Keto Pizza Meatballs
Published May 2, 2020 • Updated February 28, 2026
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I packed all my favorite pizza toppings (pepperoni, mushrooms, olives, cheese) into these keto pizza meatballs. Make them in the air fryer, oven, or on the stovetop. I calculated the macros per meatball so tracking is effortless.
I started making these because I wanted pizza flavor without the crust fuss. Ground beef and pork, pork rind crumbs, two kinds of cheese, pepperoni, mushrooms, olives, bell pepper, and a low carb pizza sauce holding it all together. Every bite tastes like a loaded slice.
The thing I like most is the portioning. I roll each one to about golf-ball size, which gives me a consistent 0.4g net carbs and 6g protein per meatball. Reader Priya actually pointed that out in the comments, and she’s right. For meal prep, that kind of predictability matters. I make a double batch almost every time now and freeze half.
I tested all three cooking methods side by side. The air fryer at 400°F for 6-7 minutes gives the best exterior crispness with the least effort. The oven at 400°F for 9-12 minutes is my pick when I’m making a big batch (two sheet pans, rotate halfway). Stovetop in avocado oil works too, but you need to babysit them and brown all sides. If you love air fryer cooking, my air fryer meatballs use a similar method with a classic Italian profile.
These are one of my go-to appetizers for game days. I set them out on a platter with toothpicks and a small bowl of warmed pizza sauce for dipping. They disappear fast. If you’re building a spread, pair them with keto layered pizza dip and keto mozzarella sticks for a full pizza night without a single crust.
For a full dinner, I serve them over cauliflower rice or spiralized zucchini noodles with extra sauce spooned on top. My kids eat them plain, straight off the sheet pan. They don’t care that they’re keto. They just think it’s pizza night. If you want more meatball variety, my keto taco meatballs and buffalo chicken meatballs rotate through our weekly menu too.
One more thing I learned the hard way: don’t skip the pork rinds. They act as the binder the way breadcrumbs would in a traditional meatball. Without them the mixture is too wet and the meatballs fall apart in the air fryer. If you’re into pizza-flavored everything, try my pizza chaffle or pizza bowl next.
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Ingredients
1 pound ground beef, 80/20 -
1 pound ground pork
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2 cup ground pork rinds
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1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
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1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
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1/2 cup low sugar pizza sauce
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1/3 cup finely chopped onion
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1/4 cup chopped mushrooms
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1/4 cup mini pepperoni
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1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
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1/4 cup diced black olives
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1 tablespoon dried basil
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2 garlic cloves, minced
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2 teaspoon salt
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1 teaspoon black pepper
Step by Step Instructions
Step by Step Instructions
Add pizza meatball ingredients
To a large bowl, add all ingredients and mix until combined.
Form into little balls
Roll meatballs into a golf ball size shape.
Air fryer instructions
Preheat air fryer to 400 degrees for 3-4 minutes. Air fry at 400 degrees for 6-7 minutes for until the interior of the meatball is cooked through.
Oven instructions
Place meatballs on a parchment lined baking tray and bake in a 400 degree oven for 9-12 minutes or until cooked through.
Stovetop instructions
Heat a couple tablespoons of avocado oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add meatballs in a single layer in the skillet. Space about 1 inch apart as to not over crowd the skillet to allow for even browning. Work in batches. Cook meatballs on all sides until browned on the outside and cooked through in the interior.
Freezer instructions
Place meatballs in a single layer inside a ziploc bag. Then freeze. Thaw out in the refrigerator the night before cooking.
Nutrition disclaimer
The nutrition information provided is an estimate and is for informational purposes only. I am a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.); however, this content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your physician or other qualified health provider before making any lifestyle changes or beginning a new nutrition program.
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Get My Macros + Recipes →Frequently Asked Questions
Can I reheat these from frozen?
I reheat mine straight from frozen in the air fryer at 375°F for about 8 minutes. No thawing needed, and they come out just as good as fresh. If you're using an oven instead, I'd go 300°F for about 20 minutes on a sheet pan. The lower temp keeps them from drying out while the center heats through.
Can I make these in a slow cooker or crockpot?
