Marvelous Meatballs for Low-Carbers

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    We love this meatball recipe and have used it for years now, but have adapted it to low carbstandards.  Everyone who's tried it at our home has loved it! This is also a great main dish to take to others who are in need of freezer meals due to a death in the family, the birth of a baby, or someone just needing some encouragement. 

    My 12-year-old daughter, Brittany, says: "These are the best meatballs I have eaten, ever. They are so DELICIOUS!" 

    This recipe has actually made her into a meatball snob.  Totally.  She hardly ever enjoys eating other meatballs. 
☺

    You'll find a free printable recipe page for Marvelous Meatballs for Low-Carbers at the bottom of this page!

Marvelous Meatballs for Low-Carbers:

• 2 slices sprouted rye or sprouted wheat bread (or 1/2 cup almond flour for a gluten-free, very low-carb option)
  
• 1/3 cup unsweetened plain almond milk
  
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
  
• 1 lb. 80% or leaner ground beef (preferably grass-fed)
• 1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 Tbsp. minced fresh parsley (or 1 tsp. dried)
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 3/4 tsp. full mineral sea salt like Redmond RealSalt or Celtic sea salt
  
• 1/8 tsp. pepper

Heat oven to 400° F.  For easy cleanup, line a rimmed baking pan or glass baking pan with parchment paper. 

(I like to spray a tiny bit of coconut oil onto the pan before laying down the parchment paper so that the paper easily sticks to the baking pan.)

    Combine almond milk and lemon juice in a measuring cup; let sit for a few minutes to "sour" or turn into "soured milk/buttermilk". 

    Meanwhile, cut off the crusts from the two slices of bread.  Tear the bread into small pieces about the size of a quarter. 

    (Skip this step if you'll be using almond flour instead of bread.)

   


    Place the bread pieces (or almond flour) and "buttermilk" into a large bowl, mashing the bread and buttermilk together with a fork until it combines into a smooth paste...or cheat like I do and blend well with a hand mixer.
☺

    Add the ground beef, grated Parmesan cheese, parsley, egg yolk, minced garlic, salt, and pepper to the mashed bread.

  Stir the mixture gently until combined and uniform in appearance, or mix well with clean hands.

    Form the mixture into either 1-1/2" meatballs (12), or 3/4" meatballs (24) using a cookie dough scoop.  Place formed meatballs onto a rimmed baking sheet, spaced about 1/2" apart.  Bake for 10-15 minutes depending on the size of the meatballs; inside of meatballs should be thoroughly cooked and have no pink color. 

Note:  if you don't have a cookie scoop, here's how to save time:  spread meat into a large rectangle shape.  Cut into 1" or 2" squares.  Pick up each square and quickly roll into a ball and place on baking sheet.

    I enjoy making four lbs. of meatballs at once!  I keep out 1 lbs. of meatballs for our dinner that night...spaghetti and meatballs...and freeze the rest in freezer containers or freezer zip-type bags. 
Yum!

Nutritional Information:

*Using 2 slices of sprouted whole wheat bread, this recipe contains 15 grams fat and 7 grams net carbs (S-Helper:  your count may be lower depending on the variety of sprouted bread used)
*Using ¼ cup almond flour, this recipe contains 15 grams fat and 2 net grams carbs (S).

Here's the FREE printable recipe for you! 

(Click on the image, below, to download this and print it out.)

Marvelous Meatballs for Low-Carbers has been featured on Trim Healthy Tuesdays at Gwens-Nest.com along with a lot of other great THM tips and recipes!

Print out my FREE printable Healthy and Trim/Low-Carb Lifestyle Grocery List!

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