Turkey Meatballs – Never in a million years did I think I’d be saying these next four words: I love turkey meatballs. I do, I do. I really, really do.
I’ve been avoiding ground turkey like the plague due to one bad experience with a turkey burger like 20 years ago. I don’t know what possessed me to buy a package of ground turkey meat but I did and I made meatballs and I liked them. A whole lot.
They’re seasoned with parsley, basil, Parmesan cheese, Italian bread crumbs and an egg to bind them together. They’re briefly baked and then simmer away in my everyday sauce.
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Tender and tasty, they almost taste like their ground beef counterparts.
The sauce is made from scratch with tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, onion, garlic, parsley, Italian seasonings, bay leaf and a sprinkle of sugar to help tame the acidity in the sauce.
Serve over spaghetti or your favorite pasta.
If you have the same feelings I did about ground turkey then I bid you to try these. They just might change your mind.
I pinky swear.
Turkey Meatballs
Ingredients
- Meatballs:
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 3 tablespoons finely diced onion
- 1 minced clove garlic
- 1 egg
- ⅓ cup Italian-seasoned bread crumbs
- 2 tablespoons fresh grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
- ½ teaspoon sea or kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 4 cloves minced garlic
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 can 6 ounces tomato paste
- 1 can 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
- 1 + ½ teaspoons dried Italian seasoning crushed between fingertips
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley
- ½ teaspoon sea or kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- cooked spaghetti or pasta for serving
Instructions
Make the Meatballs:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a large baking sheet with olive oil.
- Add all the meatball ingredients to a large mixing bowl and combine with a fork.
- Form into meatballs - you should get about 14 of them. Set on baking sheet, not touching.
- Bake 12 minutes.
Meanwhile, Make the Sauce:
- In a Dutch oven or large, heavy-bottomed saucepan heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-low heat and add the onions and garlic with a dash or two of salt and pepper.
- Cook, stirring often, until softened about 10 minutes.
- Add the bay leaf and tomato paste, stir it into the onions and cook a minute or two.
- Stir in the crushed tomatoes, ½ cup water, Italian seasoning, parsley, salt, pepper and sugar.
- Turn the heat up and bring to a simmer.
- Nestle the meatballs into the sauce. Simmer 25 - 30 minutes, stirring often.
- Taste and season the sauce with more salt and pepper or Italian seasoning if needed.
- Remove the bay leaf and discard before serving.
- Serve over spaghetti or your favorite pasta.