Published by Sheena Strain, last updated
Recipe
Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs make the best dinner because not only are they out of this world tasty they are also a fantastic low carb and keto meatballs recipe that will keep the kids happy.
Does it get any better than delicious meat stuffed with stretchy melty cheese? I don’t think so!
These mozzarella stuffed meatballs are made without breadcrumbs so that we could keep them low carb and keto friendly. They come in at around 9g net carbs per serving with the bulk of the carbs coming from the tomatoes in the homemade marinara sauce so if you want reduce the carbs further just have less sauce.
I baked the meatballs in the oven using a similar method and the same tomato sauce from my Paleo Italian Meatballs recipe which is one of my all time most popular recipes.
The homemade Marinara sauce is unbelievably easy to make and costs a fraction of the price you’d pay for a large jar of sauce, the jars of ready made sauces are very expensive these days and most of them contain sugar so this is a much better option for your waistline and your wallet.
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How to Make Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs
Add the olive oil to the pan you want to cook the homemade marinara sauce in, and then add half of a finely chopped small onion. If you are not counting carbs you could just go ahead and add the whole onion.
Saute it for about five minutes then add the garlic, crushed tomatoes, bay leaf, pepper, and chopped fresh parsley. All you need to do now is simmer the sauce for about 20-30 minutes over a low heat so you can leave it to cook while you make the meatballs.
Preheat your oven to 400F and then crumble the ground pork and beef into a large bowl and sprinkle over the salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and chopped fresh parsley.
In a small bowl beat the egg with a fork and then pour that over the ground meat and then mix the whole lot together really thoroughly. If you don’t have a stand mixer with a paddle you might just need to get your hands in there (sorry)
Cut the mozzarella into small cubes that are a little less than one inch squares and form a meatball round each one leaving no gaps.
Then place the meatballs on a parchment lined sheet pan and bake for 15-20 minutes. You might see a little of the cheese leak out but the bulk of it should remain inside the meatballs if you made sure not to leave gaps.
Serve the meatballs with the marinara sauce and a little sprinkling of fresh parsley or basil.
what about the breadcrumbs?
Classic meatballs use breadcrumbs, but as we are making low carb meatballs that’s not an option.
In the past I’ve tried various breadcrumb alternatives including almond flour. However, I honestly don’t think that you miss the breadcrumbs in this recipe and the alternatives I’ve tried didn’t really add much to the finished quality of the dish so I just left them out.
The egg in the recipe works perfectly well as a binder and they bake up very nicely.
Can you Freeze Cheese Stuffed Meatballs?
Yes you can freeze mozzarella stuffed meatballs, they freeze really well in the marinara sauce. Defrost them overnight in the fridge and then reheat in a covered microwave safe container.
Related Beef Dinner Recipes
- Taco Meat Recipe
- Picadillo (low carb)
- Low Carb Beef Kabobs
- Keto Low Carb Chili
Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs (low carb, keto)
Quick and easy family meal for cheese stuffed meatballs, it’s perfect for your low carb or keto diet.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Total Carbs: 11 g
Net Carbs: 9 g
Protein: 53 g
Servings: 4
5 from 12 votes
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1lbLean ground pork
- 0.5lbLean ground beef
- 1tbspsItalian Seasoning
- 1egg
- 1tbspfresh parsley, finely chopped
- 1tspsalt
- 0.5tspground black pepper
- 12ozmozzarella cheese, cut into small cubes
Sauce
- 1tbspolive oil
- 1/2small onion, finely chopped
- 14ozcrushed tomatoes, canned
- 1bay leaf
- 1clovegarlic, chopped
- 1tbspfresh parsley, or basil, finely chopped
- 1tspblack pepper
Instructions
Make the Marinara Sauce
Add the olive oil to a pan over a medium heat.
Then add the chopped onion and saute for five minutes.
Next, add the chopped garlic, canned crushed tomatoes, bay leaf, black pepper, and fresh parsley to the pan.
simmer over low to medium heat for about 20 – 30 minutes while you prepare and cook the meatballs.
Make the Meatballs
Preheat your oven to 400F
Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper so that the meatballs don’t stick to the pan.
Mix the meat, egg, and seasonings together in a large bowl.
Take a golf ball sized piece of the meat mixture and place a cut piece of mozzarella in the middle then form a meatball around the cheese until it’s fully enclosed leaving no gaps.Makes about 12 medium meatballs.
Bake in a 400F oven for 15- 20 minutes, or until fully cooked through. A small amount of cheese may leak out, but if the meatballs fully enclose the cheese it should be minimal.
