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keto low carb air fryer meatballs with bbq sauce
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Easy Air Fryer BBQ Beef Meatballs

This Easy Air Fryer BBQ Beef Meatballs recipe is prepared with ground beef or turkey using fresh or frozen meat. These are ready in no time and don't take long to cook. These are perfect for weeknight dinners!
Course dinner, lunch
Cuisine American
Keyword air fryer meatballs
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings 5 servings
Calories 336kcal

Ingredients

Homemade BBQ Seasoning (If using a store-bought seasoning or rub, use 1 1/2- 2 tablespoons of the store bought rub. Use your judgment)

Instructions

Meatballs

  • Add the ground beef, breadcrumbs, onions, garlic, cheddar, egg, worcestershire sauce, and seasonings to a large bowl.
  • Using clean hands, combine the ingredients and form one large ball.
  • Use a spoon and form 10 smaller meatballs.
  • Spray the air fryer basket with cooking oil to prevent sticking or use air fryer parchment paper. Load the meatballs into the air fryer. Do not stack. Cook in batches if needed.
  • Cook the meatballs for 8 minutes on 360 degrees.
  • Open the air fryer and flip the meatballs.
  • Cook for an additional 5-8 minutes until the meatballs reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
  • Remove the meatballs from the air fryer and drizzle in BBQ sauce. 

Video

Notes

  • A lot of time lean ground beef is preferred when making meatballs because as they cook, they will release a good amount of fat. 80% lean will release a lot more than 93% lean, but you can still use it. You will have to drain the excess fat after the meatballs have slow-cooked for 2 hours on High or 4 hours on Low. Be careful when doing this because you don't want to disturb the meatballs. At this point, they aren't fully cooked, so you risk them falling apart.
  • Eggs and breadcrumbs are used to provide structure. You also don’t want to overwork and over-mix all of the ingredients for the meatballs. I like to use my hands because it’s a lot easier to be gentle with your hands than using a spatula or spoon. If you overmix, the meatballs will fall apart.
  • You can use ground turkey if you wish with no adjustment to cook time.
  • Frozen meatballs will need 15-16 minutes of cook time. Always use a meat thermometer to test doneness.
  • If you want low carb meatballs, use 1/2 cup of almond meal. This is different than almond flour. Almond flour is made from blanched almonds and typically have the skins removed and is ground more finely than almond meal. It's commonly used in baked goods and bread recipes. Almond meal typically still contains the skins and is more coarse. Almond meal works better for recipes that require breading. You can use almond flour in this recipe, but the results will differ. You can read more about The Differences Between Almond Flour and Almond Meal here.
  • Macros assume Primal Kitchen sugar free BBQ sauce and Lakanto Golden monkfruit sweetener. Feel free to use the macro calculator of your choice to calculate your macros using the branded ingredients you choose to use in the recipe.
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Nutrition

Serving: 2meatballs | Calories: 336kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 26g