Turkey Meatballs in Tomato Sauce
Updated April 16, 2017
Craig Lee for The New York Times
- Total Time
- 50 minutes, plus chilling
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, more for serving, if desired
½ cup panko or other plain dried bread crumbs
¼ cup minced onion
¼ cup chopped chives or basil
2 garlic cloves, grated on a microplane or minced
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon dried oregano
Pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
1 ½ pounds ground turkey, very cold
1 large egg, beaten
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, more as needed
3 cups marinara sauce, more to taste
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 to 6 servings)
18 grams carbs; 120 milligrams cholesterol; 395 calories; 10 grams monosaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 22 grams fat; 3 grams fiber; 867 milligrams sodium; 31 grams protein; 7 grams sugar
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 1 ¼-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
Is it a quarter cup of the dried minced onion or 1/4 cup fresh onion?
I used 99% fat free ground chicken breast and it worked out fine. I decided to bake them in a 400 degree oven rather than pan fry them, as this is my usual practice when making meatballs. I also made them smaller because we have recently discovered that we really like mini meatballs. I then simmered them in a marinara sauce for about an hour. On their own they were a bit dry, but after simmering they were perfect and they added a rich complexity to my traditional marinara. Simple and delicious!
Made excellent meatball subs. I baked just under 20 minutes at 350 degrees and rewarmed the next day in sauce.