Some of my co-workers follow this blog, so you all should probably be aware that I’m about to give away some trade secrets. This is one of my favorite recipes to bring to work potlucks, because it’s fairly easy to make ahead and works great in a crock pot. If I’m making it for dinner at home, I prefer to do it on the stovetop, but if I’m making it for work I’ll just dump the cooked meatballs and the sauce ingredients into a crock pot, stir it around, and cook it on low for a few hours once I get to work. They’re good to go by lunchtime and I hardly ever have any left over.
To make 20 meatballs, start with a pound and a half of ground beef in a large mixing bowl. To that, add 1 beaten egg, 1/3 cup of grated parmesan cheese, a tablespoon of smoked paprika, two teaspoons of oregano, a teaspoon and a half of salt, a teaspoon each of garlic powder and onion powder, and several grinds of black pepper. Mix all that together, then use a small cookie scoop to dole out 20 equal servings onto a cookie sheet lined with foil. Use your hands to form the meatballs, then bake them in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes.
If you’re making these on the stovetop, heat up two tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in a saucepot, then fry the bottoms of the meatballs for a few minutes so they’re evenly browned. Add a tablespoon of minced garlic and stir for about 30 seconds. After that, add a 15-ounce can of tomato sauce, two teaspoons of smoked paprika, 1/2 teaspoon of cumin, 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne, and a bit of salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for about ten minutes, then serve. For a potluck, just toss the cooked meatballs into a crock pot, stir in all the sauce ingredients, and heat on low for about 2-3 hours before serving. You can easily make the meatballs the night before and put them in cold, but put the crock pot on high instead of low so the meatballs are heated through. Voila, you’ve impressed your co-workers!
Keto Spanish Meatballs
Ingredients
For the Meatballs
- 1.5 lbs ground beef 85/15 preferred
- 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- black pepper to taste
For the Sauce
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 15-ounce can tomato sauce
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
For the Meatballs
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil.
- Mix all the meatball ingredients together in a large bowl, then shape into 20 equally-sized balls. Space them evenly on the cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes.
For the Sauce
- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in a large saucepan. Fry the bottoms of the meatballs for 3 minutes, then add the minced garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Stir in the remaining ingredients and simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.
- To make the meatballs in a crock pot instead of on the stovetop, simply add all the sauce ingredients into the crock pot with the meatballs and cook on low for 2-3 hours. If you made the meatballs the night before and they're still cold, reheat on high instead of low.
- Macros per serving (4 meatballs with sauce): 418 calories, 9 grams net carbs, 28 grams protein, 28 grams fat.
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