Our Keto Meatball Casserole, made with homemade meatballs or store-bought frozen meatballs, is the ultimate comfort food dinner! Saucy, cheesy, and easy to throw together in 10 minutes. This is one of those family favorite dinners we make again and again.
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I love a good meatball, whether we’re serving them up as the main dish, a snack, or an appetizer! We make them often and I’ll never get tired of all the variations.
Have you tried out buffalo chicken meatballs or jalapeno popper meatballs? The ultimate dinner or snack!
And meatballs aren’t hard to make, which is another bonus.
But you know what? For me, the HARDEST thing about keto and low carb is all of the prep work and meal planning. I need some simple recipes that I can just pull of thin air on busy nights or days when I just don’t want to think about it all, you know?
This keto meatball casserole is one of those meals – I actually start with frozen meatballs most of the time (huge time saver though not 100% clean keto, if you place a focus on ingredients) and then just toss them with sauce, layer on the cheese, and bake until hot and bubbly.
You ready to dig in to this one yet?
Frozen Meatballs Vs. Homemade:
If you’re in a time crunch, or just want an easy dump and go recipe, then frozen meatballs are the way to go! They bake up tender and flavorful and they’re easy to keep on hand in the freezer for busy nights.
If you’d prefer to use homemade meatballs, then give our recipe for mozzarella stuffed meatballs a try. You can skip stuffing them with cheese, if you like. If you’re using freshly baked homemade meatballs, assemble the casserole and bake for just 20 minutes.
Keto Meatball Casserole
Ingredients
- 26 ounces frozen meatballs see notes
- 24 ounces marinara sauce
- 8 ounces ricotta cheese
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ cup minced parsley plus more for garnish
- 1 cup mozzarella
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9×13 baking dish with non-stick spray.
- Add the meatballs to the baking dish and top with the marinara. Use a spoon to stir the meatballs to coat in the sauce.
- Add the ricotta, cream cheese, Parmesan, garlic, and parsley to a small mixing bowl and stir until smooth and creamy.
- Dollop spoonfuls of the ricotta mixture over the meatballs.
- Sprinkle with the mozzarella cheese.
- Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour. Remove foil during the last 10 minutes to brown the top, if desired.
- Sprinkle with additional parsley before serving.
Tips & Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Meatball Casserole Ingredients Notes:
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Meatballs – As I said, you can use the frozen variety or homemade. We like Rosina brand frozen meatballs with 4 net carbs per 6 meatballs. Walmart brand meatballs are 2 net carbs for 6, but we like the flavor and texture of Rosina brand better.
Marinara Sauce – We use and love Rao’s sauce for just about everything. Not only is it sugar free, it also has the best flavor of any jarred sauce that we’ve tried.
Cheese – We’re using a mixture of ricotta, cream cheese, mozzarella, and Parmesan.
Garlic – Every Italian inspired recipe must have garlic!
Parsley – We prefer freshly minced parsley to add some fresh flavor to this dish, but you could add in dried if that’s what you have on hand.
We use Thrive Market for a lot of our specialty ingredients and keto snacks or products. Their prices tend to be cheaper than the local stores and I love that you can so easily sort products by diet.
Like Costco, this is a membership site, but we find that it’s more than worth it based on the amount we save over the regular grocery store.
They have monthly or yearly plans. Check it out here.
- This is a quick and easy casserole recipe! Especially thanks to the frozen meatballs which are such an easy option for dinner!
- With four kinds of cheese, this is an extra cheesy casserole recipe!
- You can easily serve this with a side of penne or other pasta for the carb lovers in your family. It also goes great with spaghetti squash or zucchini noodles.
Keto vs. Low Carb:
I know, without a doubt, that I’m going to get some pushback on calling this recipe keto, because of the use of frozen meatballs, but hear me out…keto is a metabolic state. Eating less than 20 net carbs a day will put you in ketosis and that’s MY version of keto, as someone who’s eaten this way for many years and lost quite a lot of weight doing so, even though about 99.9% of the recipes on this blog are ‘clean’ keto. I don’t eliminate all wheat, sugar, soy, etc. and many others don’t either.
If you DO eliminate those things, that’s totally cool! You’ll just want to use my recipe for mozzarella stuffed meatballs (totally clean ingredients!) and make them from scratch. That’s totally fine and I do that sometimes too! I love that we have options here, so do what works best for you and your family!
