Baked Turkey Meatballs
These easy, baked turkey meatballs are delicious and healthy. The recipe is baked in the oven and super versatile. You can serve them in marinara sauce for a healthy Italian dinner or serve them over noodles with a creamy sauce for a Swedish-inspired meal, or top them with spicy chimichurri sauce and serve them with rice. Makes about 24 meatballs.
Why I love these easy turkey meatballs
These meatballs are one of my favorite, easy dinner recipes. They don’t require many ingredients and I always have the ingredients I need to make them in my pantry and fridge. Plus, meatballs are a staple in our house, and we love making different kinds of meatballs.
Our absolute favorite way to serve them is with chimichurri sauce. It’s a meal we have at least once a month because I know that everyone will eat it and love it.
But what I love most about these meatballs is that they’re so versatile. You make use them for meatball stroganoff, or serve them as cocktail meatballs for an easy dairy free appetizer. Serve them with or without spaghetti. You can’t go wrong.
Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe
Ingredients note: I used Panko breadcrumbs in this recipe. If you’re cooking dairy free, you’ll want to make sure to read labels and check for hidden dairy.
To make these meatballs egg free: I recommend adding 2 tablespoons – 1/4 cup of pumpkin puree, leftover dairy free mashed potatoes, or even a splash of your favorite dairy free milk.
How to make baked turkey meatballs
Combine the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix until combined. Make sure not to over mix the meatballs or you’ll end with tough ones.
Scoop the meatballs. I like to use a cookie scoop for this, but you can also use measuring spoons or just eyeball it. Roll the meatballs and place them onto a baking sheet (lined with parchment for easy cleanup).
Bake the turkey meatballs in a 400˚F oven for 20 – 25 minutes, or until their internal temperature reaches 165˚F. Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes before serving.
FAQ’s and tips for making healthy turkey meatballs
You know that your turkey meatballs are finished cooking when they register 165˚ F on an instant read thermometer.
While pan searing is great for browning the meatballs and holding in juices, baking allows a longer cooking time so that the fats can escape and give you a healthier meatball. It’s also a lot easier for clean up.
The simple answer is that the meatballs will fall apart. It uses bread crumbs and eggs and binding agents to hold together.
Perfectly round and even shaped meatballs can most easily be accomplished with a scooper, this gives uniform amounts of meat to roll into balls. Other than that, the best you can do is make sure that the meat is well bound together and that you roll it well, like a snowball.
More meatball recipes to try!
- Buffalo chicken meatballs
- Meatball burgers
- Greek meatballs (keftedes)
- Meatball stroganoff
- Meatless meatball and vegetable skillet
More turkey recipes you’ll enjoy!
- Leftover turkey salad
- White turkey chili
- Turkey sausage pesto pasta
- Italian turkey sausage stuffed shells
- Turkey and vegetable potstickers
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 pounds lean turkey
- 2/3 cup Panko breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon dried minced onion
- 1 teaspoon all-spice (optional)
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400˚F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Add meatball ingredients to a large mixing bowl. With clean hands, mix together until evenly combined.
- Roll meatballs into 1 1/2 – 2” balls and place on prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165˚F. Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes before serving.
