This Meatball Alfredo made with ground venison is simmered in a ready made sauce and served over top of a bed of lightly steamed zucchini noodles. A low carb and keto friendly dinner that will satisfy your tummy and your tastebuds!
Venison Meatball Alfredo is a delicious dinner recipe that is easy to make and even easier to repurpose! This big batch recipe will feed a family of four easily with plenty of leftovers.
Then, with the leftovers you can either enjoy the meatballs by themselves, or make and enjoy a Meatball Pizza with Alfredo Sauce and Arugula!
Why You'll Love Meatball Alfredo
Ground venison recipe: meatballs are an excellent source of lean protein and a great way to make use of ground venison burger!
Family friendly: this is a large volume recipe, which makes it easy for family dinners and leftover meals during busy weeks.
Low carb recipe: Alfredo sauce is lower in carbs and the use of zucchini noodles keeps this in the low carb keto friendly range!
Ingredients
- Cooked, thick cut bacon
- Ground venison
- Bacon fat , or olive oil
- Leeks
- Garlic cloves
- Smoked paprika
- Salt
- Ground pepper
- Rao's Alfredo Sauce with Garlic (affiliate link) - or you could easily make your own homemade alfredo sauce!
- Small zucchini
Hint: I love to use my air fryer to cook the bacon for this recipe! It's quick, easy, and less of a greasy mess!
* See recipe card below for ingredient amounts.
How to Make Meatball Alfredo
Below is a visual for how to make this easy to make venison meatball Alfredo recipe:
Saute leeks
Step 1 text
Make meatballs
Mix leek mixture with ground venison, garlic, paprika, crumbled bacon, salt, and black pepper. Shape into meatballs.
Drain meatballs
Once meatballs are cooked, transfer to a paper lined plate to drain and set aside.
Saute mushrooms
Place mushrooms in skillet along with a little extra olive oil if needed. Saute until browned.
Add alfredo sauce
Return meatballs to skillet with mushrooms and add alfredo sauce.
Simmer meatballs
Simmer meatballs in sauce until hot.
Spiralized zucchini
While meatballs are simmering, make zucchini noodles with spiralizer.
Steam zoodles
Steam zucchini noodles in microwave for 5 minutes.
Serve
Serve Venison Meatballs with Alfredo sauce over top of steamed zoodles.
**See complete instructions in recipe card below.
Substitutions
Pre-cooked bacon: buy pre-cooked bacon to use instead of cooking your own.
Noodle swap: serve Meatball Alfredo over Shirataki Noodles or Palmini Noodles (affiliate links) and still keep the recipe low carb.
Meat swap: substitute ground beef, turkey, or chicken for the ground venison.
Variations
Spicy Meatball Alfredo: Add a kick of heat to your dish by using spicy Italian sausage in place of the venison for a bold, fiery flavor to this classic dish.
Pesto Meatball Alfredo: Stir in a few tablespoons of pesto sauce into the Alfredo sauce for a fresh and herby twist. Use this Homemade Basil Pesto Recipe to complement the creaminess of the Alfredo.
Sun-Dried Tomato and Artichoke Meatball Alfredo: Incorporate chopped sun-dried tomatoes (I like to use the oil free one)(affiliate link) and artichoke hearts into the Alfredo sauce for a tangy and slightly sweet flavor that pairs wonderfully with the savory meatballs.
Equipment
- Mixing bowls
- Large skillet
- Sharpe knife
- Cutting board
- Spiralizer
Hint: the spiralizer (affiliate link) is the fastest and easiest way to make zucchini noodles!
FAQS
Yes. This recipe would work well with any wild game meat such as elk or deer. But, if you don't have access to this, beef is a good substitute.
For this particular recipe it is best to cook then crumble the bacon into small pieces before adding to the venison meatball mixture.
You can bake these in the oven if you wish. I would bake them at 350 degrees for about 25-30 minutes.
You can freeze meatball alfredo leftovers. I recommend using within 2-3 months.
You can make pizza, subs, or sliders are some great and easy ideas for using up your leftover meatballs.
Top Tips
- I use the same skillet that the meatballs were cooked in. Add the mushrooms, then cook and stir until the water releases from the mushrooms. The water will evaporate as the mushrooms cook and the flavor from cooking the meatballs is retained.
- When the mushrooms start to look dry and brown slightly, you can add the Alfredo sauce. If you add the alfredo sauce before all the water evaporates, you take the chance of thinning out the sauce.
- Save time and dishes and buy zucchini noodles already made right at the grocery store.
Storage
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3 days. Store any steamed zucchini in a separate container.
The meatballs and sauce can be frozen up to 3 weeks. Reheat thawed meatballs on the stovetop over low heat until warmed through.
The steamed zucchini does not lend well to freezer storage.
Related Recipes
When you make this recipe, please comment below and let me know what you think. I'd love it if you tag me on Instagram @honeybunchhunts or #honeybunchhunts so I can see your photos!
If you love this recipe, please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating
📖 Recipe
Meatball Alfredo with Ground Venison
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Ingredients
- 8 slices thick cut bacon cooked and crumbled
- 2 pounds ground venison
- 1 tablespoon bacon fat , or olive oil
- ⅓ cup leeks chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
- 1 jar Rao's Alfredo Sauce with Garlic
- 2 small zucchini , spiralized
Instructions
- Cook bacon in oven as per package instructions. Reserve one tablespoon of bacon fat.
- Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of reserved bacon fat to a large skillet and cook leeks and garlic until softened. Remove from skillet and place in a small bowl to cool.
- In a large mixing bowl, using your hands, combine the ground venison, bacon, leeks, garlic, paprika, salt and pepper until just combined.
- Using a ¼ cup scoop, shape meat mixture into a ball shape. Place meatballs in skillet that you cooked the leeks in and cook until well browned on all sides.
- Remove meatballs from skillet and place on a paper towel lined plate to catch and grease that may puddle beneath the meatballs.
- Add mushrooms to the same skillet you cooked the meatballs in and cook until water has evaporated.
- Stir alfredo sauce into the cooked mushrooms, then add the meatballs. Cover and simmer about 10-15 minutes.
- While the meatballs are simmering, spiralize your zucchini and steam it in your microwave steamer about 5 minutes. Just until the zucchini is hot and still has a bite to it.
- Serve Venison Meatball Alfredo over top of zucchini noodles and garnish with fresh parsley if desired.
Deidre Sue
Fabulous dinner!
Note: mushrooms omitted from ingredient list. Don't forget the 'shrooms!
Mel
Great recipe! This was delicious. Don't forget to calculate your own macros as the mushrooms were not included at an entire jar of Rao's is more than I think was used in this posting. I did make some changes with what I had. I used one pound ground venison mixed with one pound ground pork. I also used green onions instead of leeks. I also put this on top of riced cauliflower since I only had a small zucchini to spiral into noodles. This is getting long winded, but I recently started cooking bacon in my instant pot on sauté mode in order to contain the mess in my small kitchen and there is much less clean up!