This Cheesy Keto Meatball Casserole is delicious and super filling with homemade meatballs topped with creamy ricotta cheese, mozzarella and parmesan for the perfect low carb meal your whole family will enjoy!
Do any of you have that go-to family meal you literally never get sick of even though you make it every. single. week?? Yup this CHEESY keto meatball casserole is definitely one of mine! Not only is it incredibly delicious, but this makes great leftovers which is always super helpful during a busy week. I mean how can you go wrong with homemade meatballs topped with your favorite marinara, creamy ricotta cheese, mozzarella and, of course, fresh basil!
So my hubby and I started our keto journey together soon after the holidays (although my husband has been doing it since September and has already lost 50 pounds!), but we’ve been having so much fun experimenting with new recipes every week and THIS meatball casserole has legit become a weekly staple! It’s super easy to throw together and the best part is I don’t miss pasta because I’m getting my much-needed Italian food fix! I always serve this with a big salad or over zucchini noodles and we are completely full and satisfied!
INGREDIENTS YOU’LL NEED:
- Protein for the meatballs – for this you could use a combination of ground beef + ground pork, ground turkey or just ground beef
- Egg – to bind the meatballs together (no breadcrumbs needed!)
- Spices – I use a combination of garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning along with salt and pepper
- CHEESE! – I use 3 kinds of cheeses in this recipe (because CHEESE), shredded mozzarella, grated parmesan and creamy ricotta cheese
- Marinara sauce – I prefer Rao’s because it is low in sugar and tastes delicious, but feel free to use whatever you like best! I also love THIS easy recipe if you want to make your own!
- Fresh herbs – I love adding fresh parsley in my meatball mixture and topping the whole dish off with some freshly chopped basil
HOW TO MAKE A MEATBALL CASSEROLE:
- Make the meatballs. This you can easily do ahead of time! You’ll need to bake the meatballs separately first before assembling the casserole, and you can either bake them right in the casserole dish (making sure to drain all the excess grease after) OR you can bake them on a cookie sheet
- Assemble the casserole. Once your meatballs are cooked, place them in a casserole dish and top with marinara, add scoops of ricotta cheese all throughout and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese
- Bake! Place in the oven at 400 degrees F for about 20 to 25 minutes, until cheese is deliciously gooey and bubbly!
- Serve. Top with fresh basil and serve with a salad or over zucchini noodles!
So easy right?! This recipe makes about 15 to 16 large meatballs (I use a large cookie scoop so that they are all even in size), but if you wanted to make them smaller you could get about 24 meatballs. It’s up to you and they will still taste great either way! I would just decrease your cooking time by about 5 minutes or so if you choose to make smaller meatballs.
This meatball recipe is my absolute GO-TO and there are no breadcrumbs added which is great because who doesn’t love avoiding those extra carbs?? You could also cook these meatballs right in your Instant Pot too, which I have been loving using lately! It saves so much time with easy clean-up and everything just tastes so dang good. Let me know in the comments section if you’d like to see more Instant Pot recipes on the blog!
Oh and like I said before, this casserole can easily be prepped the night before so you can just pop it in the oven whenever you’re ready to eat! This recipe is also a great freezer meal and can be stored in your freezer for up to 3 months before baking. Simply thaw it out in your fridge overnight before baking the next day and you’re good to go!
Now how good does that look?? If you like this recipe, then you will love these other favorite dishes of mine!
- Enchilada Stuffed Zucchini Boats
- Cheesy Caprese Chicken & Quinoa Casserole
- Veggie & Cheese Stuffed Shells
- Baked Spaghetti Squash Casserole
Please let me know if you’d like me to share more of our keto journey on Instagram as well as more recipes like this on the blog. I really try to share a wide variety of meals for ALL diets on this site, but in our daily lives we’ve been having fun experimenting with different low carb recipes, keto baking and trying out new brands of food 
Hope you all enjoy this CHEESY keto meatball casserole as much as we did and if you do decide to make this or any other Eat Yourself Skinny recipe, please make sure to tag me on Instagram so I can see all the yummy things you’re eating!
- 2 lb ground beef
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- ¾ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup grated onion
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp Italian seasoning
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 (24 oz) jar favorite marinara sauce (I prefer Rao's)
- ½ cup ricotta cheese
- ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 to 3 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- To make the meatballs: In a large bowl combine ground beef, cheeses, egg, onion, garlic, parsley and seasonings, mixing well. Use a cookie scoop to form the meatballs so they are all the same size, rolling them around in your hands, and arrange on a baking dish or cookie sheet. You should get about 15 to 16 large meatballs.
- Bake meatballs for 20 to 25 minutes, or until fully cooked. Remove meatballs, draining any excess grease, and arrange cooked meatballs in a baking dish.
- Pour marinara sauce evenly over the meatballs and spoon ricotta cheese on top. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and bake in the oven for about 15 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Remove from oven and top with fresh basil. Serve and enjoy!
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