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You are here: Home / Main Dishes / Italian Baked Turkey Meatballs

Italian Baked Turkey Meatballs

May 9, 2018 By Alyssa 12 Comments

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Italian baked turkey meatballs are juicy and healthy, made with lean ground turkey and baked instead of fried. This easy turkey meatball recipe is delicious on pasta, in meatball subs, and makes a great appetizer when served alongside marinara sauce.

Italian baked turkey meatballs are juicy and healthy, made with lean ground turkey and baked instead of fried. This easy turkey meatball recipe is great on pasta, in meatball subs, and makes a great appetizer when served alongside marinara sauce.

Do you have a repertoire of recipes that are the first ones you think of when trying to come up with what to make for dinner? I have a handful that, if it was 100% up to me, would be on deck once every week or two without fail.

As it stands my husband has a lower tolerance for meal repetition, so we do some serious thinking to keep things fresh.

Italian baked turkey meatballs are juicy and healthy, made with lean ground turkey and baked instead of fried. This easy turkey meatball recipe is great on pasta, in meatball subs, and makes a great appetizer when served alongside marinara sauce.

One category of recipe I love to make are meatballs. They’re fairly easy, usually just combining ingredients in a bowl, scooping onto a baking sheet, and baking until done. While pan-fried meatballs are delish, I lean toward baking to keep things on the easier/lighter side.

What’s also great about making meatballs is that there are a ton of different flavors and ingredients you can use to switch up the cuisine. That’s how I skirt around the “meatballs, again?” question with how frequently they show up on our dinner table. 🙂

So far, I’ve posted recipes for my hands-down favorite hearty marinara sauce and meatballs (which uses beef), buffalo chicken meatball subs, and hoisin glazed baked turkey meatballs. Three different meats with three pretty different flavors.

Italian baked turkey meatballs are juicy and healthy, made with lean ground turkey and baked instead of fried. This easy turkey meatball recipe is great on pasta, in meatball subs, and makes a great appetizer when served alongside marinara sauce.

For these Italian baked turkey meatballs, I combined the flavors of my go-to beef meatballs with a handy trick I use when I make turkey meatballs to make them SO juicy — grated onion. One-quarter cup of grated onion adds some flavor and ensures lean ground turkey can indeed yield juicy meatballs without pan frying.

Other than that, the other ingredients are fairly straight-forward. You can use any sort of grated hard Italian cheese here – Parmesan, Pecorino Romano (a favorite!), etc.

When it comes to meatballs, I always, always mix everything up with my hands. I find this way I can really work in all of the ingredients without over mixing. The mixture doesn’t need to be entirely uniform, so it’s okay for there to be some chunks of ground turkey remaining amongst it all. And using disposable gloves helps cut down on the mess!

Italian baked turkey meatballs are juicy and healthy, made with lean ground turkey and baked instead of fried. This easy turkey meatball recipe is great on pasta, in meatball subs, and makes a great appetizer when served alongside marinara sauce.

Recipe notes:
  • You can omit the crushed red pepper if you don’t like any zip whatsoever, though the flavor is mild.
  • To help ensure evenly-sized meatballs, I always use a cookie scoop (affiliate link). Keep in mind if using a scoop smaller or larger than one with a one-and-a-half tablespoon capacity, you’ll want to adjust the cooking time accordingly.
  • These Italian baked turkey meatballs are wonderful when served alongside warm marinara sauce. They also make great meatball subs, as well as atop pasta!
Italian baked turkey meatballs are juicy and healthy, made with lean ground turkey and baked instead of fried. This easy turkey meatball recipe is great on pasta, in meatball subs, and makes a great appetizer when served alongside marinara sauce.
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5 from 4 votes

Italian Baked Turkey Meatballs

Italian baked turkey meatballs are juicy and healthier, made with lean ground turkey and baked instead of fried. This easy turkey meatball recipe is great on pasta, in meatball subs, and makes a great appetizer when served alongside marinara sauce.
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 4
Calories 362kcal
Author Alyssa

Ingredients

  • 16 oz ground turkey
  • 1/2 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
  • 1/4 cup grated onion
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp dried basil
  • 1/2 tsp dried oregano
  • 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper, optional

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray a large rimmed baking sheet generously with cooking spray.
  • Add all ingredients to a large mixing bowl and stir or mix until just combined. I like to put on a pair of disposable gloves and mix everything with my hands.
  • Using a 1 1/2-tbsp cookie scoop, form meatballs and place evenly spaced on the greased baking sheet.
  • Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the centers reach 165°F (fully cooked).

