Today I want to share a recipe that has become a regular favorite in my kitchen – carnivore bacon cheeseburger meatballs.
These meatballs combine all the flavors you love from a classic cheeseburger but in a convenient, bite sized form that’s perfect for any meal of the day.
What makes these meatballs special is how they bring together the rich taste of ground beef with smoky bacon and sharp cheddar cheese. The combination creates a flavor that’s satisfying and hearty without being complicated.
Using pork rind crumbs instead of breadcrumbs keeps the recipe true to carnivore principles while adding the perfect texture.
You simply mix everything in one bowl, form the mixture into balls, and bake them until golden brown. In less than 30 minutes, you can have a protein packed meal ready to serve.
👍 Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Simple Ingredients: This recipe uses only a handful of ingredients that are all carnivore friendly. No need to hunt down special items – just beef, bacon, cheese, egg, pork rinds, and salt.
Most carnivore dieters already have these basics on hand, making this an easy choice when you’re figuring out what to cook.
Fast Preparation: From start to finish, you can have these meatballs ready in about 20 minutes.
Just mix everything in one bowl, shape into balls, and bake. On busy days when you don’t have time for complicated cooking but still want something satisfying, these meatballs are the perfect solution.
Perfect Protein Balance: With both beef and bacon, these meatballs offer a great mix of proteins.
The 80/20 or 70/30 beef provides plenty of fat, while the bacon adds even more protein variety.
✨ Recipe Ingredients
You will need:
- 1 pound Ground Beef (80/20% or 70/30%)
- 1 Egg (large)
- 1/2 pound Chopped Bacon (partially cooked until just starting to crisp)
- 1/2 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
- 1/2 cup Pork Rinds Crumbs (use these pork rinds– amazon link)
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
- optional: Black pepper, onion powder, and garlic (omit if strict carnivore diet)
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👨🍳 How To Make
Easily make these amazing carnivore cheeseburger meatballs! Follow these steps:
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Step 2
Place all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
Step 3
Mix everything until well combined. Form into meatballs.
Step 4
Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (a single layer, with enough space between each meatball).
Step 5
Bake for 8-12 minutes until golden brown. Enjoy!
💡Tips
1. Don’t Overwork the Meat
When mixing your meatball ingredients, use a light touch. Mix just until everything is combined and stop there.
Overworking the meat mixture makes the proteins bind too tightly, resulting in tough, dense meatballs instead of tender ones.
Think of it like kneading bread dough – the more you work it, the firmer it gets. A good technique is to use your fingertips rather than your whole hand, gently folding the ingredients together rather than squeezing or mashing.
You’ll know you’re done when you no longer see large chunks of unmixed ingredients, but before the mixture becomes perfectly smooth and paste like.
2. Chill Before Baking
After forming your meatballs, place them on the prepared baking sheet and refrigerate them for 15-30 minutes before baking. This extra step helps them hold their shape better in the oven and prevents them from flattening out as they cook.
The chilling time allows the fat to firm up again after handling, and gives the pork rind crumbs time to absorb some moisture, helping everything bind together. If you’re in a hurry, even 10 minutes in the refrigerator is better than none.
3. Let Them Rest Before Serving
After taking the meatballs out of the oven, let them rest for about 5 minutes before serving. This resting period allows the juices to redistribute throughout the meat instead of running out when you first cut into them.
During cooking, the heat pushes the juices toward the center of the meatball. Resting gives those juices time to move back through the entire meatball, making every bite moist and flavorful.
You can tent some foil loosely over them to keep them warm during this resting period. This simple step makes a huge difference in how juicy your finished meatballs will be, and is worth the short wait before diving in.
You’ll Love These Recipes Too
If you liked this recipe, make sure to check out my other carnivore friendly recipes:
Carnivore Bacon Cheeseburger Meatballs
Print RecipeIngredients
- 1 pound Ground Beef (80/20% or 70/30%)
- 1 Egg (large)
- 1/2 pound Chopped Bacon partially cooked until just starting to crisp
- 1/2 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
- 1/2 cup Pork Rinds Crumbs (use these pork rinds- amazon link)
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
- optional: Black pepper, onion powder, and garlic (omit if strict carnivore diet)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
- Place all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
- Mix everything until well combined. Form into meatballs.
- Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (a single layer, with enough space between each meatball).
- Bake for 8-12 minutes until golden brown. Enjoy!
WOW… The best meatballs EVER
My family all agreed that these were “the best meatballs ever!” I added spicy brown mustard and New Mexico green chili powder and these were incredible!
These are amazing. I made them in a square muffin tin I’ve got instead of meatballs and they were SOOO very good. I’ll be making them over and over. Easy and delish.
I have a question–what can I use instead of pork rinds as I don’t eat pork?
Broil chicken skins until crispy.
I was jazzed until I saw the pork rinds. My big reason for keto is dietary restrictions, which include sodium, and pork rinds (like potato chips, pretzels, etc.) are way high in salt. Can you suggest a lower-sodium substitute for the pork rinds?
You can always prepare the pork rinds yourself from pork skins, and don’t add any salt.