Meatballs with Ground Turkey (Gluten Free option)

I grew up in an Italian home where meatballs were the ultimate comfort food. Even after I moved away, I was always welcomed home with a fresh pot of meatballs on the stove. Friends and family all know and love the “famous” meatballs made by my parents. They were always a staple at holidays, wedding after-parties, graduations, showers, and other family get-togethers.

Healthy and Fresh Ingredients

This version is slightly different from their wonderful recipe. I swap out the traditional ground beef and pork sausage for ground turkey and chicken/turkey sausage to lighten things up a bit. Our favorite sausage is made fresh at Whole Foods. Trader Joe’s also makes a delicious chicken sausage.

This recipe also uses loads of chopped garlic, fresh basil, and fresh parsley as well as a good quality pecorino romano cheese. Breadcrumbs and eggs help hold things together. You can use regular breadcrumbs, gluten free breadcrumbs, or gluten free quick oats. We use gluten free breadcrumbs at our house. I like a mixture of gluten free panko and regular gluten free breadcrumbs. Keep in mind, the fresh herbs and chopped garlic really enhance the flavor, so don’t skimp here.

Cooking the Meatballs

After mixing the ingredients and rolling the meatballs, I like to bake them in the oven on large sheet pans. You can fit 24 meatballs per sheet pan, so the entire batch should fit on two sheet pans. While the meatballs are baking, I start the sauce. If you plan to place all of these meatballs in one pot, you will need a really large stockpot or dutch oven.

Add the pre-baked meatballs to the pot of sauce and allow them to finish cooking in the pot. Make sure you scrape all the oil and bits of meat off the sheet pans and add it to the sauce. You don’t want to lose any of those yummy bits! There is no doubt that the sauce itself gets it’s fantastic flavor from the meat.

Mangia!

This recipe is for a crowd. You can easily feed 12 people (assuming 3-4 meatballs per person) with 3 pounds of meat. I often make the entire recipe, even if I’m not feeding a crowd, so I can freeze half and use them another time! Make sure you cool them completely prior to freezing. I like to freeze them either on the sheet pan or a container where they cannot touch. Then I toss the meatballs into a ziploc. This helps prevent them from sticking to each other.

Meatballs

This recipe uses ground turkey, ground beef, and chicken/turkey sausage. I've also made these with just ground turkey, but I prefer the flavor with a bit of ground turkey/chicken sausage. Feel free to play with the ratios depending on what type of meat you have on hand.

I use Gluten Free Breadcrumbs, but you can also use regular breadcrumbs or GF Quick Oats if you prefer.

Each pound of meat makes approximately 10-12 large or 13-15 medium sized meatballs. You should be able to get 40-48 medium sized meatballs out of this recipe. If you prefer larger meatballs, this recipe makes approximately 30-36 meatballs. Feel free to scale as needed. I like to make the full recipe, then freeze half of the meatballs after they are baked in the oven (before they are added to the sauce).

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Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Servings 12

Ingredients

  

• 3-3½ pounds ground meat. 1 lb ground turkey, 1 pound ground beef, 1 ½ pound raw turkey/chicken sausage Take sausage out of casing. Can also use 2 pounds ground turkey and skip the ground beef.
• ¾ cup breadcrumbs (regular or gluten free). Can also an use gluten free quick oats. I like half panko half regular GF Breadcrumbs, but use what you have on hand. Italian seasoned or plain breadcrumbs can be used.
• 5 eggs
• ¾ cup romano cheese, grated
• 6 Tbsp garlic, chopped
• 6 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped or can sub 4 Tbsp pesto
• 3 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp additional Italian seasonings (eg dried basil and oregano). Feel free to add these if you used plain (unseasoned) breadcrumbs. Optional
• Olive oil for drizzling prior to baking

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Mix with clean hands.
• Spray sheet pans with an olive oil spray (or brush use two sheet pans for 48-50 meatballs.
• Drizzle with more olive oil prior to baking. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 12-15 minutes, then turn and cook another 7-10 minutes. You want them to start to brown during this process. You can also fry them in olive oil in a pan on the stove, but it's easier to bake them in the oven in you are making them for a crowd.
• If you are planning to set some of the meatballs aside to freeze, let them cool completely prior to adding to a ziplock or other container. I try to freeze them flat and not touching if possible.
• Add meatballs to the sauce and let them cook for a while in the sauce. I often let them cook for a minimum of 45 minutes to an hour on low or medium low ( a simmer). Stir and be careful not to let them burn. Enjoy!

Notes

Each pound of meat makes approximately 10-12 large or 13-15 medium sized meatballs. You should be able to get 40-48 medium sized meatballs out of this recipe. If you prefer larger meatballs, this recipe makes approximately 30-36 meatballs.

You can find my Traditional Italian Red Sauce at happyfoodbynancy.com.

Keyword gluten free, ground turkey, meatballs, turkey sausage

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