Welcome back to Meatball Mondays! This week’s low carb meatball recipe is inspired by my favorite summer salad – the Caprese. It’s traditionally a simple salad of luscious tomatoes, fragrant summer basil, fresh mozzarella, and olive oil. It’s the kind of thing I can’t get enough of in the summertime, when I can pick the basil and tomatoes right from my garden, and eat them still warm from the sun.
In order to pack all of that flavor into these meatballs, I used sun-dried tomatoes rather than fresh, chopped basil, and shredded mozzarella as the primary flavors. I also added a little garlic powder to give them more depth. I considered some dried oregano as well, which probably would have been tasty, but I didn’t want it to compete with the flavor of the basil.
These are extra crunchy (always a good thing) because the cheese melts to the outside and forms a nice crust.
[pinterest text=”Caprese Meatballs (low carb and gluten free) – ibreatheimhungry.com” layout=”horizontal” image=”https://www.ibreatheimhungry.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/capreseballssmall-670×950.jpg”]
Delicious on their own, they would be equally tasty in marinara sauce.
They also make an adorable low carb appetizer threaded onto skewers with fresh mozzarella, basil leaves and cherry tomatoes. Just a note, if you are planning to skewer them, make them a bit smaller – you should get about 24 meatballs if you’re making them appetizer sized.
[pinterest text=”Caprese Meatballs (low carb and gluten free) – ibreatheimhungry.com” layout=”horizontal” image=”https://www.ibreatheimhungry.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/capreseballs4small-700×945.jpg”]
Drizzle them with a little bit of extra virgin olive oil and kosher salt, and they will disappear FAST!
[pinterest text=”Caprese Meatballs (low carb and gluten free) – ibreatheimhungry.com” layout=”horizontal” image=”https://www.ibreatheimhungry.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/capreseballs3small-700×846.jpg”]
Caprese Meatballs (Low Carb & Gluten Free)
- Yield: 16 meatballs 1x
Description
A fantastic low carb meatball recipe inspired by the Caprese Salad.
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup almond flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 cup shredded whole milk mozzarella
- 2 Tbsp sun dried tomatoes, chopped
- 2 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped
- 2 Tbsp olive oil for frying
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients except the olive oil in a medium bowl, and mix thoroughly. Form into 16 meatballs. Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick saute pan. Add the meatballs to the hot oil about 1 inch apart (you may have to do two batches) and cook over low/medium heat for about 3 minutes per side or until cooked through. Because the cheese melts out a bit, be careful that they don’t burn – if they appear to be getting dark quickly, then turn down the heat and cook them at a lower temp. Serve alone, with marinara sauce, or on skewers with fresh mozzarella, basil leaves, and cherry tomatoes. Enjoy!
Notes
Approximate nutrition information:
Per meatball: 78 calories, 6g fat, .5 net carbs, 6g protein
Per serving (4): 310 calories, 22g fat, 2g net carbs, 26g protein
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4 meatballs
[pinterest text=”Caprese Meatballs (low carb and gluten free) – ibreatheimhungry.com” layout=”horizontal” image=”https://www.ibreatheimhungry.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/capreseballs2small-660×950.jpg”]
Hope you guys like these! As always I love your feedback on the recipes, and your ideas for more meatball makeovers! Have a great week Peeps!!
For more great recipes, download your copy of The Gluten Free Low Carber today!
J. D. says
Very Good! Quick, easy, tasty. Cooked them in air fryer to reduce fat and calories.
★★★★★
Kathy says
These meatballs are delicious and easy! I added mozzarella pearls at the end and a marinara sauce. So yummy!
★★★★★
Paula says
This looks lovely. After reading your article I thought… why not leave out the sundried tomatoes from the balls, and make a fresh sauce out of fresh tomatoes, onion, garlic, parm, and a bit more fresh basil. Top the basil-mozza meat balls with the sauce.
Mellissa Sevigny says
Because then they would pretty much be regular meatballs and sauce and I already have recipes for those on the website.
Stacey says
Could I use dry basil instead of fresh and if so, how much would I use? I forgot to get basil at the store and I really don’t want to go back, haha.
Mellissa Sevigny says
Yes, 1 teaspoon should do it!
Sudan says
Could you make these meatballs vegetarian?
Robin says
Did you use sundried tomatoes packed in oil or just plain ones? If you used plain dried ones, did you soak them in water first to plump them up? This recipe looks great! I’m going to make these to take to a NYE party!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Think I used dry ones but any kind will work for this recipe!