How To Make This Meatball Casserole Recipe:
- Prep the Meatballs – If you’re starting with frozen meatballs, there’s really no prep needed. Just toss the meatballs in a 9×13 baking dish and pour marinara over the sauce. Stir them up so the meatballs are coated in sauce.If you’re making the homemade meatballs, you’ll want to mix and shape the meatballs and then bake them off, drain any grease, and then pour the marinara over the top.You’ll spend more time making the meatballs from scratch, but the bonus is that the casserole will bake much quicker since the meatballs will be hot instead of frozen.
- Combine the Cheese – Stir together the ricotta, cream cheese, and Parmesan with the parsley and garlic until it’s smooth and creamy. Taste the mixture and add a bit of salt if you think it needs it.Dollop spoonfuls of the cheese mixture of the meatballs and then sprinkle more mozzarella over the top. This is a cheesy, decadent meatball casserole and I am here for it!
- Bake – Cover the dish tightly with foil and pop it in the oven.If you’re starting with frozen meatballs, you’ll want to bake this for one hour. Those meatballs need time to thoroughly heat up.If you’re starting with homemade meatballs, you’ll want to cover and bake for 20. We like to take the foil off during the last 10 minutes of baking to let the cheese on top get a little browned, but you do you.
Serving Ideas:
This meatball casserole is absolutely perfect served with a side salad topped with our homemade Italian dressing and some steamed veggies.
Of course, we’ve been known to pile it over some of our Instant Pot spaghetti squash. On busy nights, we use the frozen bags of steamable spaghetti squash – zero prep work, just microwave! Sometimes my kids will even boil a pot of spaghetti noodles for their portion.
You’ll obviously want to serve with our garlic bread chaffle.
FAQs:
You can keep this keto meatball casserole in the refrigerator for up to 2 to 3 days if it is well covered. You can also freeze the casserole for up to a couple months. It can be reheated in the oven.
Just about every store bought brand of frozen meatballs is going to contain breadcrumbs or sugar or something that isn’t completely keto friendly. If you are just tracking net carbs it shouldn’t be a problem. There are some brands of gluten free meatballs that are probably more keto friendly, like Rosina or Farm Rich. Or, just make your own!
Karen says
I’ve already rated this and left a review. It’s one of my favourite recipes. I just wanted to share my variation with the ricotta cheese mixture.
Add a 10 pkg of frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed as dry as possible plus 2 eggs. Mix all the ricotta mixture with a hand mixer until smooth and creamy and then top the meatballs with it.
I always just make half the recipe, so for me it’s half the spinach and 1 egg. The bonus is that it increases the nutrition with a minimal addition of carbs.
Thanks again for an excellent recipe.
NanB says
Hi, thanks for the great recipe, Im thinking about making this up on Saturday, putting it in the fridge, then baking it on Sunday for pot luck… Will this be OK?
Karly Campbell says
Sounds like it would work to me, though I haven’t tried it.
Amie says
Thank you! Sorry about the cryptic message LOL. I’m making this dish and bringing it to the family cabin and was wondering if it would reheat well a few days later. I just didn’t know if it would get runny or anything like that. I’ve made it once before and LOVED it. 🙂
Amie says
How would this dish once made, but reheated a couple of days later?
Karly Campbell says
Hi Amie! I’m not sure exactly what you’re asking, but if you’re asking if it reheats well, the answer is yes! 🙂
Amie says
Thank you! Sorry about the cryptic message LOL. I’m making this dish and bringing it to the family cabin and was wondering if it would reheat well a few days later. I just didn’t know if it would get runny or anything like that. I’ve made it once before and LOVED it. 🙂
Ashley says
Does it end up greasy?
Karly Campbell says
No, not at all. It is cheesy.
Betty says
This is the most delicious dish I’ve had in a long time! I made my own meatballs…a little extra work but worth it. Served with a Caesar salad for a yummy dinner. Thank you!
Karly Campbell says
I’m sure it was amazing with homemade meatballs! 🙂
Karen says
Love this casserole!
FYI, for those with a nearby Wegmans grocery store, their frozen “Gluten Free Oven Baked Meatballs” are quite tasty and have 1 carb per meatball.
I recommend the meatballs, and highly recommend this recipe.
Thank you!
