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Baked Turkey Meatballs are tender, juicy, and perfectly seasoned. They’re made with simple ingredients but big on flavor! These homemade meatballs are easy to make and healthy for the whole family!
We love meatballs at our house! There are so many tasty versions that it’s hard to pick just one! I have some family favorites that you need to try. Swedish Meatballs are always requested, and my kids always beg for these fun Porcupine Meatballs. But if you’re looking for the perfect appetizer to serve at your next party, these Grape Jelly Meatballs are a MUST!
Reasons to Love This Recipe
- Quick and Easy Dinner: These baked turkey meatballs are a quick and easy weeknight dinner! They only take 10 minutes to prep and 20 minutes to bake. Dinner will be ready in 30 minutes!
- Versatile: Turkey meatballs can served in so many different ways. Switch up the seasonings any way you like, or smother them with any flavor of sauce. Enjoy them in a sandwich, or on top of rice, pasta, or mashed potatoes!
- Healthy Alternative: Ground turkey is a healthy option for homemade meatballs. The result is fewer calories, lots of protein, and less fat than ground beef.
A Reader’s Review
5 starsLove these meatballs! It’s become my go-to recipe. Never dry…which is always my problem with ground turkey.
The Best Baked Turkey Meatballs
Everyone loves to eat meatballs, especially kids. These baked turkey meatballs are an easy winner for dinner and will be a new family favorite! The ground turkey bakes up so juicy and tender that you won’t believe it’s ground turkey. My recipe is perfectly seasoned with onion, garlic, and Italian breadcrumbs. The texture and moisture in these baked turkey meatballs will blow your mind! You’ll devour every bite and wish you had leftovers!
These baked meatballs are amazing all on their own. Place them on a mound of noodles and smothered in one of these incredible sauces and they will be divine. Try them with my Basil Pesto Sauce, this easy Marinara Sauce, or this delicious Homemade Alfredo Sauce. It’s the perfect meatball recipe for anything!
Ground Turkey vs Ground Beef
Which one is better for you? Both turkey and beef are great sources of protein with a variety of vitamins and minerals. Turkey is generally lower in saturated fat than beef and so is a better choice for heart health. All of the health benefits of depend on the cut and quality of turkey and beef, but ground turkey is generally a healthier option.
Ingredients for Turkey Meatballs
These baked turkey meatballs use simple ingredients that you may already have on hand. Ground turkey is easy to find at any store and is a healthy alternative to beef. Your family will love these meatballs so much that they won’t even miss the beef!
- Ground Turkey: This can be found near the ground beef.
- Italian Bread Crumbs: I love that these bread crumbs are already seasoned.
- Onion: Dice one small onion.
- Eggs: The eggs act as a binder.
- Milk: Adds a bit of moisture and helps keep it all together.
- Garlic: Minced or finely chopped.
- Salt and Pepper: Season to taste
How to Make Baked Turkey Meatballs
These turkey meatballs are super easy to throw together. Roll them up and bake them for juicy perfection. They are so good and a healthier alternative to beef meatballs. You’ll want to keep them in a regular rotation for weeknight dinners!
- Combine Ingredients: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a medium baking dish with non-stick spray and set aside. Combine all of the meatball ingredients into a medium bowl.
- Mix: Mix together until incorporated.
- Roll: Roll the mixture into 1 ½-2-inch balls and place in the prepared baking dish.
- Bake: Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the internal temperature of the meatballs reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit and the tops are lightly browned.
Tips For Moist Baked Turkey Meatballs
I have lots of good tips to help you achieve perfectly moist and delicious turkey meatballs. It’s so easy to make homemade meatballs and this ground turkey version is the BEST!
- Moisture: Turkey is leaner than beef so can dry out quickly. If you find your meatballs are too dry add a tablespoon of olive oil to the mixture. Overcooking the meatballs can also dry them out, so be sure to remove them from the oven once they reach 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Chopping: I love to throw the onion and garlic into a small food processor and pulse it several times. This is a quick way to mince them up and make them easy to add to the meatball mixture.
- Breadcrumbs: Instead of Italian breadcrumbs, you can substitute plain breadcrumbs and add 1 tablespoon of Italian seasoning. Panko breadcrumbs can also be used!
- Uniform Size: Keep the meatballs the same size as much as possible. This will ensure that they cook at the same rate and some won’t be underdone or overdone. You can use a cookie scoop or a kitchen scale to help keep them uniform.
- Don’t Overmix: This can cause the meatball mixture to break down and become tough. It can also make the meatballs hard to form and turn them into meat patties instead of meatballs.
