Healthier Meatballs without Breadcrumbs (keto with egg-free option)

Whole New Mom - https://wholenewmom.com

Course: Appetizer, Entree

Keyword: meatballs without breadcrumbs

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 25

Servings:

Calories: 378kcal

A delicious Healthy Meatball recipe without breadcrumbs!

1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground italian sausage (or more beef or other meat. Turkey, pork, bison, etcetera, could also be used.)
¼ sweet yellow onion finely chopped
5 cloves garlic grated or finely minced
1 egg (whisked)
1 tablespoon freshly chopped parsley (use 1 teaspoon if using dried)
2 tablespoons freshly chopped basil (use 2 teaspoons if using dried)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup almond flour (almond meal or grain-free bread crumbs. See Recipe Notes)
½ cup chicken broth (optional)
3 ¼ cups Easy Marinara Sauce (or your favorite sauce)
olive oil for skillet
green onion or fresh parsley for garnish (optional)

In a large mixing bowl, add turkey, sausage, chopped onion, garlic, bread crumbs (or almond flour), basil, parsley, whisked egg, salt, and pepper.
Mix the meatball mixture together by hand until just combined, taking care to not over mix.
Make 15 meatballs approximately 1½ inches in size.
In a skillet on medium heat, add the olive oil. Once heated, add meatballs. Keep an eye on them to prevent them from sticking to the skillet.
Cook 3-4 minutes on each side until golden brown. Remove from skillet.
In the now empty skillet, add in ½ cup chicken broth and deglaze the plan.
Add the meatballs and marinara sauce, stirring slowly so as to maintain the meatballs' shape.
Cover and let cook for 15-20 minutes until meatballs are cooked through to a temperature of 160 degrees fahrenheit.

Instead of the onion, you can use 1 tablespoon minced dried onion or 2 teaspoons onion powder.
If you want to make gluten-free meatballs, but don't need to be low-carb, you can use gluten-free breadcrumbs in place of the low-carb breadcrumbs.
If you'd like to make plain ground turkey meatballs without marinara, you can still deglaze the pan even with the meatballs still in the pan. Simply add the chicken broth to the pan with the browned meatballs, stirring them gently. Then cover the pan and cook as directed.
In place of breadcrumbs from the store, you can use the crumbs from any keto bread (like this Focaccia Flax Bread) or almond meal or almond flour, but for best results use breadcrumbs.