The ultimate low carb appetizer: juicy homemade meatballs wrapped in bacon and baked with sweetener and spices. Perfect for all your game-day activities.
It’s astonishing how many carbs most meatball recipes contain. Whether it’s the added bread crumbs or the sugary glaze, I usually find that meatballs aren’t something I can’t eat much of. And it seems so counter-intuitive. I mean, think about it! Meat. Ball. A ball of meat. I should be able to eat that! But most of the time, I steer clear. They may look entirely innocent and as if they are just made from meat. But chances are that there are hidden sources of carbohydrates that won’t sit well with me.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. Although they do need some sort of filler to keep them from shrinking too much while cooking, added bread crumbs are not a foregone conclusion. Healthier ingredients like chia seeds or almond flour can work just as well. I particularly like adding chia, as it helps the cooked meatballs retain moisture.
So when Swerve asked me to come up with a finger-food appetizer for their Swerve Madness (in honour of March Madness, of course!), I thought meatballs might make a fun treat. And then I found the perfect recipe for Sweet and Spicy Bacon-Wrapped Meatballs and I knew I had to low-carbify them. Making my own meatballs from scratch, switching out the sugar for Swerve Sweetener, and adding a few extra spices and I had a serious hit on my hand. My family couldn’t get enough and yours won’t be able to either. Make a double batch if you want to enjoy any yourself!
Please see my Sweet & Spicy Bacon-Wrapped Meatballs on Swerve Sweetener.
Nutrition (Serves 8) Food energy: 476kcal; Saturated fatty acids: 11.12g; Total fat: 31.56g; Calories from fat: 284; Cholesterol: 165mg; Carbohydrate, by difference: 5.32g; Total dietary fiber: 3.81g; Protein: 40.68g; Sodium: 697mg
Liz says
Off to check out the recipe—these look amazing!!!
Briana Thomas (briana-thomas.com) says
These look wonderful, Carolyn! I’ll be sharing these this week.
Oh Happy Dane says
Uhm… I could eat one now – or 5… or 10?!
Kelsey @ Snacking Squirrel says
i want it in my belly now! these are so clever and so delicious!
Sherri McDermott says
Can you tell me what is meant by “carbohydrates by difference” means? Is that the same as NET carbs?
Carolyn says
No, that’s just the straight up carbs. It’s a funny term my software uses and I had to look it up myself. It has to do with the fact that carbs are calculated simply by taking away the weight of all the other ingredients.
Sherri McDermott says
Thank you for responding so fast!
So I still would subtract out the fiber & sugar alcohol if any correct?
Carolyn says
Yes, although in my carb counts, I never add in the erythritol anyway. So just subtract the fiber.
Sharon says
Umm, is the 5.32g of carbs the amount per meatball? Looks delicious and I can’t wait to try it. 🙂
Carolyn says
Goodness, no. It makes about 30 meatballs, depending on how big you make them, so it’s about 4 or 5 meatballs per serving.
Mary says
Your recipe in the link says a serving is one meatball. In the comments here you say a serving is 4 or 5.
Basically the same carb count in this article and in the Swerve site, but different serving sizes.
Carolyn says
Yes, so they have their numbers WAY off. I will see if they can fix the serving size. Not sure anyone would eat simply 1 meatball.
Carolyn says
But also keep in mind that their counts include the Swerve… it technically has carbs but has zero impact on blood sugar.