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Yep, you need another meatball recipe!

Well, you at least need one that’s so good, you and the kiddos will fight over who nabs the last one from the cookie sheet. (What, you don’t fight with your toddler over who gets the last cookie/French fry/meatball? Welcome to our kitchen…)

For our Meatballs 2.0, we took out the less healthy bits and, instead, focused on jazzing up lean, ground turkey. You’ll see just how far shallots, garlic, fresh thyme and a little fresh parmesan cheese can take a simple (sometimes bland) protein.

Bake up a batch and then hover by the oven, calling dibs on the first batch that lands on the kitchen counter!

Turkey Meatballs!
Author: 
Recipe type: Entree
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 6
 
Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more as needed
  • ½ cup onion or shallots, minced or grated
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced or grated
  • 1 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves, removed from branches, finely chopped
  • 1-1.25 lbs ground turkey
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ cup breadcrumbs (not the canned "sawdust" kind but *real* breadcrumbs, either homemade or found in bakery section of grocery store)
  • ½ cup finely grated parmesan cheese
  • kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Pour the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the shallots or onion and cook down until almost translucent; add the garlic. Season well with salt and pepper and cook until the aromatics are very tender but not browned. Remove the sautee pan from the heat and stir in the thyme.
  3. In a bowl, combine the turkey, eggs and breadcrumbs. When the shallot/garlic mixture has cooled, add it to the turkey and thoroughly mix with a plastic spatula or wooden spoon. Form the mixture into balls, slightly smaller than a golf ball.
  4. To cook the meatballs, lightly grease a baking sheet with olive oil. Line meatballs in rows, allowing at least 3 inches between each one. Roast for approximately 8-12 minutes, depending on size, or until they feel firm to the touch. Serve warm