Baked Pesto Meatballs

Baked Pesto Meatballs (Keto Friendly)

A tasty twist on an Italian classic. These Baked Pesto Keto Meatballs are easy to make, they are baked in a delicious tomato based sauce, instead of fried in oil. And the meatballs themselves are filled with homemade basil pesto.

Once they’re baked to perfection, serve them on a delicious bed of cauliflower mash – low in carbs but a great source of fiber, great for aiding in gut health.

If you do include a small amount of dairy in your diet, you could top off the dish with some grated grass fed mozzarella. However, it is just as good without.

This recipe uses grass-fed beef, but you could easily use free-range pork mince to substitute half of the mix. This will also increase the fat content if you are following a keto diet, which will keep the meatballs nice and moist.

My kids also really enjoy this meal. Although, I serve the meatballs to them with an organic and gluten-free brown rice pasta we get, which they love!

I hope you enjoy the recipe. If you have any questions or comments, please share them in the comments section below.

Enjoy!

Baked Pesto Meatballs

Baked Pesto Meatballs

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Baked Pesto Meatballs

Baked Pesto Keto Meatballs

  • Prep Time: 15 - 20minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 - 40 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 Hour
  • Yield: 4 1x
  • Category: Main

Ingredients

Scale

500g grass-fed Beef Mince
1 egg
1/4 cup basil pesto
1/4 cup Almond Meal
2 tablespoons olive Oil
1 tin organic crushed tomato
1 small onion finely chopped
1 bay leaf
1 clove garlic chopped
1 cup bone broth
1 tablespoon fresh herbs (thyme, Oregano, Rosemary)
Himalayan Salt & Pepper

For the Cauliflower Mash:
1 head cauliflower
3 tablespoons almond or coconut milk
1 tablespoon olive oil
Himalayan salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper

To serve:
Basil Leaves
Basil Pesto


Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 200C
  2. Combine pork & beef mince, pesto, almond meal, egg, salt, and pepper in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Shape into meatballs. You should get about 20 meatballs from the mixture.
  3. Heat olive oil in an ovenproof frying pan on medium. Fry meatballs for 7-8 minutes until browned on all sides then remove from pan and set aside.
  4. Add onion and garlic, saute until translucent. Then add tomato, bone broth, fresh herbs and salt & pepper to the pan and bring to a simmer for a few minutes. Then return the meatballs to the pan
  5. Place the dish in the oven for 15-20 mins until the cheese is melted, and bubbling
  6. While the dish is in the oven, make the cauliflower mash. Separate the cauliflower into florets and discard the core.
  7. Bring about 2 cups of water to a simmer in a pot, then add the cauliflower or you can steam it. Cook the cauliflower for 12-15 minutes or until very tender.
  8. Drain and discard all of the water (the drier the cauliflower is, the better) and add the ‘milk’, butter or olive oil, salt, and pepper and mash with a masher until it looks like “mashed potatoes.”
  9. Once the meatballs are ready, serve with basil leaves, additional pesto, and the cauliflower mash.

Baked Pesto Meatballs

Baked Pesto Meatballs

Baked Pesto Meatballs

Baked Pesto Meatballs


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