I had these Turkey Meatballs in my fridge the other day and my 18 year old daughter said, “What are those? I ate them last night!”… I said “Turkey Meatballs”… She said “Those are fire! I ate them with Chick-fil-a sauce”. And that, my friend, is how you know these are really really good turkey meatballs!
There are three secrets that make THESE Turkey Meatballs so good. One is to add raw garlic cloves for flavor. Two, start the recipe with a panade that includes a little extra virgin olive oil, which keeps them moist and tender and helps them brown a little in the oven. Three is to add coarse ground parmesan which gives the meatballs little pockets of parmesan goodness.
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Ingredient Details
Ground Turkey – make sure you use a 93/7 ground turkey. It has enough fat to be flavorful and stay juicy. The 99% lean ground turkey should be avoided if possible.
Panko Bread Crumbs – these are a coarser bread crumb than traditional bread crumbs. They are the perfect base for the panade.
Milk – this is part of the liquid in the panade. You can use any kind of milk.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil – the “extra virgin” is the olive oil with flavor. If you don’t have evoo, you can use olive oil. This is the other liquid in the panade and helps the meatballs stay moist and it helps give them a golden baked appearance.
Egg – the egg helps bind the turkey meatballs together so they don’t fall apart when they bake.
Parmesan – use a flavorful parmesan cheese. I recommend that you coarsely grind the parmesan to give you little pockets of parm throughout the meatballs. I cut my parm into chunks and then pulse it in a blender until it resembles small gravel. See the photo below:
Garlic – 2 raw garlic cloves chopped and added to the meatball mixture adds a TON OF FLAVOR!!
Onion Powder – I tested this recipe without the onion powder… and once I added it, it took the meatballs over the top!
How To Make Meatballs with Ground Turkey
Step 1
Mix the panade – panko, egg, milk, oil. Let sit for a few mins.
Step 2
Add in the parmesan, garlic, salt and onion powder. Give it a stir. Then mix in the ground turkey.
Step 3
Form the meatballs, you will have about 16-18 meatballs if you make them around 2 tablespoon each.
Step 4
Bake at 400°F for 20 minutes. Then broil for a minute or two.
Tips & Tools For The Best Meatballs
Everything you need to know to ALWAYS make the best meatballs!
Serving
However you serve a Classic Italian Meatball.. you can serve these Ground Turkey Meatballs. But here are some of our favorite ways:
- Spaghetti and Meatballs
- Meatball Subs
- Use them straight out of the freezer for IP Spaghetti and Meatballs
- Make a turkey gravy, eat them on mashed potatoes with gravy over top.
- OUR FAVORITE: eat them like a chicken nugget, dipped in your favorite sauce. We love Chick-fil-a sauce or honey mustard!!
Storing Turkey Meatballs
Leftover Baked Turkey Meatballs store perfectly in the fridge, in a covered container, for up to 5 days. Reheat portions in the microwave for about 45 seconds.
You can also freeze the Turkey Meatballs, I have some in my freezer right now!! They will keep for up to 3 months in the freezer. Thaw them in the fridge overnight and then warm in the oven or microwave for serving.
Or use your Frozen Meatballs right out of the freezer in this recipe:
Instant Pot Spaghetti & Frozen Meatballs
More Meatball Recipes
We are HUGE meatball fans around here… there is a whole category page devoted to Meatball Recipes on Mom’s Dinner. Here are a few you should check out next time you want to serve meatballs!
Turkey Meatball Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground turkey - 93/7
- ½ cup Panko bread crumbs
- 1 Egg
- ¼ cup milk
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup parmesan cheese - coarsely ground
- 2 cloves garlic - minced
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- non-stick or olive oil spray
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F, line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper, spray with nonstick spray.
- In a bowl combine the panko, egg, extra virgin olive oil, and milk. Let it sit for a few minutes so the bread crumbs soak in some of the liquid.½ cup Panko bread crumbs, 1 Egg, ¼ cup milk, 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- Add in the parmesan, garlic, onion powder and kosher salt. Mix to combine.½ cup parmesan cheese, 2 cloves garlic, ¾ teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon onion powder
- Finally add in the ground turkey and with clean hands or a fork mix everything together. Avoid overmixing, just mix until there are no large clumps of panade.1 lb ground turkey
- Portion out the turkey meatballs into about 2 tablespoon portions onto the prepared pan, a 1.5-2 tablespoon scoop can make really quick work of this.
- Then roll the meatballs into nice balls. Mom's Tip: The turkey is a little sticky, but if you slightly wet your hands it will make it less messy.
- Lightly spritz the tops of the meatballs with a little non stick spray.
- Bake for 20 minutes, then turn on the broiler for about 2 minutes to help make the tops golden.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for about 5 mins.
- Serve over spaghetti, in a meatball sub, or with a dipping sauce (we LOVE these with some Chick-fil-a dipping sauce!!!).
Recipe Tips and Notes:
- Use 93/7 ground turkey, avoid the 99% fat free ground turkey.
- Coarsely grind the parmesan cheese to get little pockets of parm!
- Bake the meatballs on parchment so they get nice and golden on the bottom.
- Spritz the tops of the turkey meatballs a little non-stick spray to help them get golden in the oven.
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