Easy Turkey Meatballs with Tomato Sauce Recipe
This turkey meatball recipe is a keeper. It is easy to make and cooked in tomato sauce for a beautiful juicy flavor. And it tastes even better when paired with creamy spinach, white rice, spaghetti, or mashed potato. It also pairs very well with crusty bread. It is great for your easy dinner recipes collection.
I cook meatballs very often using various types of meat. But these simple turkey meatballs are our favorite. If you have picky eaters who don’t like turkey, trust me when I say they won’t even notice turkey meat inside. The mixture is a combination of meat and spices. And when you cook these turkey meatballs in marinara sauce, you’ll be astonished by the juicy texture and wonderful flavor that you’ll not have time to think about what meat is inside. So, this juicy meatballs recipe might find its way into your recipe collection.
Why Cook Meatballs with Turkey
A balanced diet is essential if we want to lead a healthy lifestyle. And this is achievable if we seriously take care of what we eat. This includes choosing the right amount of vegetables, healthy grain, and healthy meats.
Turkey meat is light white meat with many health benefits and satisfies these requirements. Meatballs are typically prepared with either beef or pork. All three offer many advantages in terms of protein, minerals, and vitamins in comparable amounts. But the most significant difference between them is in the fat content. And specifically, the type of fat that is not good for your heart health is saturated fat. According to the USDA, a 100 g portion (a recommended meat portion is 3 oz or 85 gr) of cooked ground turkey, ground beef, and ground pork contains:
| Ground Turkey | Ground Beef | Ground Pork | |
| Protein | 27.4 g | 25.5 g | 25.7 g |
| Total fat | 10.4 g | 16.8 g | 20.8 g |
| Total saturated fat | 2.67 g | 6.45 g | 7.72 gr |
So, if your doctor ordered you to keep an eye on the fat in your diet or want to keep your heart healthy in the long run, choosing turkey meat might be a lighter alternative. Plus, always remember that picking the lean cuts of any meat will provide less saturated fat per serving. Just like in this healthy Turkey Meatballs Recipe!
How to Prepare Turkey Meatballs from Scratch
The best meatballs are juicy and moist. And when preparing them with turkey meat, this might become an issue. But don’t worry; there is a simple solution to this problem. This is the easiest way that I recommend following, along with the meatball ingredients that you’ll need:
- 1 lb (16 oz, 454 g) of lean ground turkey. I used 93% lean and 7% fat. This amount is enough to form 12-15 small balls.
- Add ground meat to a large mixing bowl.
- Chop one small onion into small pieces and add it to the meat.
- Take one slice of bread (white bread or whole-wheat bread) and place it in a bowl with warm water. Let it sit there for several minutes. The bread will absorb moisture and become mushy. Add it to the bowl with meat.
- Next, add salt and black pepper to taste
- Add one teaspoon of dried oregano.
- Chop 1/2 cup of fresh parsley and add it to the mix.
- Add about 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda to the mix (this helps tenderize the meat and keep it moist).
- I sometimes omit this step, but it won’t hurt to add it. Crack and beat one large egg in a separate bowl and add it to the mix.
- Using your clean hands, mix all the ingredients well.
- Form small balls (approximately the size of a golf ball) and place them in one layer on a large plate.
- Cover with plastic wrap and leave it in the fridge for 30 min. This will help meatballs stay in place when you are ready to cook them.
- Pro tip: To avoid the mixture sticking to your hands while making balls, wet your hands by sprinkling little oil on the palms of your hands.
How to Cook Turkey Meatballs with Tomato Sauce
After about 30 minutes, take the turkey meatballs out of the fridge. It would help if you worked with a deeper dish since we will cook them in oil first and then add tomato sauce and water until the sauce is of the desired consistency. Also, make sure that the dish is wide enough to hold all meatballs in one layer.
- Heat two tablespoons of olive oil on medium heat.
- Add meatballs to the large skillet in a single layer and cook until they start browning on all sides (about 5-10 minutes) on medium high heat. Lower the heat as they cook; you don’t want them to burn. Turn them from time to time so they cook on all sides.
- Add 1 cup of tomato sauce (you can use homemade tomato sauce or store-bought tomato sauce in a glass jar) and 1 cup of water. Cover partially and cook this simmering sauce on medium-low heat until thickening. This step might take 15-20 minutes, depending on the stove. Feel free to add more tomato sauce or water per your liking.
I prefer using tomato sauce in a glass jar. I shared my views about using canned tomato sauce or any canned vegetables as a health concern, which you can read here if you are interested to learn why. One of my favorites sauce is the one from Whole Foods.
The first step includes cooking the balls in olive oil until they start browning on all sides, which will take about 5-10 minutes. After that, the tomato sauce and water are added, the pan is covered partially, and the meatballs are cooked on low until the sauce is thickened. This step might take 15 to 25 minutes, depending on the stove.
The meatballs taste delicious with creamy spinach, rice, spaghetti, or mashed potatoes.
Yes, they certainly are! If your doctor ordered you to keep an eye on the fat in your diet or want to keep your heart healthy in the long run, choosing turkey meat might be a good idea. Please refer to the section above for the benefits of turkey meat over beef and pork.
In the refrigerator, these turkey meatballs with tomato sauce will last up to three days. Just make sure to store them in a tightly closed container. By the way, I always advise using glass containers instead of plastic to keep leftover food.
How to Prepare Creamy Spinach to Serve with Turkey Meatballs
You can find steps on preparing creamy spinach in my recipe Creamy Chicken and Spinach – refer to the sections How to Cook Spinach and How to Prepare White Sauce.
Adding rice is excellent for achieving a healthy eating plate.
If you liked this recipe, here are some other great options to try:
- Easy turkey bolognese with jar sauce (turkey ragu pasta)
- Salmon rice bowl with roasted pepper aioli sauce
- Mediterranean oven-baked branzini with vegetables
- Easy baked cod with fried rice
- Easy chicken with spinach in creamy white sauce (chicken spinach in bechamel)
Turkey Meatballs with Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground turkey 93% lean and 7% fat
- 1 onion small, chopped
- 1 slice bread
- to taste Salt and pepper
- 1 tsp oregano dried
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley chopped
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Add ground meat to a mixing bowl.
- Chop one small onion into small pieces and add it to the meat.
- Take one slice of bread (you could use white bread or whole-wheat bread) and place it in a bowl with warm water. Let it sit there for several minutes. The bread will absorb the moisture and become mushy. Add it to the bowl with meat.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Add one teaspoon of dried oregano.
- Chop 1/2 cup of fresh parsley and add it to the mix.
- Add about 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda to the mix (this will tenderize the meat and keep it moist).
- Crack and beat one egg in a separate bowl and add it to the mix.
- Using your clean hands, mix all the ingredients well.
- Form small balls and place them in one layer on a large plate. Cover with a plastic wrap and leave it in the fridge for 30 min.
- After about 30 minutes, take the meatballs out of the fridge. It would help if you worked with a deeper dish since we will cook them in oil first and then add tomato sauce and water until the sauce is of the desired consistency. Also, make sure that the dish is wide enough to hold all meatballs in one layer.
- Heat two tablespoons of olive oil on medium heat.
- Add meatballs and cook until they start browning on all sides (about 5-10 minutes). Lower the heat as they cook; you don't want them to burn. Turn them from time to time, so they cook on all sides.
- Add 1 cup of tomato sauce and 1 cup of water. Cover partially and cook on low until the sauce is thickened. This step might take 15 to 25 minutes, depending on the stove. Feel free to add more tomato sauce or water per your liking.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
