Loaded Grilled Meatballs (Low Carb and Gluten Free)

Name: Loaded Grilled Meatballs
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1 pound ground beef and pork mix ((you can use a ground meat that you prefer)); 1 small onion finely chopped ((about ½ cup)); 3 cremini mushrooms finely chopped ((medium sized)); 2 pickles finely chopped; 3 oz cheddar cheese chopped to small cubes; 1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley; 2 tsp dried oregano; 2 tsp smoked paprika; ½ tsp salt; ½ tsp ground black pepper; 2 Tbsp BBQ sauce of choice ((I use KC Masterpiece Original Barbecue Sauce))

Loaded Grilled Meatballs (Low Carb and Gluten Free)

Meatballs are very popular at our home. I always think of ways to make them more interesting. The recipe for loaded grilled meatballs may seem weird to some of you. A meatball stuffed with pickles!? I know that is sound strange, but it works very well. Here is the reason it works. When you make a burger, you put cheese and pickles on top of the beef patty, and it tastes great. Well, it this recipe I put them in the meatball mixture. Also, there are some mushrooms in the ingredients that give off an umami flavor with every bite.

Why should you make them?

The loaded grilled meatballs are delicious. The cheese melts from the heat of the grill. When you take a bite, it gets so gooey and stretchy. The combination of flavors is unique. I personally love smoky flavors and that is why I add smoke paprika to the meatball mixture. That is one of my favorite spices and you will definitely find it in many of my recipes.

The meatballs may be a good main meal for those of you who are on a low carb diet. If you use barbecue sauce that has no added sugar, they can be keto too. There are no grains added in the meatball mixture which make them gluten free too.

Possible substitutions.

You can use only beef for the meatballs. I personally prefer to use mixture of beef and pork for meatballs. I make my own ground meat. Therefore, I control the quality and the ratio beef to pork. For this recipe I used about 60% beef and 40% pork.

You can also substitute the type of cheese you use. I prefer cheddar, but in the past, I used gouda and mozzarella and it worked great.

Print Recipe

Loaded Grilled Meatballs

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time15 mins

Total Time30 mins

Course: Main Course

Keyword: grilled meatballs, loaded meatballs

Servings: 6 meatballs

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef and pork mix (you can use a ground meat that you prefer)
1 small onion finely chopped (about ½ cup)
3 cremini mushrooms finely chopped (medium sized)
2 pickles finely chopped
3 oz cheddar cheese chopped to small cubes
1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp salt
½ tsp ground black pepper
2 Tbsp BBQ sauce of choice (I use KC Masterpiece Original Barbecue Sauce)

Instructions

To a big bowl add all the ingredients except the BBQ sauce. Add the ground meat, chopped onion, mushrooms, pickles, cheddar cheese, parsley, oregano, smoked paprika salt and pepper.
Mix them with hands until well combined.
Preheat a grill to medium high temperature (400-450F). I use gas, outdoor grill.
While the grill is preheating, form 6 meatballs.
Brush some barbecue sauce on both sides of the meatballs.
Grill the meatballs 3-4 minutes per side.
Serve them while they are still warm.

Notes

The amount of the salt may need to be adjusted depending on how salty are the pickles you are using. I usually cook a small amount of the meatball mixture to check for seasoning, before I start forming the meatballs . Cook a bite size piece in the microwave or in a hot pan and taste it before you make the meatballs.