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.
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.