These tender, moist turkey meatballs do not last long in our kitchen. The moment one of us turns away the other quickly sneaks a meatball and before we know it, all that’s left is an empty pan. The sauce is very simple with crushed canned tomatoes, a little tomato paste and fresh basil. The meatballs are filled with parmesan cheese, parsley and a little oregano. We love these served alone with a dollop of ricotta cheese, over spaghetti or with rustic bread.
Make This Tonight – Tasty Turkey Meatballs Recipe
No lengthy cooking times, no baking and no searing the meatballs. Instead, we start a very simple sauce, bring it to a simmer then focus on forming our meatballs. The moment they’re formed into balls, we drop them into the simmering sauce. Cover and cook for 25 minutes. That’s it.
It’s quick, it’s easy and it’s absolutely delicious.
Tricks to the Best Meatballs – Don’t Over Mix
We’re serious on this one. For the most tender and light meatballs (turkey or beef) you need to have a light touch when mixing and forming. To help with this, we have a couple tricks:
First, combine all the mix-ins first. You’ll see that in our recipe we mix breadcrumbs, milk, an egg and herbs together first. That way, when we add the turkey meat, all we need to do is lightly mix.
Second, these meatballs are pretty wet, so they easily stick together when forming. All you need to do is gently form into a ball. From there, just be careful when working with them. For the first 10 minutes of cooking, don’t stir the sauce and let the meatballs be. Once they’ve cooked and firmed up a bit, you can stir normally.
Did you like our Turkey Meatballs Recipe with Light Tomato Sauce? If so, we bet you’ll love these:
- Cheesy Sausage and Beef Lasagna Recipe from Inspired Taste
- Crockpot Italian Turkey Meatballs Recipe from Skinneytaste
- Easy Crockpot Quinoa Turkey Meatballs Recipe from How Sweet It Is
- Easy Baked Ziti with Spinach from Inspired Taste
Make and enjoy the same day or cool to room temperature cover then keep up to 2 days in the refrigerator. You can also freeze up to 1 month.
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- Two 28-ounce cans crushed tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 large basil sprig plus 2 tablespoons torn basil leaves
- 1/2 cup (30 grams) panko bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup (118 ml) milk
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup (28 grams) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 pound (453 grams) ground turkey (93% lean)
- In a large skillet with sides, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add minced garlic and red pepper flakes then cook 30 seconds to 1 minute until fragrant.
- Stir in tomatoes and tomato paste then bring to a simmer. Season with salt (we used about 1/2 teaspoon), and then add basil spring. Allow sauce to simmer gently while preparing meatballs.
- To make meatballs, combine panko breadcrumbs and milk in a large bowl, and then let sit 5 minutes.
- Add egg, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, parsley, oregano and salt to bowl. Stir until combined.
- Next, add turkey then use a fork or fingers to mix everything together until barely combined. For tender meatballs, try not to over mix.
- Wet your hands and form mixture into 1-inch meatballs. This should make about 24 meatballs.
- Gently drop meatballs into tomato sauce. (It’s okay if some are not completely covered by the sauce). Cover skillet with a lid and cook 20 minutes then gently shimmy or shake the skillet to move the meatballs around a little. Cook another 5 to 10 minutes or until turkey is cooked through.
- Before serving, scatter about 2 tablespoons of torn basil leaves over meatballs and sauce.
- Serve alone, over spaghetti or with rustic bread.
About the Author
Joanne
I'm Joanne Gallagher and alongside my husband, Adam, I develop, test and share favorite recipes from our kitchen. I'm completely in love with food and you'll most likely find me covered in flour, chocolate or both.
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Ohmyguuuuuuuuuuuuuuudness.
turkey is such an undervalued meat. I made meatballs this christmas with a whole load of left over turkey meat and they are delicious. I’ve frozen mine without sauce and heat them up in something like your light tomato sauce for a quick and easy supper!
Click and print. I’m always looking for new recipes with turkey. Comfort and #manfood! Bonus.
I’m back. I actually made this last night, because I had all the ingredients except the turkey. Sprinted to the meat market for that! Mr. G honey gave it a full compliment of stars. The meatballs are moist. The sauce is flavorful. The red pepper flakes give it a nice little kick. I didn’t have any fresh herbs, so I used dried. Worked just fine. The next time I make this, I want to try to simmer the sauce down a little bit more so that I can have a meatball sandwich the next day. Double yum.
Mouthwatering pictures and the recipe sounds just fabulous! Thank you for sharing!
I made these meatballs last night and received a 5 star rating from my husband. They were very easy to make and I already had many of the ingredients on hand. I used lean turkey breast so not only were they tasty, but they were healthy as well. Although these can be served alone, I added them to spaghetti.
The recipe says not to worry about covering the meatballs with sauce and this is true. As they cook the sauce kind of bubbles up over the meatballs. After about 15 minutes I moved the meatballs around a little in the pan with no problem.
I will definitely make these again. Thanks!
Made this meatballs for a pot luck today, and they were a big hit. So light and tasty. I will make them again and again.