These All-Purpose Turkey Meatballs are juicy & flavorful! Lean turkey, Italian spices and bread crumbs are combined with ground turkey and baked until tender and juicy.
Add them to pasta sauces, meatball subs, or enjoy them as an appetizer with sweet & sour sauce.
A Flavorful Turkey Meatball
I absolutely love ground turkey. It’s lean, fairly inexpensive, and works perfectly in pretty much any dish requiring ground meat.
I’ve used it in everything from meatloaf to cabbage rolls and I almost always use ground turkey in my favorite pasta sauce.
Since ground turkey has such a mild flavor it can be flavored perfectly for any dish (turkey taco salad anyone?) and especially for these turkey meatballs!
Truly All-Purpose
The only thing that could make turkey even more perfect? Serve it up as turkey meatballs!
I call these meatballs “All-Purpose” because you really can use them in anything. They’re perfect in appetizers (like cocktail meatballs), add them to a jar of pasta sauce for quick meal or toss them in broth with veggies to create a meatball soup!
How To Make Turkey Meatballs Moist
Ground turkey is lean but these meatballs come out tender and juicy every time.
- Do not overcook, this will dry out the meat.
- Use ground turkey that has a little bit of fat (a mix of dark and white meat) or add a touch of olive oil
- Don’t overmix the meat, you just want to mix until everything is combined.
- Make sure they’re uniform in shape (they will all cook for the same amount of time)
For Great Flavor
- Don’t skip the fresh parsley (or the seasonings), it makes a huge difference.
- Season with salt & pepper
- A sprinkle of parmesan really flavors this recipe.
To Bake Turkey Meatballs
You can most definitely bake turkey meatballs! This keeps it healthier than it would be if we fried them and baking meatballs makes them nice and tender too! (I bake my regular meatball recipe too).
I generally bake these at 350°F for 28-30 minutes. If you are short on time, you can also cook these at 400°F for about 20 minutes or until no pink remains!
To freeze these meatballs, place them on a parchment-lined pan and freeze. Once frozen transfer to a freezer bag or a sealed container. To use, defrost and cook as directed in the recipe. (You can cook and completely cool them before freezing if desired. To use, just simply defrost and reheat).
More Meatball Favorites
- Juicy Air Fryer Meatballs
- Greek Meatballs
- Meatball Sub
- Spaghetti and Meatballs
- Cheeseburger Stuffed Meatballs
- Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs (in Homemade Tomato Sauce)
- Salisbury Steak Meatballs
- Meatball Pasta Bake
All-Purpose Turkey Meatballs
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground turkey
- 1 cup Panko bread crumbs
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ⅔ cup parsley fresh, chopped
- ½ cup onion minced
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon basil and oregano dried, each
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix just until combined.
- Line a baking pan with parchment paper. Divide meat mixture into 1″ meatballs and roll into balls.
- Bake for 28-30 minutes or just until cooked. (Do not overbake)
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Appetizer, Dinner, Entree, Main Course, Turkey
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
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Has anyone tried freezing these for later use?
You can also find this info in the post: To freeze these meatballs, place them on a parchment-lined pan and freeze. Once frozen transfer to a freezer bag or a sealed container. To use, thaw and cook as directed in the recipe. (You can cook and completely cool them before freezing if desired. To use, just simply defrost and reheat).
Holly’s recipes are always very good. Since discovering this recipe, I have been making meatballs often. They work beautifully in a tomato sauce or as the centerpiece of a Greek inspired meal. All your recipes are so practical and family friendly.
I am sorry to say but these had no flavor and I even added cheese. So disappointed and frustrated as it all got thrown out.
That is frustrating, I am sorry that happened, Erica. We found these had a decent amount of flavor with the spices used but you can definitely adjust the seasonings to your preference!
I love this recipe!!! Sorry, I couldn’t find organic/non-GMO Panko breadcrumbs in the store *=(yes,even my local Whole Foods), so I used regular organic bread crumbs. But followed everything else to a T. SO DELISH! This is now a family fave! Kids are so picky but they tear thru these!! Thank you!
So happy you enjoyed this recipe, Kelly!
Made these tonight and they were delicious. Served on multigrain hoagies and melted mozzarella on. 10/10! I did use italian bread crumbs too instead of plain!
Love
Made these tonight and used Italian breadcrumbs in place of panko (which really gave more great seasoning/flavor) and I also added some grated Parmesan cheese – I cut the recipe in half as I only used 1lb of ground turkey, they came out great even my picky 6 year old son loved them!
I made these last night and was thrilled with the results. That said, I deviated a bit from the recipe because I had already sent my husband out for eggs and I didn’t think he’d consent to being sent out again! I used fresh basil instead of parsley and I grated a frozen hot dog roll for the bread crumbs. I also loaded them up with spices, minced celery, onion, red pepper and a small bit of horseradish cheese. (Okay, I REALLY deviated!) My fear is that they’d be bland, ’cause that seems to be the big problem with ground turkey and chicken. They were fantastic! I baked them and they had a nice crust on the bottom, and they were really tasty. I will definitely make these again! Thank you for the tip about not over-mixing the meat and thank you also for specifying whether they can be frozen. Next time I will make more!
Those changes sound delicious Denise! Glad they turned out well for you :)
Holly, once again, a 10 star recipe, the only change was using chicken tenders I ground myself. I did make them a bit larger, used an ice cream scoop, so made about 1 1/2 inch meatballs, end result was 27, no harm, no foul, I did increase the time to 35 minutes, and they came out perfect! (I cut one in half and had a sample, excellent!) So good, even one of our cats stole one when I had my back turned.
I made these on 7 June 2019 and I will use in a creamy lime and caper sauce.
Thank you Holly for once again, a fail proof recipe ;)
Those changes sound delicious Lee, glad it worked out for you! So happy we could provide you with a fool proof winner!
These are a hit in my family most definitely our go to recipe!
Perfectly seasoned and juicy There soooo yummy!!! Thank you so much!
I am so glad you are enjoying the recipe Tammy!
I tried this sauce on turkey meatballs last night and served them to my very picky children and their even pickier cousins. What a HUGE hit! I cannot thank you enough – you’ve added a new staple to their diets …
I am s glad this recipe was a success with your family Moses! Great to hear from you!
I make these with mashed potatoes and gravy and they’re a family favorite!
I am so glad you enjoyed the meatball recipe Brooke!