Easy Italian Meatballs
⏲ ~33 min total · prep 14 · cook 19 · 4 servings
Lunch⏱ 40 min total🔥 4.0g net carbs⚡ ≈487 kcal/serving~2% of calories from carbs
By the KFI Test Kitchen · Tested & approved by Jason Lieu, KFI recipe editor
Published Sep 15, 2026 · Updated Sep 15, 2026
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef (80/20)
- 1/2 lb ground pork
- 1/3 cup almond flour
- 1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
- 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 1/2 cups no-sugar-added marinara sauce
- 4 large fresh basil leaves, torn
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and set a wire rack inside a rimmed half-sheet pan — the rack holds the meatballs out of their own grease so they brown all the way around.
- Combine the beef, pork, almond flour, Parmesan, egg, garlic, parsley, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes in a large bowl and mix with your hands just until no dry streaks remain; overworking makes them dense.
- Roll into 16 meatballs the size of a generous golf ball (about 1 1/2 oz each), wetting your palms if the mix sticks.
- Space the meatballs on the rack without touching and bake at 400°F for 18-20 minutes, until browned and an instant-read thermometer in the center of one reads 160°F.
- While they bake, warm the marinara in a 10-inch skillet over medium-low until it bubbles lazily at the edges.
- Transfer the meatballs into the sauce, spoon sauce over the tops, and let them simmer 3 minutes so they drink some of it in.
- Serve scattered with the torn basil and an extra snow of Parmesan.
Why this recipe works
- A rack lifts them out of the grease Baking on a wire rack over a rimmed sheet pan lets hot air reach every face. Meatballs baked flat in a dish brown on top and stay pale and greasy underneath.
- Hands off the mixing Mixing until no dry streaks remain, then stopping, keeps the texture loose. Squeezing and kneading like bread dough compacts the meat into dense rounds.
- Almond flour instead of breadcrumbs Almond flour holds the meatballs together at 4.0 net carbs per serving, where a cup of breadcrumbs would multiply the count. It stays tender in sauce rather than going gummy.
Tips for making this recipe well
Size them once
Sixteen meatballs at about 1 1/2 oz each bake evenly. If some run walnut-sized and others apple-sized, the small ones dry out waiting on the big ones.
Wet palms for rolling
The mix sticks to dry hands. A bowl of water beside the board, palms dipped between rounds, gives smooth balls without extra working of the meat.
Check the center meatball
Pull the pan when an instant-read thermometer in the center of one reads 160°F. Test the palest one on the rack, not the darkest.
Three minutes in the sauce
The short simmer is for flavor, not cooking. Meatballs left in marinara for 20 minutes drink too much in and go soft.
Warm the sauce while they bake
Marinara added cold to hot meatballs drags the whole plate's temperature down. Get the skillet bubbling at the edges on the same timeline as the oven.
Serving suggestions
Set the skillet on the table with torn basil and extra Parmesan in reach and let people take what they want. Sixteen meatballs at 4.0 net carbs per serving leaves room for zucchini noodles or a big salad underneath, and the extra marinara in the pan doubles as sauce for either. Dinner comes out of this pan twice, plated and sauced tonight, then a few held back cold for tomorrow's lunch, which is a habit worth keeping.
Storage and meal prep
Cooked meatballs keep 3 to 4 days refrigerated in sauce, which also keeps them from drying out. Reheat gently in a covered skillet over low heat, or in short microwave bursts, since the centers take longer to warm than the sauce. They freeze well for 2 to 3 months, sauce and all, in a flat container for faster thawing. Thaw overnight in the fridge and warm slowly so the centers heat through before the sauce scorches.
Variations worth trying
- All beef Use 1 1/2 lb of ground beef in place of the beef and pork split; the pork adds fat, so expect a leaner, tighter meatball.
- Turkey Ground turkey works with the same method; pull them at 165°F and immediately, since it dries faster than the beef-pork mix.
- Skillet browning Without a rack setup, brown the rounds in a little olive oil over medium heat, then simmer them in the marinara until the centers read 160°F.
- Spicier Double the red pepper flakes and stir a pinch into the marinara too.
Frequently asked questions
Can I make the mix ahead?
Yes, up to a day ahead, covered in the fridge. Cold mix rolls cleaner than room-temperature mix, so the make-ahead route is arguably the better one.
Why a rack instead of a baking dish?
The rack holds the meatballs out of the rendered fat and lets air circulate, so they brown all the way around. Flat in a dish, the bottoms sit in grease and stay gray.
Can I skip the oven and pan-fry?
Yes. Brown them in a little olive oil over medium heat, turning often, then simmer them in the marinara until the centers read 160°F.
My meatballs came out dense. Why?
Almost always overmixing. Work the meat until no dry streaks remain and stop there, even if the surface looks rough.
Do I need no-sugar-added marinara?
For the 4.0 net carbs to hold, yes. Regular marinara often carries added sugar, and a cup and a half of it can move the count more than the meatballs do.
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