- Flavor Variations: There are many ways to make these meatballs sing with even more flavor if you wish. Add a couple of teaspoons of finely chopped fresh herbs, ⅓-½ cup of parmesan or other grated cheese, or a dash or two of spices that will complement your dish. They are so easy to customize and make how you wish.
Storing Leftover Baked Turkey Meatballs
These baked turkey meatballs are so easy to store and freeze for a later time. I love to make a double batch and freeze the leftovers for busy weeknights.
- In the Refrigerator: Store leftovers in an airtight container or sealable zip lock bag. Refrigerate for up to 5 days.
- To Reheat: Reheat them in the microwave for a few minutes in the microwave until warmed through. You can also reheat them in the air fryer at 390 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In the Freezer: Allow the cooked meatballs to cool to room temperature. Place on a cookie tray and cover loosely with plastic wrap then freeze for 2 hours. Transfer the partially frozen meatballs to a freezer-safe gallon zip lock bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator or warm them straight from the freezer in the microwave at 50% power till heated through.
More Meatball Recipes to Love
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Baked Turkey Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 cup Italian breadcrumbs
- 1 small onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup milk
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a medium baking dish with pan spray and set aside.
- Mix 1 pound ground turkey, 1 cup Italian breadcrumbs, 1 small onion, diced 3 cloves garlic, minced, 2 large eggs, ¼ cup milk, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper in a medium bowl until everything is incorporated. Roll the mixture into 1 ½-2-inch balls and place in the prepared baking dish.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the internal temperature of the meatballs reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit and the tops are lightly browned.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I have made these meatballs so many times! Definitely a family favorite. The only thing I do differently is use 1 cup of Stove Top stuffing (dry) instead of the bread crumbs. I also do that with meatloaf. It always turns out great, so thank you for a fabulous recipe!
That’s such a fun twist! Thank you for sharing, I really appreciate you taking the time to comment and review!
Love this recipe easy and a favorite of my family.
I’m so glad you love it! Thanks for the comment and review, it means a lot to me!
We cooked the baked turkey meatball recipe on Sunday. It was very good, however we changed to plane bread crumbs and added Italian seasoning and used lite salt due to me needing to reduce sodium. We liked it so well we ordered your book from amazon and received today. a warehouse is close to us.
Thank you for sending us some of your recipes. we will be using them more often. The meatballs were at least 5 Stars.
Awww, your words absolutely made my day! Thank you for trying my recipes, getting my cook book, and taking the time to leave a comment! It means the world to me!
The texture of these was great. Used 85/15 ground turkey and they were juicy, not dry like turkey often is. However, I followed the recipe as closely as I could, and I think that the salt could easily be doubled to compensate for the natural sweetness the meat and onions have. I would also recommend some red pepper flake or parmesan for the same reason – these were just weirdly sweet when paired with spaghetti.
Looking forward to re-making these with some adjustments, as I think the bones of this recipe are very good.
This is so good it’s become a weekly dinner here.
During Thanksgiving I had lots of Turkey Bones (because everyone knows I like to make homemade broth and soup so I was “gifted” lots of bones) But somehow I ended up with several quarts of broth but no leftover turkey. I frozen the broth after Thanksgiving. Now it’s the New Year and I have all this turkey broth in my freezer. I decided to make Turkey Meatball soup since it is easy to find ground turkey. I made several pounds of Alyssa River’s turkey meatball recipe. WOW it is awesome!! I am over the moon that a turkey meatball can taste so yummy! My turkey broth along with the turkey meatball recipe will provide lots of dinners!
These were really good, the only thing I changed was I sautéed the garlic and onion a little before adding to the meat. My kids even loved them! Definitely making again and they were so quick and easy.
To get in some extra veggies, I buy the pre diced box of carrots, onions, and celery and add that instead of just onion.
Meatballs still held together and were tender and flavorful.
hi – how can itell if a turkey meatball is cooked through if i dont have a thermometer?
I would split one open, the meat should be totally white/opaque with no transparent, raw looking pieces. I hope this helps! Let me know how it turns out!
Can anyone tell me how many meatballs this recipe makes?
Hi Patty, thank you for the question. It really depends on big you make them, but I typically get about a dozen meatballs. I hope that helps!
I didn’t use measurements. I had at least double the amount of turkey. I added Romano cheese, fresh basil, parsley, and oregano from my garden. They were deliciously tender.
Love these meatballs! It’s become my go-to recipe. Never dry…which is always my problem with ground turkey.
??? on the parm!! I simmered them in Marinara Sauce and served with riced caulliflower.