These Oven Baked Turkey Meatballs are easy to make and so delicious. Serve them for a quick weeknight meal or prep a batch to enjoy all week long.
30 minutes
Minimal prep
You’ll Learn: How to keep meatballs tender instead of tough
Worth It: It’s a satisfying, protein-forward option that actually keeps you full
Bonus: Great in pasta, sandwiches, salads, or straight from the fridge
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Easy and ready in 30 minutes – This meatball recipe is so easy to make and comes together in a half an hour!
- Great for meal prep – I love making a double batch of baked turkey meatballs to enjoy all week long for quick and easy lunches.
- Delicious high protein meal – Three meatballs will give you over 40 grams of protein! I love having these on hand in a pinch.
- Freezer friendly – Make extra meatballs and toss the leftovers in a freezer-safe container in the freezer for the next time you need an easy meal.
Serving Suggestions
I love enjoying these meatballs over pasta or in a sandwich with tomato sauce. You could even serve them over rice, or own their own with toothpicks as an appetizer. The leftovers are also great in salads! Make a dressing like my Greek yogurt dressing or mason jar dressing and serve these meatballs on a simple greens salad.
If you want a quick and easy green on the side, you could make air fryer asparagus or air fryer brussels sprouts.
Ingredients
- Yellow onion – the onion provides the base of flavor in your meatballs
- Olive oil – I used extra virgin olive oil to saute the onions, but you can use any neutral oil
- Ground turkey – I recommend using 93/7 lean ground turkey so there is enough fat to keep your meatballs tender
- Egg – use a large egg to bind the turkey meatball mixture together.
- Grated parmesan cheese – freshly grated parmesan cheese is best for melting into your meatballs
- Bread crumbs – plain panko breadcrumbs add texture to the ground meat and help keep these meatballs tender. I recommend using plain so you can control the amount of seasoning
- Kosher salt – just a teaspoon of salt makes a big difference in enhancing the flavor of your meatballs
- Italian seasoning – I use pre-made seasoning, but you can make your own mix of oregano, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, onion powder, rosemary, parsley, black pepper, or anything else you would like!
Ingredient substitutions
It is very easy to make this meatball recipe gluten-free. Use gluten-free panko instead of bread crumbs.
If you do not have ground turkey, you can also use ground chicken or ground beef for this baked meatball recipe.
I only used dried herbs, but you can feel free to add fresh herbs like chopped fresh basil or parsley. You could also add minced garlic cloves with your onions, but I personally don’t find you need them. Plus, it makes for less chopping!
How to make
Step 1: Make the meatballs
Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium low. Add diced onion to warm oil and saute until soft and translucent – about 5-7 minutes (Image 1).
Add ground turkey to a large bowl with the egg, grated parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs, salt, italian seasoning and sauted onions (Image 2).
Mix everything together until just combined – be careful not to overmix because that will result in tough meatballs.
Step 2: Bake the meatballs
Using a spoon or cookie scoop, scoop ¼ cup of meat mixture onto the lined baking sheet (Image 3). You should have about 10 meatballs total. Using wet hands. Roll the meatballs with damp hands into smooth balls.
Bake at 350F for a total time of 20 minutes (Image 4). Serve with warm marinara sauce.
Storage and Freezing
Once prepared, allow the meatballs to cool completely and transfer to an airtight container. Then, store the meatballs in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
To reheat, take the leftover out of the fridge and reheat in an oven, toaster oven, or in microwave. It sometimes helps to slice the meatballs before reheating to make sure they heat all the way through.
Check out these other meatball recipes
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!
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!
Email Recipe for Later
Recipe
Oven Baked Turkey Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 yellow onion finely diced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1 egg
- ⅓ cup parmesan cheese grated
- ¼ cup breadcrumbs
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp italian seasoning
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium low. Add diced onion to warm oil and saute until soft and translucent – about 5-7 minutes.
- Add ground turkey to a large mixing bowl with the egg, grated parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs, salt, italian seasoning and sauted onions.
- Mix everything together until just combined – be careful not to overmix because that will result in tough meatballs.
- Using a spoon or cookie scoop, scoop ¼ cup of meatball mixture onto the lined baking sheet. You should have about 10 meatballs total. Using wet hands. Roll the meatballs with damp hands into smooth balls.
- Bake at 350F for 20 minutes. Serve with warm marinara sauce.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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