LOW-CARB MEATBALL SUBS
These Low-Carb Meatball Subs contain Italian meatballs rich with flavors of basil, oregano, and garlic. We pour tomato sauce over these meatballs and snuggle them in provolone cheese. Then we wrap them in a crust made from mozzarella dough. We bake them until golden brown to create a meatball sub everyone can enjoy.
This recipe for Low-Carb Meatball Subs calls for pre-packaged spaghetti sauce. This can be an area where nutritional information can change dramatically. Be sure to read the label as some brands contain sugar which greatly increases the carb content. We found a brand that had 6 grams of carbs in half a cup. Other brands had twice that!
Low-Carb Meatball Subs
These Low-Carb Meatball Subs have everything you'd expect from a meatball sub, except the carbs. This recipe can work for lc/hf, ketogenic, diabetic, Atkins, low-carb, gluten-free, and Banting diets.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
1 pound ground beef
1 clove garlic crushed
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
1/2 teaspoon salt
For the dough:
1 1/2 cup super fine almond flour
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons baking powder grain free and aluminum free
1 large egg
1 ounce cream cheese room temperature
2 cups finely grated, part-skim mozzarella cheese
For the assembly:
4 tablespoons spaghetti sauce (check the carb content)
4 slices provolone cheese cut in half
2 teaspoons fresh basil chopped (optional)
1 tablespoon grated or finely chopped provolone cheese (optional)
Instructions
For the meatballs:
In a medium mixing bowl, mix the ground beef, garlic, basil, oregano, pepper and salt. It's easiest to use clean hands for this. Divide the mixture into about 16 equal portions. Form each portion into a ball shape
Heat a large well-seasoned skillet over medium-high heat. If you do not have a well-seasoned skillet, or choose to use meat with a low-fat content, you may need to spray the pan with coconut oil before the next step.
Add meatballs to the skillet and cook on medium high. Do not allow the meatballs to touch. If your skillet is too small to cook all of your meatballs without touching, cook them in batches.
Brown all sides of the meatballs, then turn the heat to low and continue cooking until done in the middle. Remove meatballs to a plate and set aside.
For the dough:
Preheat oven to 375ยบ Fahrenheit. Have two pieces of parchment paper, about 20 inches long, and a rolling pin available. Set up a double boiler. A saucepan with mixing bowl that fits on top works perfectly for this purpose. Fill the lower part of the double boiler with 1-2 inches of water and place over high heat. Bring water to a boil, then turn to low heat to keep it simmering.
In the bowl for the double boiler (not over heat), whisk together the almond flour, xanthan gum, salt, oregano, and baking powder. Stir in the egg. Mixture will appear mealy. Stir in the cream cheese and the mozzarella cheese. This will not combine with the rest of the ingredients at this point.
Place the bowl containing the mixture over the simmering water. Stir constantly until cheese melts and the mixture becomes dough-like. Be careful not to burn yourself from the escaping steam or the hot bowl. I use a silicone oven mitten to hold the bowl for this step.
Turn dough out onto one of the pieces of parchment. Knead a few times to throughly mix the dough. Pat dough into a rectangular shape and cover with the second sheet of parchment paper. Roll dough into a rectangle about 10" X 14". Slide the parchment containing the dough onto a cutting board. If necessary, trim off the rough edges using a serrated knife or a pizza cutter. Cut the dough in half crosswise, then in half lengthwise to create 4 equal sections.
Slide the parchment containing the dough onto a cookie sheet. On each section, place two halves of the provolone cheese, then arrange 4 meatballs lengthwise over top. Spoon one tablespoon of spaghetti sauce over the the 4 meatballs on each rectangle.
Pinch the edges of the short sides together. Sprinkle with the additional basil and grated provolone, if using.
Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes.