Try these irresistible beef meatballs with cauliflower rice. They’re my version of keto low carb porcupine meatballs. Prep them in just 20 minutes.
Looking to lighten up dinner with a low carb option, I started making meatballs with cauliflower instead of breadcrumbs. Now that I’ve perfected the ratio of ingredients to ground beef, I’m thrilled to have you try them, too.
Ingredients for these meatballs
Here’s what goes in these slow cooked low carb meatballs. And in case my husband is reading this, why yes, Love, I did manage to add some kale to this recipe. You’re welcome!
To make the meatballs with cauliflower rice
- Meat: ground beef and ground pork (substitute all ground beef if desired).
- Eggs to bind the ingredients.
- Vegetables: frozen Trader Joe’s cauliflower rice, kale, onion.
- Seasonings: fresh minced garlic, Italian seasoning, pepper, salt, olive oil.
SWAP out the cauliflower rice in this dish for broccoli and carrots and make this recipe for meatballs with veggies…
For cooking meatballs in the crock pot
- Pasta sauce
- Water
- Cheese (Asiago or Parmesan)
- fresh chopped parsley
How to make meatballs with cauliflower rice
Now let’s walk through how to make them.
Step 1. In a small bowl, mix together ground beef, ground pork, cauliflower rice, chopped kale, onion, garlic, Italian seasoning, pepper and salt.
Step 2. Use a ¼ cup (or a large spoon or an ice cream scoop) to form about two dozen 3” meatballs from the ground beef and pork mixture.
Step 3. Heat a large skillet on the stove to medium-high heat. Once hot, add the meatballs, turning with a pair of tongs as they brown around the outside. Once all sides are browned, after about 5-10 minutes, turn off the heat.
Step 4. Set up a large crock pot with a mixture of pasta sauce and water. Add seared cauliflower rice meatballs to the slow cooker for the desired time (I usually set the crock pot to 6 or 8 hours, depending on when we’re eating).
Stir occasionally (hourly is ideal).
Step 5. Once done slow cooking, serve meatballs with a sprinkle of Asiago cheese and fresh chopped parsley.
FAQs for making low carb meatballs
These meatballs are referred to as porcupine meatballs – they were made to stretch rations during the great depression. Adding breadcrumbs or cauliflower to meatballs is a great way to stretch a package of ground beef.
Using cauliflower rice makes this version of low carb porcupine meatballs a little lighter. Traditional recipes use breadcrumbs for making meatballs, but cauliflower is a great substitution. The overall result is fluffy, tender meatballs that almost fall apart under a fork.
Yes, you can finish these keto beef meatballs anyway you’d like, including in the crock pot, baked in the oven, or make meatballs in the air fryer. Sous vide meatballs are delicious, too.
The rice used in this recipe demonstration is Trader Joe’s riced cauliflower. It comes frozen and is a great low carb replacement for rice in meatballs, stuffed Italian peppers, and cauliflower rice stir frys.
After forming the meatballs with raw ingredients, freeze half the meatballs on a sheet tray for a few hours, then transfer to a ziplock bag and freeze keto meatballs for up to a few months.
When you slow cook only half the batch at a time, cut the pasta sauce ingredients in half when slow cooking them.
It’s not keto, but you can turn these into Hawaiian pineapple bbq meatballs with just a couple of other ingredients. Another substitution idea: try this homemade tomato sauce recipe instead of jarred tomato sauce.
Have a smoker? Try this smoked meatballs recipe.
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Meat thermometer recommendations
Every home chef needs a reliable meat thermometer to cook food perfectly.
On Sip Bite Go, you’ll often see me using:
- Meater thermometer – a fancy wireless thermometer that connects to a phone app – gifted to me from a Traeger partnership.
- ThermoPro digital thermometer – which has a wire that connects the thermometer to a display box outside the oven/grill.
It’s like being psychic! The great thing about either of the thermometers above is that I don’t have to take the food out of the oven to know the temperature.
How to use ‘em… What I do is stick the digital thermometer in steak, pork, chicken, whatever… Then put the food in the oven, on the smoker, or grill.
While the meat cooks, it reads the temperature so I know exactly what temp meat is as it’s cooking. Without having to take it out and check. It’s really difficult to overcook food when you know exactly what temp it is inside!
Are you a foodie, too?
Hey foodie friends – leave a comment here or find me on Instagram @sipbitego to let me know what you think about this recipe. Want to make restaurant-style food at home? I’ll teach you how, with in-depth video guides on the Sip Bite Go channel.
Slow Cooked Beef Meatballs With Cauliflower Rice (AKA Keto Low Carb Porcupine Meatballs) Recipe | Sip Bite Go
Ingredients
To make the meatballs with cauliflower rice
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 lb ground pork
- 2 cups cauliflower rice frozen
- 2 large eggs whisked
- 1 cup kale chopped
- ½ cup onion diced
- 1 tbsp garlic minced
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning dried
- ½ tsp pepper
- ¾ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp olive oil
For cooking meatballs in the crock pot
- 2 cups pasta sauce
- 1 cup water
- ¼ cup cheese Asiago or parmesan
- 1 tbsp parsley fresh chopped
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix together ground beef, ground pork, cauliflower rice, chopped kale, onion, garlic, Italian seasoning, pepper and salt.
- Use a ¼ cup (or a large spoon or an ice cream scoop) to form about two dozen 3” meatballs from the ground beef and pork mixture. Usually at this step, I’ll do a little keto meal prep and freeze half the meatballs. (If you slow cook only half the batch at this point, only use half the ingredients of pasta sauce and water in the following steps.)
- Heat a large skillet on the stove to medium-high heat. Once hot, add the meatballs, turning with a pair of tongs as they brown around the outside. Once all sides are browned, after about 5-10 minutes, turn off the heat.
- Set up a large crockpot with a mixture of pasta sauce and water. Add seared cauliflower rice meatballs to the slow cooker for the desired time (I usually set the crock pot to 6 or 8 hours, depending on when we’re eating). Stir occasionally (hourly is ideal).
- Once done slow cooking, serve meatballs with a sprinkle of Asiago cheese and fresh chopped parsley.
Video
Notes
- Other ways to cook these meatballs. You can finish these keto beef meatballs anyway you’d like, including in the crock pot, baked in the oven, or in the airfryer. Sous vide meatballs are delicious, too.
- Ground meat options can be substituted. Try making this recipe with ground chicken, or entirely ground beef.
- Use a keto friendly store bought pasta sauce or make an easy 30 minute tomato sauce from canned tomatoes.
- Cauliflower rice. The rice used in this recipe demonstration is Trader Joe’s riced cauliflower. It comes frozen and is a great low carb replacement for rice in meatballs, stuffed Italian peppers, and cauliflower rice stir frys.
- Portion / batch note. In the recipe video and photos, I demonstrate making half of the meatballs. The full batch of using 2 lbs ground beef makes 24 3” meatballs. I like to meal prep these keto meatballs and usually freeze half a batch to thaw and cook later.
- Asiago cheese. For this recipe, I used a special blend: Trader Joe’s Asiago Cheese With Rosemary and Olive Oil. It was delicious. Parmesan cheese is a great choice, too.
CheriAnn says
Your recipe doesn’t list ingredient amounts for the meatballs; only the sauce. Am I just supposed to go from your photo of the ingredients?
Jenna Passaro says
Thank you for saying something! At some point the ingredients for making meatballs with cauliflower rice fell off of the recipe card. They are available now. Cheers, Jenna