Serve with the homemade marinara sauce, and sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley, or basil if you prefer.
Recipe Notes
Net Carbs – most of the carbs in this recipe come from the crushed tomatoes in the sauce, so if you want to reduce the carb count further add less sauce to your plate.
Nutrition Facts
Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs (low carb, keto)
Amount Per Serving
Calories 720Calories from Fat 450
% Daily Value*
Fat 50g77%
Saturated Fat 22g138%
Cholesterol 224mg75%
Sodium 1363mg59%
Potassium 927mg26%
Carbohydrates 11g4%
Fiber 2g8%
Sugar 5g6%
Protein 53g106%
Vitamin A 950IU19%
Vitamin C 12.5mg15%
Calcium 513mg51%
Iron 4.7mg26%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutritional information on Noshtastic is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.
Author: Sheena Strain
Course:Main Course
Cuisine:American
About Sheena Strain
Sheena Strain is the proud owner of Noshtastic, a gluten free website that specializes in easy family meals including Low Carb, Keto, Paleo, Whole30, and many pressure cooker recipes.
Reader Interactions
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Cheryl Rice says
Delicious 😋Reply
Heather says
Is pork sausage (like Jimmy dean) the same as ground pork?
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Sheena Strain says
Not exactly, ground pork has no added flavoring and the texture is a little different. I think it would work in a pinch
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April says
Can you use all ground beef no pork?
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Evelyn Silver says
Everytime I make this recipe which has been quite often, my family just wants more. I use mini muffin tins to cook the meatballs. It works great.
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Fran says
What do you serve with these meatballs ?Reply
Sheena Strain says
See Also21 Low-Carb Vegan Dinner RecipesUsually a marinara sauce
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Richard says
We used the Mac and cheese keto recipe with the stuffed meatballs.
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Charisa says
What would the nutritional facts be for the meatballs without the sauce?? I have a keto sauce I would like to try with it. ☺️
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Sheena Strain says
I don’t have that info, you’d need to use an online calculator to figure it out.
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Michaela says
Could I use mozzarella string cheese for this recipe?
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Sheena Strain says
I’m going to say yes, but not 100% sure as the texture is a tad different so it may not melt in exactly the same way.
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Nina says
I want to make these tonight, but I am wondering… how many meatballs can I make using this recipe?
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Sheena Strain says
It’s hard to say because it depends how big or small you make the meatballs. It’s 1.5lb meat so will generously feed 4 people.
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Jackie says
Hi, tried your recipe tonight. Delicious. Is it possible to freeze the meatballs?
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Sheena Strain says
Hi Jackie, yes you can freeze them.
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Gabriela says
Do you know how many calories would be if i ate 10 meatballs? Also can I only use ground beef instead of both ground pork and ground beef??
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Sheena Strain says
It depends how big the meatballs are and there’s no way to guesstimate that, and you can use all ground beef instead. The nutrition label is based on using pork and beef so it would not apply if you just used beef so you’d be better using an online calculator instead if you change the ingredients, hope that helps.
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Tracy says
I’m just starting a keto diet, these looking awesome can’t wait to try themReply
Tamara Hake says
I throw some pork rinds in a blender for breadcrumb substitute… I have used them as a breading substitute as well.
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Lizzy says
To die for- loved the recipe my husband couldn’t stop eating these. That for sharingReply
Chantal says
Is the 720 calories for the entire recipe? If not for his much of the recipe.
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Sheena Strain says
It’s for one serving of the recipe, ground pork has a lot of fat and that accounts for most of the calories per serving
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Lynn says
Delicious and very Italian! Best recipe of any that I have tried. Many thanks.Reply
Amy says
Could you please tell me how many are in the serving? Thanks!
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Sheena Strain says
Hi Amy, it really depends what size your meatballs are, but I’d say about 3-5 depending on the size. It’s about 6oz (or 680g) of meat per person, I hope that helps
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Amy says
Thanks it helps a lot ?Reply
Dianne Mason says
Did you use fresh mozzarella? These look yummy.
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Sheena Strain says
Hi Dianne,
I did not, I used a large block and cut it into little cubes but I think you could use fresh it just would be harder to make cubes but I don’t think that’s a big deal. I would try to pat dry the cheese if it’s in liquid, that’s the only thing I would do differently for fresh, hope that helps!Reply
Loni says
you can mozzarella pearls if using fresh. No cutting involved.
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Lisa says
Could I use ground turkey??
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Sheena Strain says
You could, but the texture will be different.
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