Turkey-Ricotta Meatballs
Updated Nov. 21, 2022

- Total Time
- 25 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 1pound ground turkey
- ½cup whole-milk ricotta
- ⅓cup finely grated Parmesan
- ½teaspoon red-pepper flakes or black pepper
- 1garlic clove, finely grated
- Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
- 1½tablespoons neutral oil (such as canola or grapeseed), plus more for your hands
- 3tablespoons unsalted butter, sliced
- 2sage sprigs, 1 rosemary sprig or ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 2garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
For the Meatballs
For the Herb-butter Sauce
Preparation
- Step 1
In a medium bowl, mix together the turkey, ricotta, Parmesan, red-pepper flakes, garlic and ½ teaspoon salt. Using oiled hands, roll into 12 meatballs, a heaping 2 tablespoons each.
- Step 2
In a large skillet, preferably cast-iron, heat the oil over medium. Add the meatballs and cook until browned on two sides, 4 to 6 minutes per side, lowering the heat as necessary if the meatballs are getting too dark.
- Step 3
Add the butter, sage and garlic. As the butter melts, tilt the skillet and baste the meatballs by spooning the butter over them. Flip the meatballs every so often and continue to baste until the butter is browned and nutty and the meatballs are cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes. Eat the meatballs with the butter spooned over top.
- You can also broil the meatballs in a greased, oven-safe skillet for 8 to 12 minutes, or roast at 425 degrees for 7 to 10 minutes, until browned on one side and nearly cooked through. Continue with step 3 on the stovetop.
Private Notes
Comments
There is a similar version of Julie Tirschen's turkey ricotta meatballs where you bake them--much easier to make sure they are fully cooked through. I think it's about 25 min in a 425 oven.
Easy and delicious meatballs. The leftovers made for a hearty chicken broth based soup. I sauteed an onion with sliced carrots and celery, added garlic then deglazed the pan with chicken stock. Add the meatballs and simmer until cooked through (or warmed up). Add spinach and parm at the end. You can add pasta or orzo to it as well. It's very hearty and yummy.
Okay, I confess. I only made the meatballs; the sauce didn't appeal to me. My husband declared them "excellent". Dropped in marinara sauce and served over mashed potatoes. Baked for 10 minutes prior to mixing with sauce. Leftovers will become meatball subs.
this is a staple recipe for our family. would change nothing about it.has anyone ever frozen the mb before cooking them? do they defrost well?
They smelled amazing and tasted pretty good but they were a disaster. Not sure what I did wrong. It was like cooking hashbrowns. Totally fell apart in the skillet and looked ridiculous.
If I could, I would give this a 6-star rating! Best turkey meatballs/burgers ever. Excellent texture and flavor, and the leftovers were almost as delicious eaten cold the next day as the perfect keto snack.