Skinny Turkey Veggie Meatballs and Sauce

OVEN BAKED (not fried) Skinny Turkey Veggie Meatballs and Sauce are light healthy homemade meatballs from scratch and packed with nutritious veggies!

Meatballs and Sauce are one thing, but Skinny Turkey Veggie Meatballs and Sauce could change your life.

When I heard about this meatball technique I got so excited because I had never made homemade meatballs (guilty as charged buying them frozen).  Meatballs seemed too complicated for some reason. But are they?

Well fear not, these are fun and easy.  Yes there are a few steps, and that’s ok because you can make these and freeze them for a day when you don’t have time to figure out what to make for dinner, and look like a complete kitchen genius ; ).

These little gems might also either get you married off OR will make someone you love feel so special.  As a matter of fact, this entire recipe website started because of this homemade meatball recipe. Turkey meatballs are actually quite healthy, and a cleaner version of most recipes by using a low-fat turkey meat and secretly stashing the veggies inside.  And don’t even think to tell anyone, they don’t need to know!

You will beam with pride serving these on a hot bowl of steamy pasta, and oh this sauce seriously is so easy and good, why you won’t want the stuff in the jar ever again.

The last and maybe best part is that you can really try different veggies in here if you wish, have fun, and relax it’s only a meatball for goodness sakes.

This recipe is dedicated to a group of ladies that I relaxed in the desert with,  and promised would be my first recipe up on Delicious Table. So go get those boyfriends/husbands gals!!! UPDATE: one two of those ladies are now married, and one has a boyfriend!

Warning: Meatballs can cause boyfriends, girlfriends, and marriage.

Makes 44 – 2 ” meatballs

How to Make Skinny Turkey Veggie Meatballs and Sauce: 

1 – Mix Veggies, pulse batches in Cuisinart or grate on box grater:
1 sm onion, 5 carrots, 5 celery stalks
1/2 cup finely chopped basil
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
Mix all finely chopped veggies in small bowl

2-  In 1 tablespoon of olive oil, saute the veggies in a heavy cast iron pan on medium-high heat. Sauteing the veggies brings a depth of flavor and makes them soft and perfect for fluffy, tasty, meatballs.  I love and use Le Creuset Dutch Ovens, one of my favorite pans in my kitchen.

3 – Mix Skinny Turkey Veggie Meatballs:
Cool your veggie mixture. Divide in half! One-half goes into your meatballs, the other half into your sauce.
3 lbs ground turkey (or for not as skinny use ground beef, hot Italian pork sausage etc)
1 cup breadcrumbs or ground almonds
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
Stir or mix with 2 forks to “fluff”

4 – Scoop Skinny Turkey Veggie Meatballs: Use a 2″ ice-cream scoop onto sheet pan lined with parchment or foil

5 – Roast: 400 degrees 25-30 minutes until golden brown with crispy edges

6 – Make Sauce:

In a saute pan mix other 1/2 veggie mixture, 1 large can of diced tomatoes, 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1 small can tomato paste. Stir and simmer for 20 minutes.

7 – Serve: On top of cooked spaghetti noodles with sauce and roasted meatballs on top.  Sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese. Enjoy…yum!

TIP: Since this makes so many meatballs and sauce, freeze extra skinny turkey veggie meatballs on sheet pans either cooked or uncooked and place in zip bags or use a Food Saver vacuum sealer for fast easy future meals! The pasta sauce freezes well too!

Skinny Turkey Veggie Meatballs and Sauce will always be a special recipe for many reasons. This recipe started Delicious Table and is my first recipe.  True Story: my friends made me hold up my hand and swear I would publish it on a website. Okay yes, wine was involved, and it might have been happy hour! But hey, if they hadn’t encouraged me…I wouldn’t have jumped in and built this community of recipe and food fanatics.

I will forever be grateful to my sweet friends for their support and encouragement to begin a recipe website and “blog”.  At the time, I didn’t even know what a food blog was… or how to turn on my big scary camera, or what the heck social media was.  Once this recipe went up on the website, I was in love with sharing my food with the world. Enjoy!

All The Best Dishes,

Lisa

XO

5 from 1 vote

Print

Skinny Turkey Veggie Meatballs and Sauce

Prep Time

30 mins

Cook Time

52 mins

Total Time

1 hr 20 mins

 

OVEN BAKED (not fried) Skinny Turkey Veggie Meatballs and Sauce are light and healthy homemade meatballs.

Course: Dinner & Main Dishes

Cuisine: American

Keyword: baked meatballs, healthy pasta sauce, turkey meatballs

Servings: 10

Calories: 431 kcal

Author: Lisa Hatfield

Ingredients

make the turkey meatballs

• 6 celery stalks 2 cups roughly chopped
• 6 carrots 2 cups roughly chopped
• 1 yellow medium onion 2 cups roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
• 1/2 cup finely chopped basil
• 3 lbs. lean ground turkey
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup breadcrumbs (or sub ground almonds)
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

make the sauce

• 1/2 veggie mixture
• 1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
• 1 6 oz small can tomato paste
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
• 16 ounces uncooked spaghetti

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make the meatballs:

1. Pulse roughly chopped veggies in batches in Cuisinart or grate on box grater: 1 yellow onion, 6 carrots, 6 celery stalks. Remove finely diced veggies and process the next and place in a large bowl. Add 1/2 cup finely chopped basil, 1/2 cup finely chopped parsley. Mix until well combined.

2. Heat large pan, add 1 tablespoon olive oil and saute the veggies for 3 minutes on medium-high heat and turn off the heat. Take out 1/2 veggie mixture and place back in the large bowl.

3. In that large mixing bowl, take 1/2 sautéed and cooled veggie mixture above and mix with 3 lbs ground turkey (or for not as skinny use ground beef, hot Italian pork sausage etc), 1 cup breadcrumbs (or ground almonds) and 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

4. Stir or completely, mix with 2 forks to "fluff".

5. Wrap a large metal sheet pan in heavy duty foil. This makes cleanup easier. 

6. Use a 2" ice-cream scoop onto sheet pan lined with parchment or foil and scoop Skinny Turkey Veggie Meatballs onto the sheet pan. Check halfway while in the oven, if any extra liquid collects on the pan, you can pour that off the pan and continue to bake the meatballs. 

7. Bake 400 degrees 25-30 minutes until golden brown with crispy edges. 

Make the sauce:

1. In a saute pan mix other 1/2 veggie mixture left in the pan, 1 large can of diced tomatoes, 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1 small can tomato paste. Stir and simmer for 20 minutes.
2. Cook Spaghetti Noodles per package Instructions.
3. Ladle Sauce on hot noodles, place 2-4 meatballs on spaghetti noodles, top with parmesan cheese.

Recipe Notes

This recipe makes 40 meatballs, from a 2" ice cream scoop.

Freezer Tips:

1. Freeze extra skinny turkey veggie meatballs on sheet pans either cooked or uncooked and place in zip bags or use a Food Saver vacuum sealer for fast easy future meals.
2. The pasta sauce freezes very well, to reheat add frozen sauce to a pan with a small amount of water and reheat until hot.

Nutrition Facts

Skinny Turkey Veggie Meatballs and Sauce

Amount Per Serving

Calories 431 Calories from Fat 54

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 6g 9%

Saturated Fat 2g 10%

Cholesterol 79mg 26%

Sodium 571mg 24%

Potassium 830mg 24%

Total Carbohydrates 49g 16%

Dietary Fiber 4g 16%

Sugars 5g

Protein 42g 84%

Vitamin A 213.3%

Vitamin C 14.6%

Calcium 12.9%

Iron 16.9%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.