The Best Turkey Meatballs Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400ºF (200ºC).
• Add the turkey, breadcrumbs, egg, salt, pepper, and olive oil to a bowl and mix to combine.
• Form the meat into 15 meatballs approximately 2-inches (5cm) across.
• Place the meatballs on a parchment paper-lined tray and bake for 15-20 mins in the oven, or until cooked through.
• Enjoy!

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine cheese, bread crumbs, onion, chives, garlic, salt, pepper, oregano and red pepper flakes, if using, and mix well. Add turkey and egg and blend with your hands until well mixed. If you've got time, cover mixture and chill for an hour or up to 24 hours. These are easiest to form into balls while very cold. Form into 28 meatballs, each about 1 1/4-inches in diameter.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large sauté pan. When hot, add enough of the meatballs to fit in one layer without crowding, and brown on all sides, 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a plate, add another tablespoon of oil to pan and brown another layer of meatballs, transferring them to the plate as they brown. Repeat until all meatballs are browned, adding more oil to the pan as needed.
• When meatballs are all browned, add marinara sauce to pan and bring to a simmer, scraping up the browned bits on the pan bottom. Return meatballs and their juices to pan, shake pan to cover the meatballs with sauce, and lower heat. Partly cover pan and simmer until the meatballs are cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Serve hot, drizzled with more olive oil and sprinkled with more cheese, if you like.

Steps:

• Begin by heating the tomato sauce over a low heat, covered, in a medium to large pot.
• While sauce is heating, dice celery, carrots and onion; add to a large bowl. Generously sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss to combine. Mince the garlic and set aside.
• In a medium skillet, heat cooking spray on medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add diced vegetables and minced garlic and sauté until vegetables start to soften and onions become translucent (about 5 - 7 minutes). Once soft, remove from heat and pour into the same large bowl, completely emptying skillet (reserve skillet). Let stand 5-10 minutes to cool slightly.
• To the vegetables, add the breadcrumbs, cheese, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, basil, parsely, salt and pepper. Mix all ingredients using a spoon, then add the meat. Combine with your hands, being careful not to over-knead while evenly incorporating all ingredients (if mixture seems slightly too wet, sprinkle in a little more breadcrumbs or cheese). Form meatballs into balls about 1 1/2 - 1 3/4" in diameter, and set aside on a piece of wax paper. Repeat with remaining meat mixture (should make around 14 - 18 or so meatballs).
• To the same skillet*, add more cooking spray and heat on medium heat. Once hot, add meatballs, being careful not to overcrowd skillet (work in batches, if needed). Sear meatballs 3-5 minutes per side, gently flipping with tongs. Once both sides have seared, add par-cooked meatballs to your pot of sauce, cover. Repeat with remaining meatballs.
• Simmer meatballs in sauce, covered, on low heat for 1-3 hours, and enjoy! (Serving Suggestion: my favorite way to serve these meatballs is over a bed of high fiber (such as Dreamfields) or whole wheat pasta with a scoop of low-fat ricotta cheese!).
• * Though pan-searing the meatballs is the way to get the best results, if this is too labor-intensive or time consuming, you can par-bake the meatballs in the oven instead. After rolling the meat mixture into balls, place all of the balls 1/2"-1" apart on a baking sheet lined with foil and sprayed with cooking spray. Cook the meatballs for 15-30 minutes at 350º, flipping halfway through, then add them to the pot of sauce.