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.
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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.
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.
This sounds so good. I am wondering what else you serve with these delicious meatballs?
I serve it with broccoli, green beans, and/or caesar salad.
What could this be served with to make it into an entree?
I serve it with broccoli, green beans, and/or caesar salad.
I’m allergic to zucchini is there a substitute?
Spinach would sub in well.
I really want to make this but my son just really hates zucchini. What’s a good substitute in this recipie?
You can’t taste it at all. If you peeled the zucchini and chopped it a bit after shredding it he probably wouldn’t notice. Or you can use finely chopped spinach. Or just leave it altogether.
Thanks! I’ll try to sneak a little in and add some spinach because he will eat that!
Looks delicious! Can this be frozen or made a day or 2 ahead?
Thank you!
This can be baked as directed and reheated a day or two later. It reheats really well. Or you can either freeze the meatballs raw and proceed with the recipe (increasing the cooking time as needed), or cook the meatballs and freeze them cooked and then proceed with the recipe.
Sounds very tasty!must try soon!
What’s the best way to shred zucchini? Asking for my knuckles. LOL.
I normally just run through the food processor with the shredding blade. You do need to be careful if you grate by hand with a box grater. I think we’ve all injured ourselves with those before.
How large a zucchini/how much total shredded do you recommend? There’s a lot of variation inside of one zuhinni. 😉
Thank you!
I used one medium zucchini which yields about 1 cup shredded.
I just want to say– those recipe has become a staple in our LC house! And I nearly always have enough to take for lunch the next day. I don’t know how but they taste even better the next day. Don’t microwave them, though, if you can avoid it. Reheat in the oven. Makes the cheese melty not chewy!
This is amazingly yummy. I used Italian seasoning for the spice. Next time I will add a bit more tomato sauce as it was a bit shy on sauce, but other than that, thank you for such a great recipe.
I have made this and a couple of your other recipes and they have all become instant family favorites. Than you!
Would it be possible to leave the zucchini out?
Sure, but you can’t really taste it. It’s a great way to get in an extra veggie 🙂
This was absolutely delicious! The whole family enjoyed it! Thank you for sharing your recipe!
This makes me think of my mom. She was a great Italian cook. She would serve meatballs like this sometimes for a treat. Thanks for the memory and the great photos. Yum!
Is the nutrition facts listed for ONE serving of 3 meatballs or for the entire thing? 489 calories seemed pretty high for 3 meatballs. TIA.
Yes, it’s for one serving of 3 meatballs with the sauce and cheese. That includes about 4 oz of meat, 2 oz of cheese, etc. per serving. Using sausage makes these very moist and flavorful but it is a higher calorie meat.
Any suggestions to substitute for zucchini?
You could substitute chopped spinach.