Can you believe another week has gone by, and that it’s already Meatball Monday again? I can’t! Yet here we are! This week I created a low carb meatball recipe that is a tribute to my Irish heritage. It doesn’t get much more Irish than corned beef and cabbage.
I had been kicking around the idea for this meatball recipe for awhile, but wasn’t sure how to incorporate the cabbage – should I put it into the meatball, or serve it on the side? I finally decided to do both.
I used canned corned beef, because I wanted to see if it would work. It did, and it was super easy to mash with a fork. This is a great recipe for when you get home and realize you don’t have any protein in the fridge to make dinner with. That happens to me all the time, but maybe you’re more organized than I am. That is likely by the way.
Anyhoo, as a backup, I always have a couple of cans of corned beef on hand to make the corned beef and cauliflower hash, and now I’ll be able to whip up these low carb meatballs any time as well. Yay!
You can serve these a la carte with mustard (they make a great appetizer) …
[pinterest text=”Corned Beef and Cabbage Meatballs (low carb and gluten free) – ibreatheimhungry.com” layout=”horizontal” image=”https://www.ibreatheimhungry.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/cornedbeefmeatballs2small-700×466.jpg”]
or you can turn it into a complete meal by serving it alongside the cooked cabbage.
[pinterest text=”Corned Beef and Cabbage Meatballs (low carb and gluten free) – ibreatheimhungry.com” layout=”horizontal” image=”https://www.ibreatheimhungry.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/cornedbeefmeatballs3small-680×950.jpg”]
For the meatballs served with the cabbage, I added them right into the cabbage after frying them, and simmered them for about an hour. They were SO tender and flavorful, taking on a slight sweetness from the cabbage.
Whereas the meatballs I ate with mustard right out of the pan, were crispy on the outside, and soft on the inside, tasting more like traditional corned beef – also delicious!
Corned Beef and Cabbage Meatballs (Low Carb and Gluten Free)
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3.5 from 2 reviews
- Yield: 18 meatballs or 6 servings 1x
Description
A low carb and gluten free meatball recipe inspired by the traditional Irish corned beef and cabbage.
Ingredients
Scale
For the meatballs
- 12 oz can of corned beef
- 1/2 cup finely chopped raw cabbage
- 1 Tbsp dried onion flakes
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp whole grain mustard
- 2 Tbsp oil for frying
For the cabbage
- 4 cups shredded raw cabbage
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 whole cloves
- 1 Tsp kosher salt
- 1 Tbsp dried onion flakes
- 1 cup water
Instructions
For the meatballs:
- Remove the corned beef from the can, along with the juice, and mash it with a fork. Add the cabbage, onion flakes, almond flour, eggs, salt, pepper, and mustard to the corned beef and mix thoroughly. Form into 18 small meatballs. Heat oil in a nonstick saute pan and fry meatballs in batches until golden brown. Remove from oil and place on a paper towel-lined plate. Serve as is with mustard, or simmer in cabbage as directed below.
For the cabbage:
- Combine all of the cabbage ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer on low heat for 20 minutes. Remove the bay leaves and cloves from the cabbage. Add the cooked meatballs and cover. Simmer for about one hour on low heat. Serve with whole grain mustard.
Notes
Approximate nutrition information:
Per meatball: 74 calories, 5g fat, .6g net carbs, 7g protein
Per serving of meatballs (3): 223 calories, 15g fat, 1.8g net carbs, 21g protein
Per serving of cabbage (1/3 cup): 14 calories, 0g fat, 2.2g net carbs, 0g protein
Per serving of meatballs & cabbage: 237 calories, 15g fat, 4g net carbs, 21g protein
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3 meatballs
I had a blast making (and eating!) these, and I hope that you guys will too! Let me know what you think – I love getting your feedback on the recipes!
[pinterest text=”Corned Beef and Cabbage Meatballs (low carb and gluten free) – ibreatheimhungry.com” layout=”horizontal” image=”https://www.ibreatheimhungry.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/cornedbeefmeatballssmall-669×950.jpg”]
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Reader Interactions
Comments
Stephen says
Hey, your website has been invaluable to me as my wife eats keto and I am often at a loss about what to cook for her. My kids have also loved everything we’ve made from here as well.
I was wondering if you had any suggestions about baking these corned beef and cabbage meatballs instead of frying them?
Thanks in advance.
Reply
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks Stephen, I haven’t made these in ages but I imagine you could bake them at 375 for about 15 minutes and that would work just as well, though the exterior won’t be crunchy at all and I don’t know how that will affect the flavor. Let us know if you try it though and how they come out!
Reply
Stephen says
Well we made them last night. I ended up baking them on a greased baking sheet at 400 degrees and checking them after 18 minutes. They were still a little soft so I let them go another 5 minutes. They obviously did not have the fried meatball crunch but were still good. I also put a small slice of swiss cheese over them and stuck them under the broiler.
Overall, super simple to make and I like the idea a lot. Next time we will cook a corned beef and grind up our own meat. I think that would improve the texture considerably.
Thanks again.
Reply
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks for reporting back Stephen! I definitely prefer the crunch, but agree that homemade corned beef would be so much better than canned either way!!! Love the swiss cheese idea too!
Betsy says
This recipe was really great, but I will make with a lot less salt next time.
My husband really liked this too.
Thanks for the recipeReply
Afeisha Harewood says
this was amazing. i had some on their own and also made a nacho style dish where i layered your marinara sauce and this with lots of cheese and served it on a leaf of romaine. AMAZING. i tagged you on my Instagram. (journey2better)
Reply
cindyhoog says
Oh my goodness! These were so very tasty, I had a hard time not scarfing them before I served them! I do agree about the difficulty in keeping them in a round meatball shape but it really didn’t matter. They were all gone in less than 10min! Thanks so much for the wonderful recipe.
Reply
Katie says
I’m trying this out right now and my meatballs have turned into meat trapezoids, but the sentiment is the same. I’m sure they’re going to be delicious!
Reply
paula says
These look delicious and like someone else was thinking they’d make a fine rueben ball….I might try that this week since I have lots of cabbage, Sauerkraut and cheese. Was thinking to mash up the ingredients but add a chunk of swiss cheese to the center or maybe even a cream cheese mix with the kraut…yummy!
Reply
summer says
These were really yummy! I couldn’t find canned corned beef so I prepared a brisket in the pressure cooker. Mine wouldn’t hold together very well as meatballs so I made patties and they were fantastic! Thanks :)
Reply
Alicia S says
We ate tons of the canned corned beef when I was a kid! My mom would mash it up and fry it til crispy and add scrambled egg, we loved it. Can’t wait to try this one. What kind of mustard is that? I’ve found a jalapeno mustard at Target that I just love and I mix it with a bit of sugar free ketchup, bet that would be good with these!
Reply
Cary says
These look great! I LOVE corned beef and cabbage and ruebens are my favorite! You could make these into little rueben bites with some swiss cheese melted on top, your low carb thousand island dressing and the cooked cabbage piled on top! My mouth is watering….
Reply
Mellissa Sevigny says
I was thinking the same thing when I was making them Cary – there will definitely be a reuben version coming soon! :)
Reply
Melinda says
These look so delicious….def on my agenda!
Reply
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks Melinda, I had a couple cold for breakfast this morning and they were still yummy! :)
Reply
Lacy McKay says
You may want to back off of the salt in the cabbage and only add half as much. Mine turned out suuuuuuuper salty and I had to make a second batch.
Reply
Mellissa Sevigny says
Sorry about that Lacy – that was a typo! I had it at 1 Tbsp and it was supposed to be 1 tsp! So sorry!!!
Reply
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