In continuation of my low carb “Meatball Mondays” feature, today I bring you a Mediterranean inspired meatball! They are flavored with sun-dried tomatoes, feta cheese, and fresh thyme, which is always a delicious combination in my opinion!
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Now some of you might be thinking that sun-dried tomatoes are too high in carbs to fit into your keto or Atkins diet eating plan. However, since there is so much flavor packed into them, a little goes a long way and you can absolutely make room for them in your carb budget – and you should! Sun-dried tomatoes are high in Magnesium, Potassium, Vitamin C, Iron, Lycopene, and many other nutrients vital to the low carber (and anyone else for that matter!) Plus they are super versatile, and add an amazing depth of flavor to sauces, salads, and just about any other savory recipe. You can expect to see a lot more low carb recipes here at IBIH using sun-dried tomatoes in the coming months!
[pinterest text=”Low Carb and Gluten Free Sundried Tomato and Feta Meatballs – ibreatheimhungry.com” layout=”horizontal” image=”https://www.ibreatheimhungry.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/sundriedmeatballs2small-700×910.jpg”]
Now let’s talk about these highly addicting meatballs! They are are easy to make, have a fantastic crunchy exterior, and are popular with both kids and adults. They are also super portable, so I like to make a large batch, freeze them in small bags of four, and toss one into my cooler or handbag for a snack/lunch when I know I’m going to be out of the house for hours at a time. It has saved me from cheating or having to hit the drive thru many, many times! It pays to be prepared – so I recommend making a BIG batch of these cuties!
[pinterest text=”Low Carb and Gluten Free Sundried Tomato and Feta Meatballs – ibreatheimhungry.com” layout=”horizontal” image=”https://www.ibreatheimhungry.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/sundriedmeatballsfeatured.jpg”]
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Sun-dried Tomato & Feta Meatballs (Low Carb & Gluten Free)
- Yield: 16 meatballs 1x
Description
A low carb and gluten free mediterranean inspired meatball recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground turkey
- 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 2 Tbl (.5 oz) sundried tomatoes, chopped
- 1 Tbl fresh thyme leaves (or 1/2 tsp dried thyme)
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 cup almond flour
- 2 Tbl water
- olive oil for frying
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients (except olive oil) in a medium bowl and mix well. Form 16 one inch meatballs and fry them in olive oil in a large saute pan. Do not crowd the meatballs or they won’t get brown and crisp – you may have to fry them in batches to get the best results. Cook for about 3 – 4 minutes, turn over and cook for an additional 3 – 4 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. Remove from pan and place on paper towel-lined plate to absorb any extra oil. These can be eaten alone or served with marinara sauce and spaghetti squash for a complete meal.
Notes
Approximate nutrition info per meatball: 89 calories, 8g fat, .65g net carbs, 6g protein
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4 meatballs
Many thanks to Bella San Luci for sending me samples of their delicious sun-dried tomatoes to try out! For more great recipes using sun-dried tomatoes, and to enter their 2013 recipe contest for a chance to win $2500 (!) check out their website!
[pinterest text=”Low Carb and Gluten Free Sundried Tomato and Feta Meatballs – ibreatheimhungry.com” layout=”horizontal” image=”https://www.ibreatheimhungry.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/sundriedmeatballs4smal-700×475.jpg”]
If you love low carb meatballs as much as I do, continue the meatball madness with my General Tso’s Meatballs, Buffalo Chicken Meatballs, and Meatballs Parmigiana!
Or for even more great recipes, download your copy of The Gluten Free Low Carber today!
janice weiss says
I Have made this recipe Multiple times, my family loves it. (I do not add the feta cheese). I have made it with Turkey or Beef It always comes out delicious. My only problem is my kids eat them as fast as I make them.
★★★★★
Candy Carter says
I liked them but also needed to add salt. Also, when I first made them they were so runny I could not form them into balls. I had to double the almond flour and even then had to use a cookie dough scoop because I could not form them into balls. What went wrong? They still taste good though.
★★★★
Mia says
Do you use sundries tomatoes in oil?
Mellissa Sevigny says
Either works!
Bryana says
Yummy!! For turkey meatballs, I thought these were pretty fantastic. At other reviewer’s suggestions I added a touch of salt. If you like feta and sun dried tomatoes, it’s definitely worth trying.
★★★★★
Drew says
Ohhhh man, you absolutely were NOT kidding about needing to resist eating a bunch of these right away! Not exaggerating when I say these were the tastiest meatballs I’ve ever had. I did add probably 1/2 tsp pink salt to the mix, and I used a dark meat ground turkey mix that they sell at my grocery store, it’s fattier meat so I omitted the 2 tbsp water and relied on the higher fat content to keep them moist. I also baked them instead of frying them in lieu of the higher meat fat content at 350 for 10 mins, flip, then 10 more mins. Also used a sheep milk feta but not sure if that mattered much. They weren’t tough at all like lean ground turkey can get and these were so flavorful that I actually ended up eating 4 and saying screw it, pairing it with the anti pasta salad right then and there. Awesome!
★★★★★
Theresa Mikita Lepiane says
I also baked mine. I doubled the recipe with 1/2 turkey and 1/2 ground beef which added some fat, but I think even with the turkey, you may be able to bake them if you rub some coconut oil/avocado oil on your hands as you are rolling. They were plenty crispy. I did put the oven on broil for ONE minute to crisp them up at the end.
