sides. Once thoroughly cooked, remove from pan and set aside.
- In the same pan, add the juice of lemon and crushed red pepper flakes. Then add the spiralized zucchini to the pan and stir together. Cook the zoodles for about 3 - 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- While the frying pan is still on the stovetop, add the meatballs back into the pan, staying on one side of the pan.
- Top with lemon slices.
- Serve and enjoy!
