Mexican Meatballs with a simple homemade queso for dipping! These make the best snack or appetizer and my kids just can’t get enough of them! They’re low carb too!
Mexican food is hands down my favorite type of cuisine.
We do tacos at least once a week, but sometimes even more than that.
I use the low carb tortillas you can find in most grocery stores. They do contain wheat, so I haven’t shared any recipes using those tortillas here because I’m not sure where y’all stand on those products. I know a lot of you like the keto ingredients and a lot of you don’t care, so I’ve just avoided it altogether!
Today’s recipe works great for low carb AND keto – these Mexican meatballs are perfect for everyone!
These low carb Mexican meatballs are super simple and seasoned with taco seasoning.
Then I went ahead and made a simple keto queso for dipping those meatballs! Y’all are going to love this recipe!
Are Meatballs Keto?
Meatballs are the perfect low carb food, if you ask me. The trick is figuring out what binder to use to replace the traditional bread crumbs.
I use either pork rinds or almond flour as the binder in my meatballs (and keto meatloaf)! Either works great, but we have a slight preference towards the pork rinds when it comes to meatballs and almond flour when it comes to meatloaf.
♥ What We Love About This Recipe:
- Queso Dip: The low carb queso is just a simple riff on my keto cheese sauce. It’s a mix of cream, cream cheese, butter, cheddar, and Ro*Tel. Everything comes together super quickly on the stove and it’s perfect for dipping these Mexican meatballs!
- Party Food: These Mexican meatballs are perfect for parties or gatherings, sporting events, or just when you need to snack! We like to serve them with toothpicks for easy dipping in the queso!
Ingredient Notes:
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For the meatballs:
Ground Beef – These meatballs start with lean ground beef! We like ground chuck but you could also use ground sirloin or ground round for these.
Egg – The egg acts a binder that holds all the meatball ingredients together!
Pork Rinds – Most meatball recipes include some sort of breading to help bind the ingredients and add flavor. These are low carb meatballs so we’re using crushed pork rinds!
Garlic & Onion – Mixing in some finely minced garlic and onion is a simple way to add extra flavor to these meatballs!
Cilantro – We add freshly minced cilantro right into the meatball mixture for authentic Mexican flavors. If you don’t like cilantro it is okay to either leave it out or try subbing with some parsley!
Seasoning – This keto meatball mixture is seasoned with chili powder, cumin, salt, and garlic powder!
For the queso dip:
Heavy Cream – This simple homemade queso dip starts with some heavy cream! It’ll make this dip extra rich and creamy.
Cheese – For the cheese were using and shredded cheddar cheese.
Diced Tomatoes & Chiles – We love the tomato flavor it adds but even better is the spicy heat that comes with the green chiles! You can buy this in mild or hotter varieties depending on how you like it, or just use diced tomatoes if you don’t want any spiciness.
Garnish – We finish this queso dip off by topping with cilantro and a sprinkle of paprika! Smoked paprika will add a bit of smoky flavor.
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.
How To Make Low Carb Meatballs:
- Combine – You’ll combine the ground beef and pork rinds with egg, onion, garlic, cilantro, and a few spices. This really is easy!
- Scoop – I like to use a cookie scoop to portion out my meatballs. A medium scoop will yield around 20 meatballs.
- Bake – After scooping roll them into balls with your hands and bake on a prepared or parchment paper lined baking sheet for 25 minutes or until cooked through. Ground beef meatballs must reach a safe internal temp of at least 160 degrees.
I love using this meat thermometer for making sure the meat is fully cooked! Easy for beginners & absolutely worth the low cost. Just stick it in the thickest part of the meat to check for doneness. This thermometer is also magnetic so it’s easy to store right on the side of the fridge or oven for easy access! Get it on Amazon.
How To Make Low Carb Queso:
- Melt – When the meatballs are nearly ready you can make the queso by adding the heavy cream, cream cheese, and butter to a small sauce pan and heating while stirring constantly until the butter and cream cheese melt.
- Cheddar Cheese – Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the shredded cheddar until it forms into a smooth and creamy cheese sauce.
