Keto Paleo Pesto Chicken Meatballs
paleo pesto:
- 1/2 cup raw walnuts or pine nuts, or a combo
- 3 cloves garlic
- 4 oz fresh basil leaves packed (you can sub in baby spinach for some of the basil if preferreabout 4 cups
- 1/2 cup light flavored olive oil or avocado oil
- 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp sea salt or to taste
- 1/4 tsp black pepper or to taste
- 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast for flavor, optional
chicken meatballs:
- 1 lb ground chicken (or preferred ground mea- not too lean
- 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp pesto
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup blanched almond flour
- 2 tsp Italian Seasoning
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
Instructions
for the pesto:
- Combine walnuts or pine nuts, garlic, basil leaves, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and nutritional yeast in a blender or food processor. Blend or process/pulse until a paste forms (not too smootscraping sides as needed.
for the meatballs:
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees and drizzle a large baking sheet with oil or spray with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, combine the ground chicken, 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp of the pesto, egg, almond flour, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Mix with clean hands until well combined, the mixture will be sticky, especially with ground chicken!
- Tip - when forming the mixture into balls, wet your hands periodically to make them easy to handle. Chicken meatballs are very sticky! Form the mixture into 12-14 meatballs, lightly wetting your hands as necessary.
- Place on the prepared baking sheet 2” apart and bake for 15-18 mins, or until just cooked through.
- Serve over cooked Spaghetti squash, Zucchini Noodles, Cauliflower Rice or Roasted Potatoes,
- topping with the remaining pesto. Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Enjoy!
Read more..