This keto chicken meatball casserole is an easy family dish and a great comfort food dish too. Zucchini is added to the chicken meatballs for extra vegetables and keeps the meat moist.
Only a few ingredients are needed to make this delicious keto chicken meatball casserole. Nothing complicated and you may already have everything in your fridge ready to cook. It’s as simple as ground chicken, zucchini, marinara sauce and cheese!
I love how simple this dish is to make yet and it’s always a crowd pleaser. The Chief Taster has been enjoying this currently with turkey and even took leftovers for lunch the next day. Can it be frozen? I would say so but due to the great flavours of this dish, I’m yet to have enough leftover to try. Perhaps I will bake double the amount the next time I bake it and try freezing it. I need more ready-made dishes in the freezer for when it’s too hot to cook here.
HOW DO YOU MAKE KETO CHICKEN MEATBALLS?
This recipe uses my chicken zucchini meatballs recipe, slathers them with a sugar free marinara sauce, then covers the meatballs with Parmesan and mozzarella cheese.
Ground chicken was used for this meatball casserole, but ground beef, turkey or pork would work just as well. Perhaps a mix of them all for a meat feast meatball!
The zucchini can be optional. It does keep the meat moist without adding any strong flavours and it a great way to sneak a vegetable into your food. Placing all the ingredients into a food processor would give a smoother mixture and hide the zucchini even further! It may be a bit sticky to remove from the machine though.
MAKING A KETO CHICKEN MEATBALL CASSEROLE
Chicken & zucchini Bake the meatballs Place in baking dish Cover with Marinara Add Parmesan Add Mozzarella
Serve this keto chicken meatball casserole with zucchini noodle or a side salad. Perhaps a few low carb garlic bread rolls too.
TIPS FOR MAKING KETO CHICKEN MEATBALLS
You need the chicken meatballs to be as even as you can make them. I make mine by hand but if you have a cookie scooper that would ensure an identical size.
After you have cooked the meatballs in the oven, drain off any excess liquid. The fatty content of the meat may vary and the zucchini will kick out a drop of water too. You want the meatballs to be moist but not swimming in their own juices.
Serve with fresh basil scattered over the casserole for an extra fresh flavour. It can give an extra flavour and who can resist the smell of fresh basil?
If you liked this recipe for a meatball casserole, you might like my recipes for zucchini & halloumi balls or pumpkin chicken meatballs.
Keto Chicken Meatball Casserole
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 1 zucchini grated
- 3 spring onions chopped
- 1 tablespoon thyme
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
For the casserole:
- 2 cups marinara sauce sugar free
- 8 oz Mozzarella cheese grated
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese grated
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200C/400F degrees
- Mix the meatball ingredients in a bowl and blend well.
- Using clean damp hands form large walnut sized balls with the chicken mixture or use a cookie scoop
- Place the balls on a parchment lined baking tray.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes until firm and golden
- Remove the meatballs from the oven and drain any excess juice.
- Place the meatballs in the casserole dish and cover with the low carb marinara sauce
- Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the marinara sauce
- Add the Mozzarella and cover the meatballs
- Return to the oven and bake for a further 10 – 15 minutes until the cheese is melted.
2 Comments
Judy Morin
September 21, 2019 at 8:16 amDidn’t you mean to say, “Place the meatballs in a casserole dish” after draining any excess juice?
Angela Coleby
September 22, 2019 at 11:33 amAhem…correcting..;)