I've done this and it works, but the texture is different. Drop the raw meatballs into your slow cooker, pour pizza sauce over the top, and cook on low for 4-5 hours or high for 2-3 hours. They come out softer (no crispy exterior), which I actually prefer when I'm serving them smothered in sauce over cauliflower rice. Just make sure they hit 160°F internally.
What low-carb pizza sauce brand do you recommend?
I use Rao's Homemade pizza sauce. It's about 1g net carb per serving, and the flavor is better than most. I've tried the store-brand "no sugar added" options and they always taste thin to me. The half cup in this recipe adds barely any carbs to the whole batch.
Can I use Italian sausage instead of ground pork?
I've made these with a pound of beef and a pound of mild Italian sausage, and the flavor is incredible. The fennel and red pepper flake in the sausage add a layer you don't get with plain pork. I skip the extra dried basil when I do this since the sausage already brings enough seasoning.
Can I serve these as a party appetizer?
This is one of my favorite ways to serve them. I set the meatballs on a platter with toothpicks and a small bowl of warmed pizza sauce in the center for dipping. I usually make a double batch because they go fast. They hold well at room temperature for about 2 hours, which is plenty for a game day or holiday party.
What can I serve these over for a full dinner?
I do spiralized zucchini noodles or cauliflower rice most often. Spoon extra pizza sauce over the top and add a sprinkle of Parmesan. Spaghetti squash works too if you have it on hand. With any of those bases, this goes from a snack to a complete dinner plate in my house.
How do I know when the meatballs are fully cooked?
I use a meat thermometer every time. You're looking for 160°F internal temperature. If you don't have a thermometer, cut one open at the thickest part. No pink means you're good. I pull mine right at 160°F because they keep cooking for another minute or two from residual heat.
Can I make these dairy-free?
I've tested this by dropping the mozzarella and Parmesan entirely and adding an extra quarter cup of pork rind crumbs to compensate for the lost binding. The flavor shifts more toward a straight pepperoni-and-olive profile, which I still like. Nutritional yeast (2 tablespoons) gets you closer to that cheesy taste if you want it.
A meatball for my pizza lovers! This recipe is loaded with all of your favorite pizza toppings so you can enjoy the flavors of pizza in a bite sized ball. Serve these as an appetizer at your next party, like game day or a potluck. Or make up a batch to take to work for lunch or serve as an easy low carb dinner.
When choosing a red sauce for this recipe, make sure you select one that is low in sugar and carbohydrates. If you are purchasing store bought marinara sauce, try 
If you lead a busy life and juggle cooking dinner with kids, work and housework, freezer recipes are your friend.
This recipe is quick and perfect for your busy life. These pizza meatballs are freezer-friendly. Just prepare ahead of time, roll into balls, pack in a Ziploc bag and store in the freezer. When you want to make up a batch, pull them out and place in the refrigerator to thaw the night before cooking.
These meatballs make an excellent meal prep option. Since you know the macros per meatball, you can easily figure out how many to portion out for your meals. I love to bring these with me for lunch. It’s a great way to stay on track when you’re eating keto.
Tested these last weekend and I'm hooked. I used the air fryer method and the texture came out perfect. I want to make a double batch for meal prep but there's no way I'm eating 80 meatballs in one week. Can I freeze these after cooking, and if I do, do they hold up when reheated or do they get weird and rubbery. I've had bad luck freezing meatballs before. Do I need to let them cool all the way before bagging or does that not matter.
The pork rinds as binder caught my eye -- never seen that used before. I've been wanting to try something like this since the kids started pushing for pizza night every week.nnMy basket air fryer tops out around 12-14 meatballs before they're touching, so I'm looking at two rounds, maybe three. What I always second-guess with batch cooking is the timing for round two, since the basket is already hot from the first cook. Not going to guess on doneness with a beef-pork mix. I'll pull one open and check rather than trust the clock on batch two. Is 6-7 minutes at 400 consistent across all rounds, or does the carryover heat mean I should shave a minute off?
The hot basket does speed things up. I'd pull one at the 5-minute mark on round two and check temp not just trust the clock. 160 is the number, and third batch usually goes fastest.
Pizza Friday was a thing in my house growing up. Same delivery place, same order, every week. When I went keto I figured that one was just over. These hit different than I expected. Something about the pepperoni and sauce folded into the meat (the pork rinds I was skeptical about, but they just hold everything together without you noticing) gives you an actual full pizza bite. Made them for myself one Tuesday night and ended up sitting at the counter thinking about my mom's kitchen for a few minutes. Didn't expect keto to give me that back.
