Italian Baked Turkey Meatballs are lean, nutritious and delicious, made with protein-filled ground turkey and a blend of Italian spices. Baked meatballs are cooked in 15 minutes and are perfect for dinner, sandwiches, and meal prepping. Ground turkey makes them incredibly moist and soft, making them a great choice for kids and babies, too!
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Spaghetti and meatballs are one of the finest comfort foods around, and boy, my family can't get enough of them! But I can't feed my kids spaghetti and meatballs every night (or could I?).
If it was up to them, I would, but let's face it. This mama belly can't afford to eat any more pasta, especially not while trying to work on losing this quarantine weight!
And because while stocking up on freezer foods back in March during all my panic buying, I purchased a 5 pound pack of ground turkey that has been sitting in the freezer. Waiting to be eaten. So tonight we are having Italian baked turkey meatballs!
And so should you!
Nutrition
Ground turkey has a stunning nutrition profile. It's rich in protein and low in fat and calories. One serving has about 8 grams of protein and just 140 calories! Turkey is an excellent source of vitamins and minerals, some of which we have difficulty getting in our regular daily diets, like vitamin B, phosphorous, and selenium.
While the topic of red meat and processed meat is still much debated, turkey is generally considered a healthier alternative to red meat. This is because it has less fat overall. You can read more about the health benefits of turkey here.
Ingredients
To make Italian baked turkey meatballs you need these ingredients:
- ground turkey (I use 93% lean for the healthiest option)
- bread crumbs (plain or homemade)
- Parmesan cheese
- dried parsley, basil, and oregano
- garlic powder
- pepper
- egg
👩🍳 Oven Baked Instructions
Making baked turkey meatballs is essentially a 2 step recipe, ready to serve in only 20 minutes. Here's how to do it:
- Mix all ingredients.
- Roll meat mixture into 1 ½ inch balls. Spray with cooking oil and bake for 15 minutes.
🥘 Stove Top Instructions
You can also slow simmer your turkey meatballs in your favorite sauce. I do this with these fantastic homemade classic Italian meatballs recipe. I also slow simmer mini lamb meatballs in my favorite Syrian dish, Kebab Hindi.
If you prefer to cook your turkey meatballs in a sauce on the stove rather than bake them, bring the sauce to a simmer and add the meatballs.
For mini meatballs, cook for 15 minutes on medium heat as the sauce simmers. For dinner size meatballs, cook them for 30 minutes as the sauce lightly simmers.
Recipe
Italian Baked Turkey Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground turkey
- ½ cup bread crumbs
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon parsley
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon basil
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375° and line a baking sheet with foil.
- Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Roll meat mixture into 1 inch balls, adding water if necessary for the mix to stick and roll easily.
- Spray with cooking oil and bake for 15 minutes.
Nutrition
Serving
Italian baked turkey meatballs are extremely versatile, going well with almost any vegetable side dish or pasta and sauce dinner. They can be served with traditional spaghetti and sauce or a simple roasted broccoli cauliflower dish.
Serve turkey meatballs in place of any dish that you'd use traditional beef meatballs. Make a meatball sandwich with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese. My favorite way to serve baked turkey meatballs is over garlic parmesan zucchini noodles.
Enjoy them with your favorite sides, the options are endless!
Turkey meatballs keep in the fridge for around 5 days and can be frozen for about 6 months.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this recipe for delicious Italian baked turkey meatballs!
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