These Vegetarian Patties with Marinara Sauce are a keto vegetarian recipe so full of delicious flavor, you won't even miss the meat. It is a plant based recipe made with almond meal, nuts, cheese, and eggs as the main ingredients. Fried in a skillet, layered in a baking dish, and topped with marinara sauce to bake in the oven for the finish!
If you are looking for keto vegetarian recipes that you can make for your low carb friends, or even for yourself, then these Vegetarian Patties are the perfect solution. They can be shared at potluck, made for a family dinner with a side salad, and warmed up the next day for lunch!
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Making a Keto Version of Vegetarian Patties
I grew up in a home where my mom ate a plant based diet for the most part, and she did so most of my life. Mom’s Vegetarian Meatball recipe was well loved by the entire family, including my dad! Because we now eat a low carb keto diet, I wanted to find a way to make a similar recipe, but to make it keto friendly to fit our diet.
Most vegetarian recipes that make patties call for either oatmeal or breadcrumbs. Both of which are not approved ingredients on the keto diet. So, I found an old recipe of a family friend who was also a vegetarian and took that recipe and updated it to make a keto recipe. I tested these vegetarian patties out on my parents when they were here for a visit, and we all loved them. Even Grumpy ate them!
FAQs about Keto Vegetarian Recipes
You can follow a vegetarian diet when on keto. Processed foods should not be consumed on the keto vegetarian diet, just as they are not consumed on the regular keto diet. It is a little more work and thought put into it to be a vegetarian on keto, but it is not impossible.
What can a vegetarian eat on keto?
Since a vegetarian still will eat eggs and dairy it is entirely possible to be keto. Many vegetarian recipes incorporate eggs and dairy as ingredients and is a great way to be sure you are getting protein in the diet.
Can a vegetarian consume higher carbs on the keto diet?
A vegetarian should stay at 35 grams of carbs per day. This is achievable by consuming the eggs and dairy, along with plenty of low carbohydrate vegetables. And, don’t forget the fat! Avocados are vegetarian and are a great source of fat, fiber, and is low carb!
How to make Vegetarian Patties
This vegetarian recipe relies on eggs, cheese, almond meal, and coconut flour to form the patties. They are really similar to a keto pancake, except they are savory. This is ok for the plant based diet as it does not have to be vegan to be plant based as dairy and eggs can be consumed.
Start by measuring your the ingredients out. This recipe uses quite a few eggs and almond meal instead of almond flour. There is also coconut flour, better than bouillon, onions, cheese, and almond butter in this recipe.
The eggs, bouillon concentrate, and almond butter are whisked together until well combined.
Add the onion, cheeses, almond meal, and coconut flour. Stir until well combined. Let sit for about 5 minutes.
Add the chopped nuts to your mixture. I recommend you use use either walnuts or pecans. These are softer nuts that work best in this type of recipe.
Heat a skillet over medium high heat until hot. Add avocado oil to skillet and swirl to coat.
Once the patties are in the skillet, flatten the tops slightly to shape into patty form. Cook the patties until the bottom begins to brown, approximately 1-½ minutes. Carefully flip the vegetarian patties over to cook on the other side another 1-½ minutes.
Remove the vegetarian patties from the skillet and place on paper towel to drain. Continue cooking the remaining batter until done. You should get about 32 tablespoon sized patties with this recipe.
Bake the vegetarian patties in the oven at 350 degrees until they are warmed through, about 20 minutes.
Keto Vegetarian and Plant Based Recipes
While we don't eat completely vegetarian, we do enjoy plant based recipes in our home. It is entirely possible to have a recipe be both plant based and keto and I'm set here to prove it. My mother's influence of vegetarian eating has stayed with me all my life and it is one of my favorite ways of eating.
If I had to label myself, it would be flexitarian. Someone who enjoys meat and fish but still loves to make and enjoy recipes that are completely vegetarian or vegan.
How I made this a Keto Vegetarian Recipe
- The original recipe calls for bread crumbs, like this Vegetarian Patties recipe, try substituting almond meal and a little coconut flour in its place. The almond meal is coarser like bread crumbs are and the coconut flour will absorb and thicken the better.
- I use a low carbohydrate marinara such as Victoria or Rao's to top my vegetarian patties. Or, if you feel like it, you can always make your own!
What to serve with Vegetarian Patties with Marinara Sauce
One of the best things to serve with these patties is a fresh and delicious tossed salad. One of my favorite salads of all time that is also plant based, is this recipe for Marinated Tofu Salad on my Grumpy's Honeybunch website.
Do you have leftover vegetarian patties you want to repurpose? How about making this Low Carb Pizza Crust with Almond Flour recipe and make a vegetarian "meatball" pizza!
Easy Vegetarian Patties with Marinara Sauce
Ingredients
- 6 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon Better than Bouillon Broth Base
- 1 tablespoon all natural almond butter
- ½ cup walnuts chopped
- ½ cup mozzarella cheese shredded
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese grated
- ⅓ cup onion diced fine
- 1 cup almond meal
- ¼ cup coconut flour
- 2 tablespoon avocado oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh basil chopped
- 1-½ cups Victoria Marinara Sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, bouillon concentrate, and almond butter.
- Add the almond meal, coconut flour, onions, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese to egg mixture and stir until combined.
- Stir in the chopped walnuts. Set aside to rest for 5 minutes.
- Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. When hot, coat with a small amount of avocado oil.
- Using a 1 tablespoon sized scoop, scoop vegetarian patties batter out of mixing bowl and place in hot, oiled skillet. Flatten the patty slightly so it is shaped like a thick pancake.
- Fry patties for about 1-½ minutes, until lightly browned on bottom. Carefully flip patties over and cook another 1-½ minutes.
- Remove from skillet and place vegetarian patties on a paper towel lined plate. Repeat the last two steps until all patties have been fried.
- Place fried vegetarian patties in a baking dish and pour 1-½ cups marinara sauce over top.
- Bake 20 minutes, or until sauce and patties are warmed through.
- Store any leftovers in refrigerator up to 1 week or in freezer up to 3 months.
[…] made recently made these Vegetarian Patties with Marinara Sauce and my whole family loved them! These are also a keto friendly recipe which made it a big win for […]