Meatball Casserole
If you are looking for a new family dinner this homemade Meatball Casserole should be it. Juicy, flavorful meatballs baked until golden and then covered with tomato sauce and cheese. My low carb keto Meatball Casserole was a hit with my family and should be a hit with yours.
When I was in college, I was still a vegetarian. One of my favorite meals from the dining hall takeout was a vegetarian Italian meatball parmesan sub. I have no idea what those “meat”balls were made of, and I probably don’t want to know, but it was terrific.
It was smothered in tomato sauce and topped with provolone. I’d look forward to Tuesdays so I could get dining hall take-out and my favorite meatball parmesan sub. Almost fifteen years later, that is the only dining hall food I recall, and that is my inspiration for my cheesy meatball casserole.
This casserole with meatballs was a perfect substitute. I could eat this Italian meatball casserole recipe once a week for the rest of my life and never get sick of it. And my whole family would agree.
Love this? Try my Keto Chicken Parmesan next! Breaded with parmesan cheese, it is lighter than classic chicken parm but just as good!
Ingredients
- Ground Meat – I typically use ground turkey but ground beef, ground pork, or ground chicken work as well.
- Ground Sausage – I use sweet Italian sausage but hot Italian sausage is fine or a combination of the two.
- Egg – The egg is the binder in this in addition to the grated parmesan cheese.
- Shredded Zucchini – You can’t taste it and it gives a lot of moisture to the meatballs.
- Shredded Mozzarella Cheese – You can also use a blend of Italian cheese.
- Keto Marinara Sauce – I like to make my own but any pasta sauce or tomato sauce without added sugar is fine.
- Spices – I prefer to use dried onion, garlic, and basil in these. You can use Italian seasoning in place of the basil if you prefer the flavor of that.
- Salt & Pepper
How to Make a Meatball Casserole
Step One: Put all the ingredients for the meatballs in a large mixing bowl and mix. You can do this by hand or with a rubber spatula.
Step Two: Next, scoop the meatballs. A large cookie scoop makes this very easy. You should end up with 24 meatballs. Bake in a baking dish coated with cooking spray until they are almost completely cooked. I shoot for 150-155 on my meat thermometer.
Step Three: Top with sauce and sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top and finish baking. For the best golden brown cheese on top broil the low carb meatball casserole for 2-3 minutes, watching it carefully.
Top Tip💡
You can make the Italian meatballs ahead of time, cook until fully cooked, and then freeze the cooked meatballs in a freezer bag. Just place the frozen meatballs in the casserole dish, bake until thawed, and then top with the sauce and cheese. This easy prep idea is always a perfect meal on busy weeknights.
Storage
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Variations
- Fresh Basil – If you have fresh basil, feel free to mix some into the ground meat mixture, add some to the marinara, or sprinkle on top after baking.
- Spices – Swap the dried minced onion and garlic for onion powder and garlic powder, or sub in Italian seasoning.
This Sausage Parmigiana is also a great choice if you need more dinner recipes! Or for a vegetarian version sub in cauliflower and try my Cauliflower Parmesan.
Common Questions
We enjoy it with a side salad, vegetables, or any of the main low carb pasta options out there, such as palm noodles and zoodles.
Our family’s favorite ways to serve this is on top of zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash. For any non-keto eaters, you can serve with garlic bread or a side of al dente pasta.
Alternatively, you can serve with a side of roasted broccoli or green beans or a green salad.
Yup! Here the meatballs are after forming them. I use a large cookie scoop to simplify the process. Since there is no need to get up to your elbows in raw meat, this is a great task to get the kids involved in. Mine are pros at scooping low carb meatballs by now. Make sure to also check out the video below.
That hidden zucchini in my juicy meatballs is my sneaky mom favorite addition. My kids don’t even notice it’s in there. If you really want to hide it you can peel the green skin off first.
If you would like to substitute another veggie for the zucchini I would recommend chopped spinach.
