Quick and easy to make, these turkey meatballs are made with spinach and cheese, and perfectly seasoned. Make them ahead of time and serve them in a rich marinara sauce for a tasty family meal.
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This week, the lovely Deb from Bowl Me Over is sharing her awesome Turkey Meatballs with us! Thanks for sharing Deb, I was drooling when I read the recipe!!
Since fall is here and winter is right around the corner I thought it would be timely to share a great comfort food recipe. This turkey spinach meatballs recipe I'm sharing with you is so delicious and easy!
Baked in the oven, rather than fried, they are slow cooked goodness. Perfect for a lazy weeknight meal, but delicious enough for company! I recently served these to my folks when they were visiting a few weeks ago and they absolutely loved them!
Serve these turkey meatballs in your favorite sauce over pasta for one tasty bite.
Be sure to check out these Bison Meatballs and Lamb Meatballs too!
Why you will love this recipe!
- Make ahead: These cheesy turkey meatballs are perfect for meal prep. Make them ahead of time for easy dinners and they are freezer friendly too.
- Healthy: Baked rather than fried, they are high in protein and low in saturated fat, plus there's some spinach sneaked in to boot.
- Quick and easy: It takes 10 minutes to prep a big batch of these meatballs with just a few simple ingredients.
Ingredients
- Ground turkey: Ground turkey is fairly mild in flavor, so the flavors from the seasonings really stands out. You can also make this with ground chicken or beef if you prefer.
- Spinach: I use thawed frozen spinach, or you can use fresh baby spinach and chop it up before mixing it with the other ingredients.
- Onion and garlic: Finely diced so that they mix well with the other ingredinets.
- Cheese: I use parmesan for a nice bold flavor. It's best to use freshly grated which has more flavor and moisture than pre-grated.
- Egg: To bind the ingredients together.
- Breadcrumbs: Breadcrumbs help to absorb moisture in the meatball mix and help them to form and hold their shape. Use fine breadcrumbs not panko, which are not as absorbent. You can use gluten-free breadcrumbs if you have an intolerance.
- Seasonings: Salt, pepper and chili powder.
How to make Turkey Spinach Meatballs
Be sure to scroll down for the full recipe!
- Combine the ingredients together.
- Shape into balls and place on a prepared baking sheet.
- Broil until cooked through.
How to serve
When they are done, they can be served several ways - with a pile of noodles, tucked into a sandwich, or my favorite way - bake them smothered in Mom's Sunday Gravy topped with cheese!
Bathed in sauce, topped with cheese, covered baked in the oven - WOW! This and a some delicious crusty bread and a great red wine! That is foodie perfection and a fabulous meal!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! You can make the meatballs up to the point of cooking and keep them covered in the fridge for a couple of the days. Once cooked, they will keep well in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Yes! These can be frozen either before or after cooking. If freezing raw, freeze them solid on a parchment lined baking sheet before transferring to a bag or container. They will keep well for up to 3 months.
Allow cooked meatballs to cool completely before freezing.
These turkey spinach meatballs are such a great freezer meal as they can be cooked right from frozen, whether cooked or uncooked. Uncooked meatballs will take around 25 to 30 minutes to cook through.
You can toss frozen meatballs right into hot simmering sauce and allow them to cook through. Use an instant read thermometer to check that they are fully cooked, it should register at 165F.
Recipe Notes and Tips
- Don't over mix the meatball mixture. Over mixing can cause the turkey to get tough and chewy.
- You can also pan fry these turkey spinach meatballs in a couple of tablespoons of oil until browned and cooked through.
- Oven bake them at 375F / 190c for 15 to 20 minutes.
More Comfort Food Recipes
- Beef and Tomato Pasta Bake
- Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Shells
- Buttermilk Roasted Chicken
- Steak and Stilton Pie
I love hearing from you!! If you have tried these turkey spinach meatballs, be sure to scroll down, give them a star rating and let me know what you thought!
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Turkey Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground turkey (450g)
- 10 ounces frozen spinach thawed (280g)
- 1 egg
- 1 cup parmesan cheese divided (90g)
- ½ cup onion diced (1 small onion)
- 1 clove garlic minced
- ¼ cup bread crumbs (4 tablespoons)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon chili powder
- 1 quart marinara Sauce (950ml)
Instructions
- Preheat broiler
- Combine the above ingredients, mixing them well but being careful not to over-mix.
- Using a small ice-cream scoop portion them out and shape them into balls and place on a pan sprayed with non-stick coating.
- Broil for 10-12 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked thru. Keep an eye on them to avoid burning.
- Remove from the oven and change the temperature to 350 degrees.
- Add approximately ⅓ of the pasta sauce to the bottom of a large skillet. Add the meatballs to the pan, top with the remaining pasta sauce and sprinkle with cheese.
- Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Don't over mix the meatball mixture. Over mixing can cause the turkey to get tough and chewy.
- You can also pan fry these turkey spinach meatballs in a couple of tablespoons of oil until browned and cooked through.
- Oven bake them at 375F / 190c for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Nutritional values are based on one of six servings.
Nutrition
Debra Clark blogs over at Bowl Me Over where she shares her love of all things in a bowl! Soups, stews, salads, Buddha bowls, ice cream – you name it! All are delicious and full of flavor. Most are quick, easy and healthy too!
SS says
Amazing!!! I've made these several times and they are just so good! Tonight I started to make them and then realized I did not have any prepared marinara sauce. I therefore made the mixture into burgers with the exact ingredients as outlined, and sautéed them in a pan. They turned out to be the most tender and flavorful turkey burgers that I have ever made. Will be using this recipe two ways going forward.
Marlee says
These are gorgeous meatballs! Perfect for a quick but yummy dinner!
Laura says
I love those toasted bits, and the tomato sauce to embrace all that goodness
Karly says
Would it toooottally ruin the point of these being healthy if I ate the entire batch myself? They just look so darn good, I don't know that I'll be able to control myself!
Slow The Cook Down says
Ha ha! I won't tell anyone if you don't!
Ben Myhre says
These look great. I tend to think that ground turkey can be a great substitute in any sauce heavy meal.
Slow The Cook Down says
Hi Ben, thanks for stopping by! I agree! Turkey is often an overlooked substitute!
Debra Clark says
You are so welcome Betty, I really appreciate the opportunity to share a recipe with your readers! We just LOVE this meal! The meatballs are so tender and delicious - I hope you do too! Happy Sunday to you and thank you again!
Slow The Cook Down says
It's such an awesome recipe, packed full of flavour! I was drooling when you sent it to me! Enjoy the rest of the weekend 🙂