Bacon Bourbon Meatballs
- Gluten-Free
- Dairy-Free
- Paleo
- Low Carb
- Keto
Bacon and bourbon. Yes, you read that right. 😍
Now that fall and football season are in full swing, I thought it was about time to make a delicious game day snack for the blog. Not only are these bacon bourbon meatballs great as a game day or party appetizer, they are also good as a main course for dinner! This recipe is so easy to make and full of flavor. You won’t be disappointed, I promise.
Instead of traditional barbecue sauce, I’ve made a quick paleo bourbon barbecue sauce to go with the meatballs. Traditional barbecue sauce has tons of refined sugar in it and often contains corn syrup. This paleo barbecue sauce is sweetened with just a touch of maple syrup. Don’t worry, it’s equally as delicious. You really won’t miss the store-bought stuff. The recipe is fairly low carb as it is, but you can also make it ketogenic by substituting monk fruit syrup for the maple syrup.
To make it even easier on game day, these meatballs can be made ahead of time and just reheated when you’re ready to serve! When reheating in a pan, just make sure to thin the sauce with some water during the cooking process. The consistency of the sauce should be like a normal barbecue sauce. If it gets too thick at any point, just dilute it with a little water. You can also cook these ahead of time and then just reheat in a crockpot if you’re using them as an appetizer!
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Bacon Bourbon Meatballs
- Gluten-Free
- Dairy-Free
- Paleo
- Low Carb
- Keto
Ingredients
Bacon Meatballs
- 9 oz 250g bacon, roughly chopped
- 2 shallots roughly chopped
- 9 oz 250g ground pork
- 9 oz 250g ground beef
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup 27g almond flour
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
- 2 Tbsp ground flax seed
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1 Tbsp butter ghee, or avocado oil
Bourbon Barbecue Sauce
- 1/2 cup water
- 5 oz 140g tomato paste
- 3 Tbsp maple syrup substitute monk fruit syrup for keto
- 3 Tbsp bourbon
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp blackstrap molasses
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
Instructions
Bacon Meatballs
- Pulse bacon and shallots in a food processor until ground into a coarse paste. Alternately, you can mince everything finely by hand.
- Add bacon and shallots to a large mixing bowl along with the remaining meatball ingredients (except butter).
- Mix everything together until evenly combined.
- Using hands (slightly damp to help prevent sticking), shape into 1 1/2" balls.
- In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat.
- Once it is hot, add the meatballs and brown all of the sides (about 12 minutes). You may need to work 2 batches, depending on the size of your pan.
- Remove meatballs from pan and set aside.
- Spoon out most of the fat from the pan and discard. Leave about 1 Tbsp of the fat in the pan.
Bourbon Barbecue Sauce
- Mix all sauce ingredients together then pour into the skillet. Stir and bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer.
- Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring and scraping the bottom occasionally.
- Add the meatballs back into the skillet and simmer for 15 minutes.
- If the sauce gets to thick, just add a bit of water and continue cooking. The sauce should be a normal barbecue sauce consistency at the end.
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xx Kit
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Made these today for Christmas appetizers and they were a huge hit!!
I’m so happy to hear that!! 🙂
Made these for dinner! So easy to make, the flavors, the sauce, just delicious. Definitely a step up, no, many steps up 😃 from regular meatballs!
I’m so glad you loved the recipe!! Aww thank you!
It just struck me that I’ve made these so many times now and yet never left you a review! These are my family’s favorite meatballs on the planet. So so yummy. I make them for dinner and serve with dairy free mashed potatoes and a veggie. I substitute ketchup for the tomato paste because we like it just a tad sweeter. Thank you for the recipe!!
Aww yay! I’m so glad that y’all enjoy the recipe so much and that it’s a family favorite! Thanks for the stellar review! 🙂
Easy and delicious meatballs for dinner or party food!
☺️