Air Fryer Turkey Meatballs
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
Make these Air Fryer Turkey Meatballs for an easy 30 minute meal. Toss the air fryer meatballs in some marinara sauce and serve over your favorite pasta!
Make Quick and Delicious Weeknight meatballs in your air fryer
Sometimes all I want is meatballs and pasta but the idea of making meatballs on a weeknight can feel daunting, you know? This air fryer turkey meatballs recipe is here for the craving rescue.
These air fryer meatballs come together quickly and cook super fast in the air fryer. The convection aspect of the air fryer makes the consistency amazing.
Get delicious and tender ground turkey meatballs in less than 30 minutes and then serve them however your family likes. The obvious choice is to toss them in some tomato sauce and serve with pasta and fresh basil, but there are truly so many ways to enjoy them.
Kitchen Tools
- Measuring spoons and measuring cups
- Liquid measuring cup
- Large mixing bowl
- 2 tbsp cookie scoop
- Air fryer
How to serve
Once prepared there are many ways to serve air fryer meatballs. I like to warm jarred marinara sauce on the stove and toss the air fryer turkey meatballs in it.
Then I spoon the meatballs and sauce over cooked pasta. My go-to pasta shape lately is rigatoni, but any shape works!
For a low carb or keto meal you can substitute pasta with some zoodles (zucchini noodles) or serve them over a cooked spaghetti squash. You can even serve them over a bed of cauliflower rice!
These air fryer meatballs are ideal for making meatball subs. They are medium in size and extremely tender.
I like to toast small rolls in butter and then line them with marinara, meatballs and slices of mozzarella cheese. Then, I warm them under the oven broiler to melt the mozzarella cheese.
You can also serve these turkey meatballs as an appetizer. Roll 1 tbsp of mixture into balls and cook for just 9 minutes. Pop a toothpick into the top of each meatball and serve with your sauce of choice.
Air Fryer Turkey Meatball Ingredients
- Ground turkey (dark meat ground turkey preferred)
- Panko bread crumbs
- Egg
- Grated parmesan cheese
- Oregano
- Garlic powder
- Kosher Salt
- Black pepper
- Crushed red pepper (optional)
Is ground turkey healthier than ground beef?
Ground turkey has less fat than ground beef. This makes it a better option for those trying to cut down on the amount of fat that they consume.
The good news is that if you follow this recipe, your ground turkey meatballs will have just as much flavor as ground beef meatballs.
How do you keep turkey meatballs from falling apart?
Sometimes it can be hard to keep meatballs in the proper shape. I recommend using the combination of an egg, grated parmesan cheese, and panko breadcrumbs for the perfect glue to keep the meatballs together.
To make tender and flavorful turkey meatballs in the air fryer it is important to use dark meat ground turkey. Lean white meat ground turkey will result in dryer and less flavorful meatballs. I like to look for the 94% lean and 6% fat label at the grocery store.
It is also important to not over mix the meatball mixture. You may be tempted to do this, but over mixed ground meat can result in tough and chewy meatballs.
ingredient substitutions
You can make these with any type of ground meat you like best or have on hand. These air fryer meatballs are great with ground chicken, ground beef, ground pork or even a blend of meats.
You can make vegetarian air fryer meatballs by replacing the ground turkey with a plant based ground meat. If you are dairy free, you can try a dairy free version of grated parmesan or replace it with some nutritional yeast.
To make this recipe gluten free you can use a gluten free panko breadcrumb mixture. You can also make these air fryer meatballs keto friendly by replacing the breadcrumbs with pork panko or finely ground pork rinds.
I made my own seasoning blend by combining salt, pepper, oregano, garlic powder and crushed red pepper. You can use the same blend or use any Italian seasoning blend you have.
How to make air fryer turkey meatballs
Step 1: prepare Ingredients
Measure out the panko bread crumbs, grated parmesan cheese, and spices. Get the egg and ground turkey out of the fridge.
Step 2: Mix the meatballs
Add the ground turkey, bread crumbs, egg, parmesan cheese, oregano, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper into a large bowl. Mix the ingredients together gently with a spoon or your hands until a smooth, even mixture remains.
Be careful not to overmix as this causes tougher meatballs!
Step 3: Prep the air fryer and meatballs
Spray the air fryer basket with non-stick spray and preheat the air fryer to 350F.