Absolutely! This easy meatball recipe also freezes really well! Go ahead and make a double batch and then next time you want an easy Meatball Casserole just thaw, dump into the baking dish, and cover with sauce and cheese. Meatball Parmesan in a jiffy!
I love to always have a bag of low carb homemade meatballs in the freezer for nights that I don’t want to cook.
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Video
Meatball Casserole Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
Meatball Ingredients
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1 lb Italian sausage
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella
- 1/3 cup grated or shredded parmesan
- 1 medium shredded zucchini about 1 cup
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp dried minced onion
- 2 tsp dried minced garlic
- 2 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp salt
Casserole Ingredients
- 1 cup marinara sauce
- 8 oz shredded cheese (I used a two cheese pizza blend of mozzarella and provolone)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400. Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray
- Combine all the ingredients for the meatballs and mix thoroughly. Make about 24 meatballs and put them in the casserole dish.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through. Carefully drain the cooking liquid from the casserole dish.
- Top with the sauce and cheese. Bake for an additional 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
- Optional: I broiled for 3-4 minutes at the end to toast the cheese. Watch it carefully if you put it under the broiler. The cheese can burn easily.
Notes
Nutrition
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Originally Published September 23, 2016. Revised and Republished September 8, 2025.
Looks really good
Hubby licked his plate clean! Delicious recipe.
this is delicious! even my non-thm family members like this one 🙂 we actually have a number of favorites from joyfilledeats….
I’m really excited to try the keto meatball casserole.
My kids gobbled these up!! We all loved them! Thanks so much!
U say to bake theml 4 30 min, but u don’t say what the degree the oven should be??? They sound fab!
Hi Cindy, if you scroll up a bit above the comments you will see the complete recipe. 400 degrees.
I made this last weekend and added some leftover pepperoni, did meatballs and mild Italian sausage. I served it over egg noodles and it was like an easy lasagne! We all loved it! Thanks for taking the time to share this winner!
I’m trying this tonight for supper. I didn’t have zucchini, so we are trying it without it. I sure hope it turns out well.
It should be fine. Hope you like it!
This has been a huge hit in my family too. The kids would die if they knew they were eating zucchini.
These were incredible! Friends were having us over for dinner and raided my Pinterest account for ideas. I was so glad they did. We all just loved these. Two days later I made them. Can’t stop raving over them. I’ve sent the recipe on to several others now. They are a new family favorite.
We really loved this recipe and I used lean hamburger instead of turkey meat plus have a little bit left over so today I’m going to make cheeseburgers out of it 🤗🤗
My family doesn’t follow the Keto lifestyle but we absolutely love this recipe! It’s also great for meal prep, as you can double (or triple as I did today) the recipe and freeze some for later. Both kids and adults love it!
Delicious! I did make some adjustments: fresh basil in meatballs: almost 1/4 c cut in thin strips; fresh garlic; hamburger (93/7) instead of turkey; hot italian sausage (pkg was 18 oz). For the sauce, I used an entire jar (Blue Parrot brand has minimal sugar compared to many other brands) plus sauteed sliced mushrooms (8 oz) with fresh garlic then added spices: crushed red pepper; red pepper flakes; salt; pepper; fresh oregano (2 sprigs from garden). Simmered it for a while so it cooked down a bit. I did broil it after adding sauce/cheese – the top crust was divine! Served it with some palmini noodles but could sub pasta for those not on keto. OR, nothing at all (alone would make a lovely pot-luck dish). Note: I found that 1 c sauce wouldn’t even touch each meatball.
Delish!
I always use diced mushrooms in my meatballs to bind them, so I did that instead of the egg and zucchini this time, also. The rest is pretty much the same as my Keto lasagna minus the sliced zucchini. I cook the meatballs in the air fryer. Quick, simple, and delicious.
This is the best keto recipe I have tried so far! Amazing flavor. I do like my sauce so I add a whole jar of sauce instead of a cup. Thank you for this recipe. Now one of my favorites.