Keto Bacon Sausage Meatballs

How many awesome buzzwords can we fit into one recipe title? Keto Bacon Sausage Meatballs! Cannot get any more carnivorous, savory, and protein-loaded than this!

These keto bacon sausage meatballs.... what are they exactly? Italian sausage wrapped in bacon. We call it meal prep, cause that's what we do here at MPOF, but you can call it whatever you like. Maybe these meatballs are a snack. Or an appetizer. Maybe it's something ingenious to serve alongside veggie noodles (zucchini ones in particular feel right). Breakfast? Lunch? Dinner? All of the above! 

Aren't they kind of just the cutest things? 

It's been a hot minute since we've made meatballs! With all the craziness of sheet pan and Crock Pot recipes, they got lost, but they are back! And we have a recipe that is beyond flavorful and keto friendly, and it takes the concept of meatballs to the next level. It's so good we guarantee you will never miss the breadcrumbs.

How to Make Keto Bacon Sausage Meatballs

These tasty bites come together with only 5 ingredients. The most important one might be the bacon, so get yourself a good one for this inspired piece of cooking! Besides . . . . who can ever say no to bacon, other than maybe someone following a vegan diet?  

In all seriousness, start with ground Italian sausage in a bowl. Add in the minced garlic, white onion, and dried oregano. (You might need salt and pepper, you might not, depending on how good the sausage is).

Keto Bacon Sausage Meatballs Ingredients

• 1 lb. spicy Italian sausage, ground
• 9 bacon slices, uncooked
• 2 tbsp. minced garlic
• 2 tbsp. white onion, diced
• 1 tbsp. dried oregano

How to Serve Keto Bacon Meatballs

If you want, go ahead and add some tomato sauce and pretend for a minute these are the fanciest meatballs you've ever eaten. Oh, the luxury of wrapping meat in bacon!) However, the bacon really gives it enough as it is—in our humble opinion. You might not want to bury that bacon flavor in the sauce. Similarly, feel free to double this recipe and then turn this into an appetizer for a party (don't forget the toothpicks!) You could serve some tomato sauce on the side for dipping, but it's not completely necessary. 

We show this here with some baby spinach as a side (feel free to drizzle it with olive oil if you like). But for a seriously good keto experience, add a few hard-boiled eggs to increase your fat and/or protein if that's how your diet rolls. Or, if you are on a more traditional macro plan, you can pair these with some roasted sweet potatoes and a veggie of your choice. Whether you pick spinach or not as your veg, you definitely want something assertive that can stand up to all that bacon and sausage. Kale sauteed with a little garlic, anyone? 

How to Store Keto Bacon Sausage Meatballs

These receive the standard meal prep treatment, and can last in the fridge easily for up to five days when sealed in prep containers.

You can also freeze the meatballs themselves before baking, defrost them, and then bake them off with the bacon on them as directed. This works well if you really want to get serious about batch cooking and using your freezer. 

Keto sausage meatballs can also be frozen after you've baked them. Once they're defrosted, add them to a pan with a little bit of oil, over medium high-heat, to crisp up that bacon again.

Substitutions and Alterations

We wouldn't change much here. Scout's honor. However, you can work with the flavors a bit. Feel free to use dried oregano, parsley, or basil, or just go straight to Italian seasoning on these meatballs. 

A bit of dried fennel is a natural complement to pork sausage; a teaspoon or so of fennel seeds will add much flavor to these meatballs.

READ MORE: Give us all the meatballs! Read the Ultimate Guide to Making Meatballs!