I make meatballs almost every week. They are so easy to put together and there are so many variations that I never get tired of eating them. One of my favorite keto methods is to stuff the meatballs with cheese. It adds fabulous fats to the meal and when you cut into one and the cheese oozes out, it is a thing of beauty. This is also a one pot meal which is even more reason to add meatballs to your regular meal rotation.

Ingredients:

FOR THE MEATBALLS

1 lb grass-fed ground beef
1/4 cup pork rinds, crushed into breadcrumb size
1/4 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp parsley, chopped
1 whole pasture raised egg
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt and pepper
4 oz sharp cheddar cheese, cubed

FOR THE SAUCE

1/2 cup low carb/sugar tomato sauce such as Rao’s
1 cup baby spinach
1 cup crimini mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup full fat mozzarella, shredded

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

First, we make the meatballs. Put all ingredients in a medium sized bowl and mix together until everything is incorporated.

Roll mixture into one dozen 2 inch sized balls.

Heat up a cast iron skillet or oven safe pan on medium high heat and add 1 tbsp avocado oil or beef tallow. Then place meatballs in the pan. Do not crowd the pan, cook them in batches if necessary.

Let the meatballs sear for about a minute on all sides until brown.

Now remove the meatballs from the pan and turn heat down to medium low. We are not cooking them through yet, just searing them so don’t worry if they look raw inside.

Using the same pan, throw in your sliced mushrooms. You can see where a little of the onions fell out of the meatballs but that’s totally fine. It will just add to the flavor of the sauce. Things that may seem like a mistake can be Bob Ross’d and become happy accidents.

Allow the shrooms to soften, stirring frequently.

Add in the spinach and allow it to wilt, stirring it into the mushrooms.

Pour in the tomato sauce and stir everything together.

Turn the heat down to low and let it cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Then, take the mushrooms and pour in the resting juices. Stir together and put the meatballs back into the pan. Turn off the heat.

Top with the shredded mozz and wrap the pan tightly with foil.

Place in oven for 20 minutes. Then remove the foil covering. Turn oven to broil and and let it brown for 3-5 minutes, checking that the cheese is not burning. Remove from oven.

And that’s it!!! Meatballs are done. I love serving the meatballs on a bed of fresh baby spinach. The spinach will wilt from the heat of the meatballs. It’s an easy way to get in your veggies without added cooking. You could also serve it with baked broccoli florets which can cook in a sheet pan right along side the meatballs. Maybe put them over zucchini spirals. Really, any keto veggie goes with this dish. You can’t go wrong.

Chedder Stuffed Meatball Bake

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 23

Total Time 33

Course entree

Servings 12 meatballs

Ingredients

For the meatballs

1 tbsp avocado oil
1 lb ground beef grass-fed
1/4 cup pork rinds crushed into breadcrumb sized pieces
1/4 small onion diced
2 cloves garlic clove minced
2 tbsp parsley chopped
1 whole egg pasture rasied
1 tsp oregano dried
1 tsp salt and pepper
4 oz cheddar cheese cubed

For the sauce

1/2 cup wild mushrooms sliced
1 cup baby spinach
1/2 cup tomato sauce low carb/sugar such as Rao's

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Put all meatball ingredients in a medium sized bowl and mix together until everything is incorporated. Form 12 two inch balls. Push one cube of cheddar cheese into middle of each meatball. Heat up a cast iron skillet or oven safe pan on medium high heat and add 1 tbsp avocado oil or beef tallow. Then place meatballs in the pan. Do not crowd the pan, cook them in batches if necessary. Let the meatballs sear for about a minute on all sides until brown. Remove meatballs from pan and turn down to medium low heat. Sautee mushrooms until soft then add spinach and wilt. Add tomato sauce and cook on low for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Pour resting juices from meatballs into pan and stir. Return meatballs to pan. Top with mozzarella cheese. Cover pan with tin foil and place in oven for 20 minutes. Remove foil, turn oven to broil and cook for another 3-5 minutes.

Notes

RECIPE MACROS

MAKES 12 MEATBALLS
*around 3 servings with 4 meatballs/servings

Calories 690
Fat 48g
Potassium 360g
Carbohydrate 6g
Fiber 4g
Net Carbs 2g
Sugar 2g
Protein 59g
Vitamin A 151%
Vitamin C 16%
Calcium 275%
Iron 27%