Keto Meatball Subs – Provolone Cheese Buns

Who doesn’t love meatball subs?  I know I do. But to keep up with the keto lifestyle that has allowed me to drop 35 pounds and be really happy, I wanted to make a meatball sub with a zero carb bun.  As mentioned in this keto cheesesteak recipe post, a sub roll is about 40-50 grams of carbs. So by avoiding that – I can stay within the low carb limits and still have the same tastes as a real meatball sub. Sounds crazy right?  Try it!  It’s amazing.

Previously I was making cheese taco shells, rather than the one full of carbs,  and I figured I can take that idea and use provolone cheese for a more Italian vibe.  I made a taco shell, aka “bun” with two slices of provolone microwaved for about 2 min on parchment paper. I slightly folded it and it became the perfect shell to hold the meatballs.

For the meatballs, we followed this low carb meatball recipe. It’s a normal meatball recipe with no bread crumbs.  No need for bread crumbs!  It’s loaded with Italian spices, egg and some cheese.  We decided to use some of our kids mozzarella cheese sticks and slice them up and stuff the meatballs. The same way you’d stuff a cheeseburger with cheese, you can stuff a meatball.

Slice up the mozzarella cheese sticks and form the meatball around the cheese.

Pour some avocado oil into a frying pan and fry the meatballs until they are cooked.  Once cooked, add in some crushed tomatoes.

Line a plate with parchment paper and lay two provolone slices slightly overlapping each other. Microwave for 2 minutes until the cheese starts to burn. You want it brown and burnt to be able to support the meatballs.  After the 2 minutes is up slightly bend the parchment until the shell is the curvature that you want.  Let cool.

Put 3 meatballs on a provolone shell and top with some parmesan cheese!  An amazing low carb keto friendly meatball sub recipe. It holds together quite well if you overcook the cheese appropriately.  I was even able to hold it, while taking a picture!