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Home · Recipes · 30-Minute Meals · Baked Turkey Meatballs

Published: Oct 10, 2023 by Kelly Anthony · Leave a CommentThis post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.

Baked Turkey Meatballs

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Comfort food has gone healthy and the results are incredibly delicious. Flavor is not a sacrifice we're willing to make, and these Baked Turkey Meatballs are the proof. They're satisfying and filling, tender and juicy, and oh-so-savory thanks to garlic, onion, and Parmesan cheese.

Baked Turkey Meatballs in a shallow, white bowl with a baguette in the background.

The prep only takes 15 minutes and you will love how versatile this meatball recipe is. Turkey is a great, lean alternative to ground beef, but you can easily substitute whatever ground meat you have on hand to work in this recipe. Ground beef or ground chicken works wonderfully in the place of turkey as well. For the moms on the go, we've got you covered with our 30-minute meals!

A close up of Turkey Meatballs in a white bowl. They are golden brown with chopped parsley sprinkled on top.

Serve these meatballs with marinara sauce over spaghetti or zucchini noodles, or over mashed potatoes with gravy and green beans on the side! However you prefer to serve them, you will find this to be a super handy, quick-fix protein option to have on hand! And if you love the leaner protein recipes, try our ground turkey tacos or stuffed bell peppers next! This recipe is foolproof for the kids, it is the perfect weeknight meal! For more kid-approved recipes, check out our Kid-friendly Recipes and add them to your weeknight line-up!

HOW TO MAKE TURKEY MEATBALLS

To kick off this easy Turkey Meatball recipe, you first want to preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and ready 2 rimmed baking sheets with nonstick aluminum foil (if you have 2, that is). The reason we call for 2 baking sheets is so that your turkey meatballs are not crammed together on one baking sheet. You want hot oven air to be able to circulate all the way around the meatballs so they can evenly cook and brown up beautifully!

If you only have 1 baking sheet, and it is not large enough to allow for space in between each meatball, no worries. You can most definitely still make this recipe! Just bake your Ground Turkey Meatballs in batches, and make sure you refrigerate any raw meatballs waiting on their turn in the oven!

Once your oven is heated and your pans are ready, mix up Italian bread crumbs, fresh chopped parsley, and milk in a large bowl. If you only have regular breadcrumbs, you can certainly use them in this recipe. And as far as the milk goes, you can use 2% or whole milk. This milk-breadcrumb mixture is what helps to keep your Turkey Meatballs tender and moist!

A fork being used to mix a combination of breadcrumbs, herbs, and milk.

You'll also add half of a yellow onion that has been finely minced, minced garlic, and grated Parmesan cheese. All of these ingredients add a ton of flavor to the meatballs!

A hand holding a small bowl of grated Parmesan cheese over a bowl of breadcrumbs and herbs.

The last of the ingredients going into your breadcrumb mixture is one large egg (which serves as the binder), salt, and pepper. If you like your meatballs spicy, feel free to add red pepper flakes as well! Give all of these ingredients a really good mix and then you'll add in 2 pounds of lean ground turkey.

A hand mixing ground turkey into the milk and breadcrumb mixture.

Mixing up Turkey Meatballs is about as simple as it gets when it comes to cooking! The hard part of working with ground turkey is the fact that it is somewhat sticky. But, not to worry! We have 2 great tips that'll help make easy work out of scooping and rolling Turkey Meatballs.

The first is to use a cookie scoop! Cookie scoops not only help to get the turkey out of the bowl and into your hands with literally no mess, but they also create perfect, evenly-sized meatballs all the way across the pan! If your meatballs are the same size, they are all going to cook in the same amount of time. Yes, please! The best cookie scoop for this task is one that holds right about 2 tablespoons.

A hand holding a cookie scoop full of Turkey Meatball mixture up to the camera, above a mixing bowl full of the mixture.

So that is our best tip for scooping the turkey mixture; now here's our best tip for rolling your meatballs. One way to work around sticky ground turkey is to slightly dampen your hands before rolling the meatballs. You don't want your hands dripping wet. Just damp enough so that they are moistened by water.

Two hands rolling a raw Turkey Meatball between them.

Scoop about 2 tablespoons of the meatball mixture and roll them with damp hands. Place the meatballs on the prepared baking sheets, spacing each meatball right about 1 inch apart. Then, lightly spritz the meatballs' top and sides with cooking spray. You can use an avocado, canola, or olive oil cooking spray.

An overhead view of uniform balls of the turkey mixture lined up on a foil-lined baking sheet.

Adding oil to the top and sides of the meatballs will help them brown up beautifully in the oven! Transfer the meatballs to the preheated oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the meatballs registers 165 degrees Fahrenheit. This is best determined by using an instant-read thermometer.

An overhead view of a single layer of Turkey Meatballs in a shallow white bowl with parsley sprinkled on top.

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An overhead view of a single layer of Turkey Meatballs in a shallow white bowl with parsley sprinkled on top.
Print Recipe
5 from 2 votes

Turkey Meatballs

Easy, healthy, high-protein, quick-fix, the list goes on! These Turkey Meatballs are about to become your new favorite recipe!
Prep Time20 minutes mins
Cook Time25 minutes mins
Total Time45 minutes mins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Turkey Meatballs
Servings: 4 Servings
Calories: 392kcal
Author: Kelly Anthony

Ingredients

  • ⅓ cup Italian breadcrumbs
  • ⅓ cup 2 % or whole milk
  • ½  yellow onion minced
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 tablespoons freshly minced parsley
  • ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese optional
  • 1 large egg slightly beaten
  • 1 ¼ teaspoons Kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 pounds ground turkey
  • Cooking spray (avocado, canola, or olive oil)

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 400° and have ready 2 rimmed baking sheets lined with nonstick aluminum foil. 
  • In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine bread crumbs and milk. Stir until the crumbs have absorbed the milk. Add the minced onion, garlic, parsley, Parmesan, egg, Kosher salt, and black pepper. Stir once more to thoroughly combine. Add the ground turkey and gently mix to combine.
  • With damp hands, roll about 2 tablespoons of the meatball mixture into a ball and place it on the baking sheet, placing each meatball at least 1" apart from the others. Lightly spritz the meatballs with cooking oil.
  • Bake for 25-30 minutes, until adequately cooked through. Allow to cool slightly, serve, and enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 392kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 135mg | Sodium: 757mg | Potassium: 525mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 221IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 113mg | Iron: 4mg

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I’m Kelly Anthony — a baker, home chef, and mom with a passion for food and an adoration for entertaining.

Comfort food is my specialty, and it is truly my pleasure to share these recipes with you. If you’d like to get to know me a little better, click here.

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