
Yes, you read right. KETO Arancini Balls.
It has taken me many years to create this recipe for Keto Arancini Balls, but not because it’s particularly hard.
I was genuinely scared of it.
I thought it would be impossible, my kitchen would end up a mess of cauliflower, cheese and basil and I would be too scared to ever try again.
I thought to get delicious Keto Arancini Balls I would have to spend hours trying to delicately shallow fry the balls so they wouldn’t fall apart.
Instead, by oven baking them but coating them in spray olive oil, they get deliciously crispy without all that hard work!
I bought one of these little oil misters a while back and put my favourite olive oil in it, rather than buying the cans constantly. It works a treat.
I was also scared that you couldn’t have Keto Arancini Balls without making some super complicated cauliflower risotto first, like real arancini balls.
Well, none of that was true! My fears were unfounded.
TA DA – They are actually quite easy to make!
The hardest thing is probably grating the cauliflower to get cauliflower rice. This is why I ALWAYS use my food processor.
I’ve seen cauliflower rice in the shops recently too, but it looks a bit chunkier than how I make my cauliflower rice.
If you’re using store bought cauli rice for these Keto Arancini Balls, I’d maybe cook them a little longer.
I use a pre-shredded mozzarella for this recipe as well as it tends to be a bit dryer, so is great for recipes like this where it needs to hold everything together but still be gooey and stringy at the end.
Look at that stringy cheese.
Serving these Keto Arancini Balls with passata makes for a delicious, filling meal, but some passata or marinara sauces can be higher in carbs or sugar so always check your nutritional label.
If in doubt, serve it with a home made tomato sauce.
This is my recipe for home made tomato sauce if you would like to make your own.
There’s also some great Keto Marinara Sauce recipes out there, here’s one I like.
This recipe was created after I put a call out on my facebook page for recipe requests, and one person asked for Keto Arancini Balls.
There’s something about getting a recipe request that fires me on, so I spent the next few days perfecting this recipe just for the person that requested it.
If you’ve got a recipe you’re dying to have a Keto version of and can’t find anywhere let me know! I love a challenge.
Wait until you see what the next few weeks have coming up.
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This recipe perfectly serves 4 for a lighter meal like lunch or brunch, and makes around 12 – 14 balls depending on the size.
You could easily make 20 or so smaller balls, just watch them in the oven as they’ll cook faster. This would be a perfect dish for entertaining as well.
Enjoy!

Keto Arancini Balls - 3 Cheese Flavour
Deliciously cheesy and easier than you think, these Keto Arancini Balls are to die for. One serve will be about 7 - 10 net carbs depending on the cheese and passata you use.
Ingredients
Arancini Balls
- 3 cups cauliflower rice about 1/2 head of cauli
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 tablespoon dried basil
- 1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder or paste
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan
- 2 tablespoons cream cheese
- 2 egg yolks
Crumb
- 1/3 cup almond flour
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- olive oil cooking spray
To Serve
- 1 cup passata or marinara
- 2 tablespoons grated parmesan
- fresh basil leaves
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 200C / 392F and line a large baking tray with baking paper. Prepare your cauliflower by grating or processing to form a fine rice consistency.
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In a large saucepan add the olive oil over medium high heat, and saute the cauli rice for 2 mins.
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Add the dried basil, oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper and stir through. Cook for a further 4 - 5 minutes until dry, slightly soft and browned.
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Move the cooked cauliflower to a medium size mixing bowl and stir through the 3 cheese. Mix to combine thoroughly without squishing the cauliflower too much.
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Let cool for a couple of minutes. Meanwhile, on a flat plate, combine the crumb ingredients.
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Once the cauli and cheese mix has cooled slightly, mix through the egg yolks.
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With wet hands, form the cauliflower mixture into balls then roll in the crumb mix to coat evenly then place on the prepared baking tray.
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Coat generously with cooking spray and bake for 20 - 25 minutes until golden.
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Serve atop a bed of passata or marinara sauce with more fresh parmesan and basil leaves.
These look really yummy
Yummmm. I will be trying these tonight. thanks
I had to leave a comment to tell you how obsessed I am with this recipe – it is heaven!
Thank you!! I love this one too xxhttps://aussieketoqueen.com/wp-admin/edit-comments.php?p=2017#comments-form
Thank you!! I love this one too xx
I don’t know what I did wrong- they flattened out on me. But the taste? Oh my God deliciousness
Hmm seems they flatten out for some people and not others – I’m not sure why they would flatten but have 2 guesses – one could be the cauliflower had higher water content and needed a bit longer until it appears dry when frying it, or the cheese is a bit gooeyer than those that others have used in the past. The mozzarella especially can have higher water content, I use a pre-shredded one that tends to hold shape (like when used in fat head dough). I hope this helps, and that they were yummy biscuits anyway!
I have just finished making these Arancini Balls and would greatly appreciate your help. When I put them in the oven they have spread like biscuits across the tray. Instead of being round balls they are flat biscuits. Do you have any idea where I have gone wrong?
Hi Lyn! I’m not sure why they would flatten but have 2 guesses – one could be the cauliflower had higher water content and needed a bit longer until it appears dry when frying it, or the cheese is a bit gooeyer than those that others have used in the past. The mozzarella especially can have higher water content, I use a pre-shredded one that tends to hold shape (like when used in fat head dough). I hope this helps, and that they were yummy biscuits anyway!
Haven’t made these yet but I’m a bit confused on serving size is it 3 balls per serving and how many balls does this recipe make?
Hi Carissa! The note just above the recipe reads:
This recipe perfectly serves 4 for a lighter meal like lunch or brunch, and makes around 12 – 14 balls depending on the size.
You could easily make 20 or so smaller balls, just watch them in the oven as they’ll cook faster. This would be a perfect dish for entertaining as well.
So, 3 – 4 balls is a serve 🙂
Oh my goodness made these as an appetizer for Christmas day first time i have made them and what a success everyone loved them and i still can not believe how easy they were to make. Will be having these again !!!!
I made these today without telling the kids it was cauliflower rice…they all finished every mouthful and LOVED it! I put a small cube if cheese in the centre of each ball and added bacon to the sauce. Delicious!
Great idea adding bacon and cheese! Glad you loved the recipe 🙂
Made these last night… Coming from someone 100% Italian… OMG they were delicious! Everyone cleared their plates!!
Thanks for the recipe!!
Wow that is a good compliment Cathy – thank you so much! Glad to hear the family loved them.
I love ketto balls This is very yummy and easy to prepare thanks for your post
This looks so good! I can’t wait to try this someday! Thanks a lot for sharing this recipe!
I made these last night. They flattened out like biscuits but I have read your comments above so will try to cook the cauliflower for a little longer next time. The shape didn’t spoil the taste however. I will make again and add a little chilli and mushroom next time. Thanks for sharing such an easy and yet delicious recipe.
I am no to this way of eating loving it…… when grating cauliflower do I use the stems as well or just the floriets.
Hi Lynne, You can definitely use the stems as well! They also work perfectly in soups and mash.
This was fantastic! Mine also flattened out a bit but who cares they taste amazing!!!
I’m thinking of trying this on the weekend. I’m so excited! Thanks for sharing!