Four ingredients and about half an hour--you have yourself a tasty batch of Italian turkey meatballs that are great on a toasted Italian roll, over some spaghetti or linguine, or just on their own!
Although my family tree is a little cloudy here and there, there's one thing for certain...I'm a little Italian. Does the percentage of Italian have to matter when it comes to food?
My sisters and I grew up making sauce (or 'gravy') with my dad every couple of months. It was my grandma's recipe that we're pretty sure she got from an Italian restaurant. Although she was mostly Irish, her husband was Italian, so I think that makes her sauce authentically Italian. If not, oh well. It's a delicious sauce that stirs up all sorts of memories for me. I'll try to keep the cooking jokes to a minimum.
During my dad's quarterly sauce making session, us kids would always get summoned into the kitchen to help him with the meatball task. Was it a little unethical to put kids to work making dozens of these? I'm not sure. In all honesty, I loved being a part of the cooking process and that was why I welcomed the task with open arms!
My dad would open up what seemed like countless packages of ground beef, crack a few eggs straight into the beef mountain, and unload a bunch of Italian style breadcrumbs into the mixture and then mix it all up with his hands.
After it was all mixed up, he called us kids to the table. Grab a handful of meat and roll it into a ball, kind of like a snowball. Pack it tightly enough so it won't fall apart. Done and done. After the meatball passed inspection, we would place it on a cookie sheet that would then be transferred to the big sauce cauldron to cook.
As much as I love love love my dad's recipe, it just isn't feasible for me to make that large of a quantity of sauce at this time in my life. So, I did what I thought would work. For health, I chose ground turkey, and for convenience sake I chose to use my trusty sauté pan to sear the meatballs and then finish them off in the oven.
Four ingredients and about half an hour--you have yourself a tasty batch that are great on toasted Italian rolls, over some spaghetti or linguine, or just on their own!
These are my boyfriend's favorite meal I have cooked (as far as he has let me know) and I'm okay with it because they are so simple to prepare! They're perfect for when you want something quick and easy but also a little hearty and delicious. Round up some ground turkey, an egg, Italian-style breadcrumbs and some olive oil and let me know how much you love meatballs!
What's your favorite thing to cook with family? Let me know in the comments!
Italian Turkey Meatballs
Four ingredients and about half an hour--you have yourself a tasty batch of meatballs that are great on a toasted Italian roll, over some spaghetti or linguine, or just on their own!
Ingredients
- 1.5 lb lean ground turkey
- 1 whole egg
- ½-3/4 cup Italian style breadcrumbs
- Parmesan cheese, optional
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Combine all ingredients on a plate. You could use a spoon, but using your hands is the preferred method here.
- After adding enough breadcrumbs to reach desired consistency, scoop with your hands and roll into balls. Try to keep them all one size so they all cook evenly.
- Drizzle a saute pan with olive oil and heat over medium high heat. Place raw meatballs in the pan.
- Sear bottoms, about 2 minutes. Turn over with tongs and sear other side for another 2 minutes.
- Remove from stovetop and cook in preheated oven for about 10 minutes. Cut the largest meatball in half to check for doneness. Once the center is no longer pink, take meatballs out of the oven and let cool slightly.
- Add meatballs to your pasta of choice or atop a toasted Italian roll.
- *Although I have never personally frozen these meatballs (they go that fast here), freeze a single layer on a baking sheet. Once frozen, transfer to a freezer safe bag or container.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 20 Serving Size: 1 gramsAmount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g
Check out some more of my main dish recipes!
Kathy @ Beyond the Chicken Coop
Glad you got all that meatball rolling experience as a kid! It gave you the necessary skills to make these meatballs! These look great!
Jessica
Thank you, Kathy! Rolling meatballs (or dough...anything really) is therapeutic for me. It's great because I get stress relief and then a tasty dinner!