We all have those nights where you last thing you feel like doing is making dinner. Sometimes we want to skip the prepping, chopping and cooking and go for something simple and quick. Thankfully these easy, no-frills baked turkey meatballs are your answer! These meatballs are spiced just right, all with items you can find right in your pantry. It’s a feel good, fill-you-up kind of meal that you can put on the table without doing much work at all.
While I’m typically a beef and sausage kind of girl, for this recipe we are using extra lean all-natural ground turkey. Healthy of me right? But what’s crazy is you won’t even notice the difference. These meatballs start off with the standard combo of meat, egg, breadcrumbs and cheese, but what sets them apart is the addition of the fresh herbs and spices that keep them packed with flavor.
For the sauce, just heat up a jar of your favorite pasta sauce. Add chopped mushrooms, red pepper flakes and fresh basil leaves and let it cook down until the sauce thickens. Once the meatballs are fully cooked, add them to the sauce and top with chunks of burrata. Mmm mm mm. Serve over your pasta of choice or they are delicious enough to just enjoy on their own. Enjoy!
- For the meatballs:
- 1 pound 93% lean ground turkey
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs
- ½ cup parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil, minced
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- For the sauce:
- 2 cups of your favorite pasta sauce
- 4-5 large basil leaves, chopped
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 cups sliced mushrooms
- 4-6 ounces of Burrata cheese, cut into large pieces
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, combine the turkey, bread crumbs, egg, minced basil, salt, oregano, cumin, dijon mustard, black pepper, cayenne, and red pepper flakes. Mix together and roll into 1 inch meatballs. You will end up with anywhere about 20 meatballs. Place on baking sheet covered in foil or parchment paper.
- Bake meatballs for 15 minutes.
- While the meatballs are baking, cook down the mushrooms with a little olive oil until soft. Once cooked, add in the tomato sauce and red pepper flakes and cook over medium low heat. Sauce will begin thicken.
- Once meatballs are done baking, add them to the skillet; spoon the tomato sauce generously over the meatballs and add the basil.
- Place the buratta in the tomato sauce and/or over the meatballs; continue cooking on medium-low for 5 more minutes or until the cheese has melted into the sauce.
- Serve meatballs over pasta of choice or enjoy by themselves.
Senika @ Foodie Blog Stalker says
May 13, 2015 at 6:01 pmMmmm I’ve never tried buratta! This looks like a terrific recipe to give it a go 🙂