Shari says
Hi! I just made these and my daughter & I love them. Now we have to get dad to try them. I substituted gluten free bread crumbs for the almond flour. And baked them in the oven with a little bit of oil in a glass baking dish. Delicious!!
Sarah says
Adding these to the meal plan for next week – going to serve them with my homemade marinara sauce and zucchini noodles! Thanks for the recipe:)
Mellissa Sevigny says
Sounds delicious Sarah – hope you like them!!!
Karlene says
Can’t wait to make these! Yum! Oh, where did you find those amazing skewers?
Mellissa Sevigny says
It think it was pottery barn Karlene, but it was about 10 years ago, so I’m sure they don’t carry them anymore! You can find lots of fun skewers like this if you search for martini skewers though!
Eryn says
Would rice or bean flours work? I’m allergic to almonds
Mellissa Sevigny says
I don’t see why not – or if you don’t have an issue with gluten or carbs you can just use plain breadcrumbs. Or coconut flour if you aren’t allergic to that. Enjoy!
Shannon says
Coconut flour is the best meatball secret for eating gluten free! The meatballs will smell like coconuts when you’re mixing it up but you won’t taste it at all! You would need to reduce the amount if you were substituting it for almond flour though. Usually 2 tablespoons per egg works well. If you use the whole 1/4 cup you will end up with extremely dry meatballs.
Laurie says
These were absolutely delicious! Thank you for a solid recipe. I served with GF pasta in marinara sauce. My husband thought they were the best meatballs I have ever cooked!
Mallory says
I just made these tonight! They were delicious! I am GF and have a hard time finding recipes that are GF and low carb that actually taste good… Thank you!! I can’t wait to try your other recipes. :)
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks Mallory! I hope you like the other recipes just as much! :)
Sheena says
Guess no one knows
Mellissa Sevigny says
If your question about them being clean is based on Tosca Reno’s Clean Eating principles, then I think they would be fine because there are no sugars or processed ingredients in them. I’m not sure if clean eating would require you to use part skim mozzarella, rather than whole milk – it would work just as well if you did substitute though. Enjoy!
Tom says
How would these meatballs be with ground chicken instead of turkey? They look amazing, but i don’t have any ground turkey available.
Mellissa Sevigny says
I’m sure they’d be great, a little drier if the chicken is really lean. Enjoy!
Tom says
Thanks for the quick response! Gonna be making them later today.
Mellissa Sevigny says
Great – hope you like them! :)
Sheena says
Would this recipe be considered “clean friendly”? I’m still learning so much about this eating lifestyle so I’m researching recipes and would love to be able to make these
Julia says
These look so amazing. I’m making them for tomorrow night’s dinner. Yum!!
Mimi says
Love these! Is there a way they can be baked instead of cooked in oil? I would like to reduce the greasiness of these tasty morsels!
Jules says
Was this ever answered? I’d also like to know if they work just as well baked in the oven instead! :)
Renee Patrick says
Superb meatballs. I finished making my second batch late last night. Thanks for the recipe. Can you tell me where I can get cute skewers like yours?
Heather @ Bake, Run, Live says
Thank you for this recipe. Mine are simmering away right now! I did a quick pan sear and then they will spend a few hours in spaghetti sauce. I will serve them tonight with spaghetti squash.
Kay says
Nice! Shared it to Pinterest. Will be trying soon!
jessica says
I love Meatball Mondays so much!! I am both paleo and vegetarian and I get a lot of ideas and recipes from your blog. I have made a few of the meatball recipes using meat substitutes (once I used mushrooms instead of meat and I have used Beyond Meat “Chicken” that you can get at Whole Foods) and it works REALLY well! I also bake them in a mini-muffin pan as opposed to frying (mostly because I lack the patience to fry anything well) and that is super easy to do and to clean up! Just thought I would share :) Thank you for the great stuff!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Hey Jessica thanks so much for sharing that! I didn’t know you could buy meat substitutes that could be used in meatballs – this is great info for other vegetarians out there wanting to try it! Also the mushroom idea, will have to try that in a future recipe.
Johan Bengtsson says
Looks really nice. Possible to skip the almond flour?
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks! And yes, you could skip the almond flour but they will be more dense, and not as crunchy on the outside – still delicious though! :) Enjoy!
Sonia! The Healthy Foodie says
OMG, I am so loving the skewers. I think you just had me change my menu for today! Well, slightly modify. I was already making meatballs, but now I’m thinking I want to serve them on skewers, too!
And I can only hope that mine will look as good as yours! Man oh man do these look crispy! YUM!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Meatballs on a stick – best thing evah!!!