Use a 2 tbsp scoop to scoop out 12 meatballs. If you do not have a 2 tbsp scoop, use any kind of measuring device to make even sized meatballs.
Using wet hands, roll the meatballs into tight balls. Then, arrange them on the air fryer basket in an single layer.
Step 4: Air Fry the meatballs
Once the air fryer is warm, place the basket inside and the meatballs in the air fryer at 350F for 14 minutes. The meatballs will be cooked through when the internal temperature reaches 165F.
Can i make these in the oven?
If you do not have an air fryer, you can prepare these turkey meatballs in the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Arrange the meatballs in a single layer on the baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes.
Storage, Reheating and freezing
Allow the meatballs to cool completely. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Reheat in the air fryer at 350F for about 5-10 minutes, or until warmed thorugh.
Make a batch or a double batch of these air fryer meatballs and freeze them for later. Place the cooked meatballs in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. Allow the meatballs to defrost and reheat in marinara sauce on the stovetop.
Check out these other simple meatball Recipes
- Cast Iron Meatballs
- Pesto Turkey Meatballs
- Sweet and Sour Chicken Meatballs
- Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken Meatballs
- Easy Instant Pot Meatballs
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
Air Fryer Turkey Meatballs
Make tender and delicious air fryer turkey meatballs in less than 30 minutes!
Ingredients
- 1lb ground turkey (I like to use dark meat ground turkey)
- 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper (omit if you don’t like spice)
Instructions
- Pour ground turkey, bread crumbs, egg, parmesan cheese, oregano, garlic powder, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper into a large mixing bowl. Mix together with a spoon or your hands until a smooth, even mixture remains.
- Spray air fryer basket with non stick spray. Use a 2tbsp scoop to scoop out 12 meatballs. Roll them into tight balls with wet hands and arrange on the air fryer basket.
- Preheat your air fryer to 350F. When the air fryer is warm, place the basket inside and cook at 350F for 14 minutes or until the internal temp of the meatballs reaches 165F.
** To serve I like to heat a jar of marinara sauce over med-low heat on the stove. Then, I toss the meatballs in the sauce and serve over pasta!
Julie Shranko says
Made these last night and they are AWESOME! Can’t wait for the leftovers tonight. Thanks for another great recipe!
★★★★★
Madeline says
awesome thanks Julie!
Melissa D says
These are so easy and flavorful! I will never buy frozen meatballs again now that I have this recipe saved. I have been making it on Sunday afternoons and then using them for pasta meals that night or even Monday night when I’m tired from work and half of dinner is already made 😉
★★★★★
Madeline says
wonderful!! thank you so much!!!
Carol Lunger says
I made these meatballs last night in my air fryer, and they were delicious! So easy to make and clean up super quick.
Madeline says
thanks Carol!
Carol Lunger says
Sorry forgot to give it the rating!
★★★★★
Maureen says
I just pulled these out of the oven and they are DELICIOUS!! SO dang easy to make. Bonus is that I used a thing of ground turkey from Costco so that I could prep a bunch for the freezer. Definitely an easy weeknight meatball recipe for a quick dinner
★★★★★
Madeline says
that’s a great idea! thanks Maureen!
Stephanie R. Katz says
These were delish, very tasty seasonings! I made them with nutritional yeast instead of cheese and was very pleased. Very quick meal in the air fryer. Can’t wait to have them again.
★★★★★
Madeline says
great to know that works well! thanks Stephanie!
Olivia says
Made these for dinner tonight and we loved them!
Madeline says
thanks Olivia!
Cailin says
Holy cow these were amazing! I loved the crispy exterior from the air fryer. I used dairy free parm and gluten free breadcrumbs. Usually making meatballs is so messy and time consuming that I never make a recipe twice but these are going into our regular rotation!
★★★★★
Katie Parides says
I’ve made these twice so far, super easy and tasty. I made these as part of my postpartum prep and reheated very well!
My air fryer baskets are kind of small so I made in oven in convection mode, worked great.
★★★★★
Madeline says
That’s great! These meatballs are perfect for meal prepping. I am glad you were able to improvise and use your oven.
Melissa Wood says
These were absolutely delicious and easy. This recipe is going into my usual recipe rotation!
★★★★★
Madeline says
Woohoo! Thanks, Melissa!
adelaide says
made these for my parents and they were a huge hit! the portion size was perfect for the group and it was delicious!
★★★★★
Madeline says
Yay!! Thanks so much!