Turkey Meatballs in Tomato Sauce
- Total Time
- 50 minutes, plus chilling
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- ½cup grated Parmesan cheese, more for serving, if desired
- ½cup panko or other plain dried bread crumbs
- ¼cup minced onion
- ¼cup chopped chives or basil
- 2garlic cloves, grated on a microplane or minced
- 1½teaspoons kosher salt
- ½teaspoon black pepper
- ½teaspoon dried oregano
- Pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1½pounds ground turkey, very cold
- 1large egg, beaten
- 3tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, more as needed
- 3cups marinara sauce, more to taste
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
395 calories; 22 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 10 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 18 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 31 grams protein; 867 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
In a large bowl, combine cheese, bread crumbs, onion, chives, garlic, salt, pepper, oregano and red pepper flakes, if using, and mix well. Add turkey and egg and blend with your hands until well mixed. If you’ve got time, cover mixture and chill for an hour or up to 24 hours. These are easiest to form into balls while very cold. Form into 28 meatballs, each about 1¼-inches in diameter.
- Step 2
Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large sauté pan. When hot, add enough of the meatballs to fit in one layer without crowding, and brown on all sides, 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a plate, add another tablespoon of oil to pan and brown another layer of meatballs, transferring them to the plate as they brown. Repeat until all meatballs are browned, adding more oil to the pan as needed.
- Step 3
When meatballs are all browned, add marinara sauce to pan and bring to a simmer, scraping up the browned bits on the pan bottom. Return meatballs and their juices to pan, shake pan to cover the meatballs with sauce, and lower heat. Partly cover pan and simmer until the meatballs are cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes.
- Step 4
Serve hot, drizzled with more olive oil and sprinkled with more cheese, if you like.
Private Notes
Comments
I baked these for 20 min at 350 instead of frying. Perfect. Less mess, quick and easy, juicy and tasty.
You might want to try skipping the baking and just dropping them raw into the sauce. Cook for about 20 minutes or so, without touching them for the first 10 minutes. You may be surprised at how flavorful and tender they are without the bother of the extra step!
I make turkey meat balls all the time, I use 1 package of brown mushrooms put through food processor until grounded very fine. Best meat balls ever very light i bake them before putting them in sause freeze very well
Leaving this post for any other cooks who like me, are feeling a sense of failure after preparing this dish. Considering the magnitude of high marks for this recipe & a history of success with other NYT recipes, I can only conclude it was user error: my meatballs were mealy in texture & lacking in flavor.
I only had a lb of turkey, but kept most seasonings as written. I did sub minced shallots sauteed in olive oil because I hate raw onion taste and texture. Good idea! I baked the meatballs on a sheetpan oiled with EVO, and sprinkled some on top at 400 then 350. They take less time than one might think, so I will keep a closer eye on them next time. Nice meatball recipe and not too complicated.
When a recipe calls for kosher salt I’m not sure what amount to use. I understand the East Coast uses diamond kosher salt, which is not as strong as Morton Kosher salt that is on the West Coast. Does anyone have any additional information on this?