★★★★★
Chris M. says
I made these for the first time but I wasn’t too crazy about them. They were just ok for me. I maybe didnt add enough sundried tomato, but I think adding a little salt to this recipe is necessary for next time. But thank you for this website! Iam really enjoying tbese meal plans and recipes!!!
★★★★
wcu_bearcat says
just made for the second time…so yum. I subbed nutritional yeast for almond flour, and added turmeric. SO GOOD. thanks for the recipes AND the meal plans AND the shopping lists. my keto re-start is so much better because of you!
Ellen says
The recipe was great, I made them seemed need more almond flour, but left as is, just a question could we bake in oven instead of frying? Just wondering. Defintely great taste.
Cheryl says
I’m new to Air Frying. Any tips on temperature and time for making these in the Air Fryer?
Mellissa Sevigny says
Sorry I’ve never used one so I have no idea!
Meghan Flaherty Ruhl says
My FAVOROITE lunch! I prefer to make these into patties and pair with a baby spinach salad simply dressed with Cardini’s Original Caesar Dressing. Perfection!
★★★★★
N Ka-pow says
I guess this would work with beef as well? Sorry I don’t cook much.
★★★★★
Amy says
I put these beauties on my smoker and they were fabulous! Thanks for all your meal plans and hard work. I appreciate it!
★★★★★
Chris says
65 grams of carbs for a single meatball?!?! Please, tell me this is a typo since the weekly meal plan has it listed as 4g.
Mellissa Sevigny says
It’s clearly .65
stephanie says
Would you be able to freeze these, cooked or raw?
Mellissa Sevigny says
Yes – probably cook them first.
Rachael says
I made these and they came out super dry. I suspect the reason was that my almond flour hadn’t arrived yet, so I substituted coconut flour, and like an idiot I didn’t check for conversions first so I just used 1/4 cup, and now I know that coconut flour is dryer than almond flour.
That said, I don’t want to waste them, so I was wondering if you might recommend a sauce to go with these?
Kristi Nichols says
These were SPECTACULAR!!! I baked them in the oven for a hands free method as I had a lot going on tonight. I served them up with some spaghetti squash and veges! Great new recipe to add to the keto recipe box… Thanks.
Sandra says
HOw long did you bake these for. might be easier to bake than fry. thanks
Monica says
Seconded, how long did you bake them for? I want to make them tonight and frying is such a pain! :)
Loren says
I baked mine at 400° degrees for 20 minutes.
Robin says
I’m going to try this in a meatloaf recipe. Sounds fantastic!
Amy Gowans says
I forgot how awesome thesis meatballs are. I made a bunch, in muffin tins, a while back and froze them. Perfect lunch along with some steamed brocolli.
★★★★★
Joanna says
I am making these right now and using a 1″ scoop. However, I have 18 meatballs made so far and have only gotten through 1/2 the meat mixture. When you say make 16 one inch meatballs are they really one inch? :)
By the way, I have got to tell you, everything I have made from your site has been absolutely delish! And my whole family agrees with me, even my hard to please husband! You got him with the Easy Cheesy Cauliflower Gratin! Said it tasted almost like Mac N Cheese. And that is saying A LOT! :D You have a gift and we are all blessed by it! Thank you for sharing your heavenly creations!
McDonna says
Melissa ~ Can’t wait to make these for dinner tonight! Question: Would it be possible for you to include a *print* button on this page, please? I think some of your other pages have that option, but I couldn’t find it on this page. Thanks, Melissa! You’re awesome!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Sorry McDonna, a lot of the old recipes aren’t in the new format yet and I haven’t had time to do them. I need to hire a VA and when I do I’ll have them go back and fix some of the formatting on older posts. For now the easiest thing to do is cut and paste into a word document and print that – then you won’t get the ads and comments printed!
Alaina says
So I decided to make these tonight and found the recipe to be extremely wet. I had to add a lot more almond meal to bind the mixture together. I added exactly the right amounts of everything else.
Has anyone else found the mixture to be very wet?
Otherwise they turned out great.
Miss B says
Can I substitute the turkey for beef? If so, will it change the nutritional values at all?
Christine says
I used goat cheese instead. They were delicious! Even my husband really liked them!
jessica says
Is the flour necessarily? Do you suppose they will still stick together without it? Don’t have any on hand and would like to make them tonight!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Sorry I just got in and wasn’t able to answer this sooner – in case you haven’t made them yet you can omit the flour, they will just be a little denser and harder. Should still taste fine though! Enjoy!
Kayla says
I’m allergic to nuts what could I use instead of almond flour? Thank you so much!! I just shopped for your 7 day Keto meal plan it was so easy to follow along!!
Andrea says
Do you have a conversion for coconut flour?
Mellissa Sevigny says
2 Tbsp would probably be enough in this recipe!
Marie says
I made these tonight and they were delish! 1 Tbs of thyme seemed a bit much for my taste so I cut that in half and substituted the water with fresh squeezed lemon juice.
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks Marie, so glad you liked them! I like your lemon juice idea, might try that myself, thanks for sharing!