Karly Campbell says
Oh, good tip! Thanks for sharing!
Tracey says
If I make homemade meatballs that are precooked, how long would oven time be to melt up cheese and warm? Not an hour?
Karly Campbell says
Nah, probably just 20 minutes or so. Just keep an eye on everything – you’re just getting it all hot so there’s really no wrong answer here.
Bailey says
Do you put the frozen meatballs in or cook them and then add them?
Karly Campbell says
They go in frozen.
Donna Wyko says
Can this casserole be made ahead and frozen?
Karly Campbell says
I think this would freeze great! I’m not sure how long it would take to bake from frozen though.
Joyce M says
Made it today. Very good sup! We stopped Fazolis and got a couple of their bread sticks. I
Will make this again!!
Karly Campbell says
So glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Joy says
What would be the best way to make the meatballs firm. Husband like ut but thought the meatballs were to soft
Karly Campbell says
You could try a different meatball recipe if those weren’t to your liking. 🙂
Nancy D says
I would just bake/fry them up to get a crunchy outside before adding to casserole. Bonus, it would also cut down on baking time!
Dinah says
So the meatballs dont HAVE to be frozen?
I make our own meatballs (uncooked) and freeze… they will cook thru if put in this recipe while frozen?
Karly Campbell says
No, you’ll want to start with fully cooked meatballs. They can be homemade, cooked, and frozen, but not raw.
Maria J Kucienski says
Hello what kind of keto pasta can be used with these great meatballs? Any specific name brand
Karly Campbell says
We included some serving suggestions in the blog post, but no, I don’t have a recommendation for actual pasta.
JC says
This is delicious! What brand of frozen meatballs do you make with this?
Karly Campbell says
Hi JC! We like Rosina brand frozen meatballs with 4 net carbs per 6 meatballs. Walmart brand meatballs are 2 net carbs for 6, but we like the flavor and texture of Rosina brand better.
Jocelyn says
SKINNY PASTA or Hearts of Palm. Both can be purchased on Amazon. But I’ve also found the Skinny Pasta at my local HEB grocery store.
Kimberly says
How many degrees should the oven be set to?
Karly Campbell says
It’s listed in step 1. 375 degrees. 🙂
Debra says
I combined this with a braised green beans Turkish style recipe, except instead of green beans I used yellow wax beans, made it feel like I had pasta with it! So delicious. Has anyone tried freezing it, not sure it would do well with the cream cheese and ricotta cheeses. But would be so nice to have this to pop in the oven after a long day at work.
Karly Campbell says
Hi Debra! I’m not sure how well the cheeses would hold up or how great the meatballs would be after being cooked, frozen, cooked again, and frozen again. I’d probably do homemade meatballs if I were going to freeze it, but again – the cheese may get a bit funky. 🙂
The beans sound like a delicious option to serve with this!
Shaune says
I love the wax beans idea!
Helen says
Yummy these are super delicious. Will print and put on my list of meals. I have used frozen meatballs plus my own for less carbs, but both are very good
Karly Campbell says
Thanks, Helen! Hope you enjoy!
Janet Huffstetler says
I keep a bag of the frozen meatballs for my quick “go to” dinners, too. I have also gone with salsa, Mexican Queso Cheese, either ‘Pepper Jack or Cheddar, topped with sour cream and avocado! Great meal, too. Tried a Teriyaki, but not as successful!
Karly Campbell says
Sounds delicious! We have a Mexican version on the site, but with homemade meatballs. I’ll have to try with the frozen ones to keep life even easier. 🙂
Barbara Napier says
Oh my goodness, I am totally doing this and two thoughts went through my mind… 1) you can totally do this in the crockpot for an even easier weeknite dinner and 2) putting the meatballs ON the garlic bread chaffle for a meatball ‘sub’. YES PLEASE!
And totally agree with you on Rosina’s AND Rao’s.
Karly Campbell says
Okay, you’re a genius!! Trying this in the crockpot ASAP! And that meatball sub…
ELAINE says
Is there something else beside ricotta cheese. Can I leave that out?
Karly Campbell says
You could leave it out, but it won’t be as cheesy. Alternatively, you could use a low carb cottage cheese.
Matt says
Could you cut up a couple of zucchini and put it in there?
Karly Campbell says
Sure! It might be a bit more watery as the zucchini releases liquid, but I’m sure it will taste great.