Homemade Turkey Meatballs
Delicious, easy and flavorful, these Homemade Turkey Meatballs are a great recipe to use in all of your favorite pasta recipes!
A FUN MEATBALL DISH
I love meatballs! They are one of those recipes that are really versatile and you can use them in so many different dishes. They make fabulous appetizers or to add to Marinara Sauce and pasta. There are endless possibilities. I love these Homemade Turkey Meatballs because they are different from your traditional beef or sausage variety. They have great flavor and come out so tender! Even if you aren’t a fan of ground turkey, you are still sure to love these meatballs! If you want to switch up your meatball routine, then you need to try my Homemade Turkey Meatball recipe!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
This recipe will make 12 large meatballs or 24 smaller meatballs. You can double this recipe to make more for serving or for freezing for later. These are delicious in my MEATBALL PARMESAN SKILLET recipe!
Absolutely! You could even use ground chicken or pork if you wanted. The seasoning in this recipe works for all of meats.
Browning the meatballs in a skillet reduces the number of dishes if you will be adding sauce to the skillet also. It also adds flavor and a more appetizing appearance (in my opinion). You can bake the meatballs in the oven. Place formed meatballs in a greased 9″x13″ casserole dish or on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 425°F for 15 minutes (for meatballs that will be cooked additionally in a sauce or casserole) or for 18-20 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 165°F. Turkey meatballs don’t brown as much in the oven.
No you do not. I like the extra flavor that they add to the meatballs themselves. You can use panko breadcrumbs or regular plain breadcrumbs as well.
Store Turkey Meatballs in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days or freeze in a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Let defrost in the refrigerator. Personally I love to double this recipe and freeze some for later so I can use them for a quick meal another night of the week.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST)
- Italian herb seasoned breadcrumbs
- buttermilk
- ground turkey
- dried onion flakes
- garlic
- dried basil
- dried oregano
- salt and pepper
- Worcestershire sauce
- granulated sugar
- egg
- parmesan cheese
HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE TURKEY MEATBALLS:
In a medium mixing bowl, stir together bread crumbs and buttermilk. Allow the mixture to sit for a few moments so that the milk is absorbed into the bread crumbs. This makes an extra moist meatball.
To the breadcrumb/milk mixture, add ground turkey, onion flakes, minced garlic, dried basil, dried oregano, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, egg, parmesan cheese, and fresh minced parsley.
Use gloved hands to mix the ingredients until thoroughly combined.
Use a 2 tablespoon cookie dough scoop (for large meatballs) to form balls from the meat mixture. Roll the balls by hand for a tighter, more uniform meatball if desired.
Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add meatballs to the skillet and cook, browning on each side. If you will be serving the meatballs straight from the skillet, be sure to cook them until the internal temperature reaches 165°F. Turn the heat down and continue rotating the meatballs so that they do not burn. If you will be adding the meatballs to a marinara sauce or to another dish like meatball parmesan, do not cook the meatballs all the way through yet. Simply brown the meatballs on all sides. The meatballs will continue cooking when simmered in sauce or in a casserole – overcooking leads to a dry and tough meatball.
When meatballs are browned, set aside while preparing marinara sauce. Add meatballs into the marinara sauce during the last 10 minutes of simmering. Simmer the meatballs until they are heated through and reach an internal temp of 165°F.
Serve and enjoy!
WANT MORE DELICIOUS RECIPES? YOU MUST TRY THESE!
- CROCK POT MEATLOAF MEATBALL
- TURKEY MEATBALL SUBS
- BACON WRAPPED MEATBALLS
- CROCK POT GLAZED PARTY MEATBALLS
- MEATBALL SUB CASSEROLE
- CROCK POT HOMEMADE MEATBALLS AND MARINARA SAUCE
Homemade Turkey Meatballs
Ingredients
- ½ cup Italian herb seasoned breadcrumbs
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 teaspoon dried onion flakes
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon coarse sea salt
- ½ teaspoon coarse black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh parsley or ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- fresh Italian parsley for garnish
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl, stir together bread crumbs and buttermilk. Allow the mixture to sit for a few moments so that the milk is absorbed into the bread crumbs. This makes an extra moist meatball.
- To the breadcrumb/milk mixture, add ground turkey, onion flakes, minced garlic, dried basil, dried oregano, black pepper, salt, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, egg, parmesan cheese, and fresh minced parsley. Mix the ingredients until thoroughly combined.
- Use a 2 tablespoon cookie dough scoop (for large meatballs) to form balls from the meat mixture. Roll the balls by hand for a tighter, more uniform meatball if desired.
- Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add meatballs to the skillet and cook, browning on each side. If you will be serving the meatballs straight from the skillet, be sure to cook them until the internal temperature reaches 165°F. Turn the heat down and continue rotating the meatballs so that they do not burn.
- If you will be adding the meatballs to a marinara sauce, do not cook the meatballs all the way through yet. Simply brown the meatballs on all sides. The meatballs will continue cooking when simmered in sauce or in a casserole. Overcooking leads to a dry and tough meatball.
- When meatballs are browned, set aside while preparing marinara sauce. Add meatballs into the marinara sauce during the last 10 minutes of simmering. Simmer the meatballs until they are heated through and reach an internal temp of 165°F.
Notes
- These can be used in a variety of dishes from spaghetti, to bakes to just plain on their own.
- You can use panko regular plain breadcrumbs in place of the seasoned.
- Make sure you finely grate your parmesan cheese for this recipe so it blends in well.
- These can be frozen, see tips above.
- This makes 12 large meatballs or 24 smaller ones and recipe can easily be doubled.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Where does the teaspoon of granulated sugar and dried onion flakes come in? They aren’t listed in the instructions…only in the ingredients list. Cheers!!
Sorry about that. Obviously it’s just a meatball recipe so it goes in the meatball mixture. Thank you!!