- Finish – Stir in some diced tomatoes with green chiles for a spicy, flavorful boost to the queso! We also garnish with cilantro and paprika before serving this queso with the Mexican meatballs for dipping!
What To Serve With Meatballs?
The easy homemade queso dip is already the perfect side for serving with these Mexican meatballs if you’re just enjoying them as a party snack or appetizer.
But you can also make these into a meal! Serve these meatballs alongside my roasted Mexican cauliflower rice for a low carb rice option. This cilantro lime cauliflower rice would also be a great choice.,
My Mexican street corn salad is another good side to go with these meatballs. Serve them up with all your favorite low carb Mexican side dishes!
Helpful TipS!
Make Ahead:
You can prepare these keto meatballs in advance and cook them later! The uncooked meatballs should last for a couple of days in the fridge if they are well stored in some plastic wrap or a container.
Freezing & Storage:
You can store any leftover Mexican meatballs in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 3 to 4 days. They can be reheated in the oven or the microwave.
You can also freeze this meatball recipe! Let the meatballs cool completely before transferring to a baking sheet and placing uncovered in the freezer for an hour. Then transfer them to a freezer safe bag or container.
The queso dip can be refrigerated for about 4 days in a mason jar or airtight container. Reheat on the stove with a splash of milk as neeed. I would not recommend freezing the queso dip.
More Mexican Favorites:
- Stuffed Mini Peppers: Stuffed with taco meat and drizzled with sour cream!
- Crockpot Chicken Fajitas: Serve over cauliflower rice or in a low carb tortilla.
- Keto Taco Casserole: My kids love this one!
- Salsa Chicken: One of the easiest meals you’ll ever make!
- Keto Enchilada Sauce: You won’t believe how easy this is.
Mexican Meatballs (with Queso!)
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- ¾ cup crushed pork rinds
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup minced onion
- ¼ cup minced cilantro
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
For the dip:
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 ounce cream cheese
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 ½ cups shredded cheddar
- ¼ cup canned diced tomatoes and chiles
- cilantro and paprika for garnish
Instructions
To make the meatballs:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a rimmed baking sheet with non-stick spray.
- Add all of the ingredients for the meatballs into a large mixing bowl and mix until well combined.
- Use a medium cookie scoop to scoop out balls of meat and roll between your hands to form the meatballs.
- Place the meatballs on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes or until cooked through.
To make the dip and serve:
- When the meatballs are nearly cooked through, make the queso by adding the heavy cream, cream cheese, and butter a small sauce pan over medium heat. Stir constantly until the butter and cream cheese have melted.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the cheddar cheese until the sauce is smooth and creamy.
- Stir in the tomatoes and chiles to combine.
- Add the cheese sauce to a serving dish and sprinkle with paprika and cilantro. Arrange meatballs around the cheese sauce and serve with toothpicks for dipping.
James says
I’ve never tried Mexican meatballs before. I’ll have to give these a try!
JS says
I’m not familiar with low-carb tortillas. Could you talk more about them? Those Egg-Life things are gross, so I hope there’s something else.
Karly Campbell says
Hi there! I use the Carb Balance tortillas from Mission brand. They’re high in fiber to help counteract the carbs, but they do have wheat flour and other ingredients that aren’t keto friendly. They’re great if you’re just low carb though. You can find them at most any grocery store. Ole Extreme Tortillas are also really good.
Martha says
Maybe Jamie is talking about the garlic powder? I believe half a teaspoon of minced garlic is the equivalent of an eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder, just in case that is what you are inquiring about Jamie!
Jamie P Atkinson says
I used fresh minced garlic. How much do you think 2 cloves would be? I am thinking 1/2 teaspoon.
Karly Campbell says
I’m not sure. If you’re mincing it fresh couldn’t you just mince the 2 cloves though?
Veronica Kolze says
bet she uses the already minced garlic in a jar that you can find in the produce section
Tina says
There is no exact answer Jamie. Garlic cloves are all different sizes. So if you are using jar minced garlic, start with 1 tsp per clove and adjust. If you like garlic add more.