Nutrition

Calories: 362kcal | Carbohydrates: 12.4g | Protein: 40.7g | Fat: 18.5g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 208mg | Sodium: 839mg | Potassium: 408mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1.4g | Calcium: 160mg | Iron: 3.6mg

Nutritional information is provided as an estimate. As it can vary due to many factors (brands used, quantities, etc.), we cannot guarantee its accuracy.

Tagged With: Italian, Italian meatballs, meatballs, turkey

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Comments

  1. Linda says

    December 7, 2019 at 6:48 pm

    I made them yesterday I had no parsley so I used everything else and then I over baked them they were clearly over cooked and they were still amazing . I can’t wait to try it with parsley and the correct bake time. It was delicious.dont omit the pepper flakes they are just good not overwhelming. Also turkey has been on sale lately for about$2.50 a pound this is a great recipe thanks

    Reply
    • Alyssa says

      December 10, 2019 at 10:15 am

      So glad you liked them, Linda! Love a good sale on turkey…I always stock the freezer. 🙂

      Reply
  2. Colette D says

    June 25, 2019 at 1:07 pm

    i know this is way off point. But I would really love it if you didn’t use disposable gloves. Nothing is disposable. so bad for the environment. Just dig in and get dirty.

    Sorry about that. I’m just trying to spread the word.

    Meatballs are great.

    Reply
    • Alyssa says

      June 25, 2019 at 3:50 pm

      Hi Colette, thank you for this important reminder. I utilize many ‘green’ kitchen products and strategies, including bringing canvas grocery bags to the store, being mindful about food waste, recycling, reducing paper towel usage, glass storage containers, not using single-use cups/plates/flatware, etc., but I know we can always do more. I’m fairly tough on my hands and frequently have small cuts on my fingers, so to be cautious I do wear gloves when getting in there with raw poultry. Your comment prompted me to search on Amazon and I see a variety of biodegradable ‘disposable’ gloves that I wasn’t even aware existed. I will give them a try instead!

      Reply
  3. Betsyann F says

    June 8, 2019 at 6:21 am

    Taste absolutely great!! But why do my meatballs ooze when baking?

    Reply
    • Alyssa says

      June 8, 2019 at 8:56 am

      I’m so glad you like them! That ‘ooze’ is mostly coagulated protein and probably a little bit of fat, too. I notice it often with baked meatballs. After they bake I’ll pick them up from the baking sheet with tongs and leave the ‘ooze’ behind. Hope that’s helpful! 🙂

      Reply
  4. Lisa says

    May 30, 2019 at 6:13 pm

    Wow! These were amazing! I just substituted Mrs. Dash Italian seasoning because I didn’t have the other seasonings. Delish! My hubby hates ground turkey and he ate them! How many meatballs does your recipe make? I got 18!

    Reply
    • Alyssa says

      June 8, 2019 at 9:05 am

      Sorry for my late reply, Lisa, but so glad you liked them! Great tip on substituting Mrs. Dash. Funny thing is I always count my meatballs! I get around 18-19 usually, depending on how precise I measure. 🙂

      Reply
  5. Anna says

    January 22, 2019 at 10:37 am

    Made these with a great marinara and zoodle dish! They are amazing, so juicy and flavorful! Will totally be making these again

    Reply
    • Alyssa says

      January 22, 2019 at 10:16 pm

      So glad you like them! 🙂

      Reply
  6. Haven G Shaw says

    December 29, 2018 at 1:52 pm

    Don’t understand the high level of salt in the Nutrition Facts chart yet only 1/2 tsp in the recipe. Could this reflect salt in Parm cheese?

    Reply
    • Alyssa says

      December 29, 2018 at 2:40 pm

      Hi Haven, you’re correct, Parmesan definitely contributes to the sodium. So do the Italian seasoned breadcrumbs, though the amount of sodium will vary depending on the brand. To reduce the amount of sodium per serving, you can substitute an equal amount of panko breadcrumbs for the Italian seasoned ones. Then just bump up the seasonings to your taste.

      Reply

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My Sequined Life - easy, customizable recipes from my shiny and bright kitchen to yours
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