The Best Keto Meatball Parmigiana - Twiins Style
I have been longing for a Sunday pasta & meatball dinner for a few months. Since I started doing Keto I substitute hearts of palm sheets for lasagna noodles or use zucchini or spaghetti squash. These make a wonderful conversion however, the meatballs are not keto... I've been switching out the breadcrumbs for Pork Panko on several dishes that call for breadcrumbs and to my surprise, the Pork Panko works well. 😋 😋
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ lbs ground beef 80-85% lean/20-15% fat (or 2¼ lbs of ground beef, veal, and pork mixture)
- 3/4 cup Pork Panko or crushed pork rinds (packed)
- 10 garlic cloves, finely chopped or grated
- 1/2 large onion, finely chopped
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 6 large eggs
- 3-4 large handfuls of grated Pecorino Romano cheese (about 1 cup+ 1 Tablespoon)
- 1 handful of fresh parsley, chopped (or 2 Tablespoons dried)
- salt and pepper to taste
- EVOO (for frying)
- 8 oz whole milk mozzarella
Directions
- Place ground meat in a large mixing bowl, and break up with a fork.
- Add Pork Panko, onion, garlic, basil, salt, and pepper and combine well.
- Make a well in the center of the meat mixture and place all the eggs, Pecorino Romano cheese, and parsley.
- With a large fork scramble the eggs, cheese, and parsley in the well, then start to combine into the entire meat mixture. You can do this best with your hands that are scrupulously clean or with gloves…your preference.
- Once well combined (don’t over-mix) use an ice cream scoop to get even-sized meatballs,(about a small cupped handful of meat mixture) and roll into a ball then place on parchment or waxed paper. Continue making meatballs until all meat has been formed. An ice cream scoop should yield 16-18 meatballs.
- In a large skillet pour enough EVOO to about 3/4 inches in depth. Let the oil get hot, then working in batches, brown all sides (Don’t overload, allow each meatball some breathing room, or they get steamed & not browned).
- When meatballs are browned and crisp, remove them to a paper towel-lined bowl or tray. Repeat until all meatballs are cooked.
- Cook meatballs in tomato sauce for 20 minutes. (Skip the next step if you are not making it parmigiana style.)
- In a casserole dish, lightly coat with tomato sauce then place meatballs in the dish, sprinkle with grated cheese, and slices of mozzarella. Microwave on medium just enough to melt the cheese (about 3-5 minutes depending on your microwave). Serve with a big salad or your favorite keto pasta and enjoy!
Notes: The texture is a little meatier than meatballs made with soaked Italian bread but they are just as delicious. I like using Skinny Pasta (konjac noodles) or Palmini hearts of palm noodles in place of real pasta.
Make a well then add eggs, cheese & parsley then mix well
Forming the meatballs
Place formed meatballs on parchment paper
Frying meatballs
Draining fried meatballs
Cook 20 in tomato sauce and serve!
