These keto stuffed meatballs hide a molten mozzarella center inside a parmesan-bound turkey meatball, with no breadcrumb anywhere, in a creamy marinara at about 4 grams of net carbs. The trick that makes them is keeping the cheese inside, and below is how.
I never realized how much Italian food I cook for someone living a Low Carb Lifestyle until I started this blog. When I first decided to go Low Carb I figured Italian food was basically out of the question, but I am happily surprised that this is not the case. I do recommend that if you love Italian like myself to try to stick to meat dishes and stay clear of the low carb pasta. It will never taste like real pasta and it will just make you crave the real thing. For that reason I love this recipe for cheese stuffed meatballs. They are so flavor-packed that I promise you that you won't miss the pasta. Since I stuff them with a nice big cube of mozzarella I use ground turkey instead of beef to try to even out the fat intake in this recipe. I know that technically you can eat as much fat as you want in a Low Carb Lifestyle. I just personally feel it is too heavy for me. I feel that there needs to be a give and take with any diet. Plus I think ground turkey is way under used in the world of cooking. It is just as flavorful as beef, but with a lot less fat. I still make burgers out of beef, but for most other circumstances I choose turkey. Plus anything tastes amazing stuffed with cheese. I hope you enjoy these yummy meatballs.
Keep the cheese from leaking out
The one thing that goes wrong with a stuffed meatball is the cheese melting out into the pan, leaving a hollow shell. A few habits keep it inside. Center the mozzarella cube fully and pinch the meat closed around it so there are no cracks or thin spots for the cheese to escape through. Keep the meatball wall thick, which means a big enough scoop of turkey for the cube you are using. And the real trick: freeze the mozzarella cubes first, so they melt slower than the meat cooks and stay molten in the center instead of running out early. Bake on a rack so any fat or stray cheese drains away.
Italian polpette, lightened
These are keto polpette, the Italian home-style meatball, with two smart swaps. A traditional polpetta uses breadcrumbs to bind and lighten the meat, which is the carb most meatballs hide; here grated parmesan does the binding and the seasoning at almost no carbs, with an egg to hold it together. And the author uses ground turkey instead of beef for a lighter meatball, finished in a marinara enriched with cream. Cook the turkey through to 165 degrees F, the USDA mark for poultry. Mozzarella is one of the melting cheeses in my keto cheese guide, and these meatballs are one of the oven mains in my low carb comfort food dinners guide. My bite-sized meatballs are the un-stuffed version, and the same marinara layers into a zucchini lasagna.
Sources
USDA FoodData Central, nutrient references for ground turkey, parmesan, and mozzarella; safe poultry temperature.
Sugarfreechic test kitchen, low-carb Italian notes.