Wet hands. The mix is sticky enough without the cheese fighting you.
These hit the table with no explanation and my wife started calling them 'pizza meatballs' around bite three, which she figured out entirely on her own. The pepperoni and mozzarella inside apparently spoke for themselves. I had a whole argument ready for why these work as a pizza substitute and she didn't give me the chance to use it.
The meatballs made your case.
Never thought to fold the toppings into the meat, but that's what makes these different. Pepperoni and mushroom in every bite. Did the air fryer version this past weekend. Outside got way crispier than I expected for something that juicy inside. My only hesitation was the sauce: the ingredient list shows it going into the bowl, but mine came out too loose at first (I overmixed, probably). Is that normal, or is there a trick to getting the mixture to hold together?
Overmixing is almost always it. The pork rinds absorb the sauce but need a couple minutes to do it. Shape right away and the mixture feels wetter than it should. I mix, wait 2-3 minutes, then form, and it holds together much better. Cold hands with the shaping help too.
Made a double batch on Sunday and split them into containers for the week. The air fryer ones held up better reheated than I thought they would, still had some bite to them. And 86 calories per meatball made logging everything pretty painless. Keeping these in the Sunday rotation.
That's basically my whole system. 375 for 8 minutes if you ever want to go straight from the freezer too.
Swapped the ground pork for mild Italian sausage and I'm pretty sure I can't go back. The fennel and garlic are already built in so every meatball tastes like the inside of a pizza slice, not just seasoned beef. I also started pressing a little dent in the center before rolling them closed and tucking extra pizza sauce inside (kind of a stuffed version), and honestly that first batch now feels like a warm-up. One air fryer tip: shake the basket at the 3-minute mark and they crisp up all the way around instead of staying soft on one side. Five batches in and my freezer is never without these.
That stuffed version is next on my list. Dent, sauce, press closed - I want to see that cross-section. And yes on the basket shake, mine get flat on one side when I skip it.
Swapped the ground pork for Italian sausage and the whole thing tastes like actual pizza from a place. If you do this, go easy on extra salt since the sausage brings plenty. Didn't expect it to make that much of a difference but here we are.
The fennel in the sausage is what does it. Good call on the salt too, I cut mine way back when I go that route.
Went into this skeptical that pork rinds as binder would hold up in something this dense, but the texture is freaking unreal, no crumble, no falling apart, just tight and juicy all the way through. Made them in the air fryer at 400 and they were done in six minutes flat. Not looking at another meatball recipe.
That texture is the whole reason I use pork rinds over breadcrumbs. Six minutes at 400 is running hotter than how I do them, but if they're coming out tight and juicy I'm not arguing.
Preheat the air fryer, I'm serious. Skipped it on my first batch and the mozzarella pooled out before the outside could set. Four minutes to preheat is not optional here.
Yep. Cold basket and the cheese just drips before the outside gets any color. Four minutes, no shortcuts.
Brought these to a cookout last weekend and they were gone before any of the regular food. The host has been giving me grief about 'the keto thing' for two years. He ate four before I could say a word.
Four before he said anything. That's better than any counter-argument. Set out a bowl of warmed pizza sauce for dipping next time and it'll be ten.
I've tried four or five versions of keto pizza meatballs and the pork rind base always threw off the texture for me. These are different. The beef and pork combo keeps them dense enough that the pepperoni and cheese inside don't turn everything greasy, which was always my problem with the others.
The fat ratio is what does it. 80/20 beef keeps them dense, pork alone gets too soft and everything leaks out. Took me a few batches to lock that down.
Was skeptical about pork rinds holding these together but they came out better in the air fryer than any meatball I've made with actual breadcrumbs.
Pork rinds actually bind tighter than breadcrumbs. Still surprises me and I've made these more times than I can count.
Made a double batch on Sunday and froze half in a single layer before bagging. Reheated from frozen in the air fryer at 400 for 4 minutes and honestly couldn't tell the difference. Tracking macros per meatball makes meal prep logging so easy.
400 for 4 works too. I've been doing 375 for 8 but if yours came out the same I might try that next time. The single layer freeze before bagging is the right call or they stick.