Ingredients
- 1 small onion, grated
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup dried bread crumbs
- 3 tablespoons ketchup
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
- 1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 pound ground dark turkey meat
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 26 ounces Simple Tomato Sauce, recipe follows, or store-bought marinara sauce
Directions
Add the onion, garlic, egg, bread crumbs, ketchup, parsley, Parmesan, Pecorino, salt and pepper to a large bowl and blend. Mix in the turkey. Shape the turkey mixture into 1 1/4-inch-diameter meatballs. Place on a large plate or baking sheet.
Heat the oil in a heavy large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and saute until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Turn off heat. Transfer the meatballs to a plate. Pour off any excess oil. Add the marinara sauce, about 3 cups. Return all the meatballs to the pan. Turn the heat to medium-low and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly and the flavors blend, 15 to 20 minutes. Season the sauce, to taste, with salt and pepper.
Transfer the meatball mixture to a serving bowl. Serve with toothpicks.
SERVES 42 (appetizer)
Calories: 48
Total Fat: 3 grams
Saturated Fat: 1 grams
Protein: 3 grams
Total carbohydrates: 3 grams
Sugar: 0 grams
Fiber: 0 grams
Cholesterol: 15 milligrams
Sodium: 180 milligrams
Simple Tomato Sauce:
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 stalk celery, chopped
- 1 carrot, chopped
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
- 4 to 6 basil leaves
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, optional
In a large casserole pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 2 minutes. Add celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, basil, and bay leaves and simmer covered on low heat for 1 hour or until thick. Remove bay leaves and check for seasoning. If sauce still tastes acidic, add unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon at a time to round out the flavors.
Add half the tomato sauce into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Continue with remaining tomato sauce.
If not using all the sauce, allow it to cool completely and pour 1 to 2 cup portions into freezer plastic bags. This will freeze up to 6 months.
3 Videos | Photo: Mini Turkey Meatballs Recipe

















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By d_annwhiting_11...
Country Club HI...
on June 15, 2013
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By marlen_perez_12...
Bakersfield, 43
on June 10, 2013
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I added teriyaki sauce and used corn meal instead of bread crumbs because we are GF, they tasted great.
By Chef #1007882
Right outside o...
on May 19, 2013
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A planned Friday night turkey burger bbq was rained out, so, this was my emergency "what do I do now with this turkey meat" recipe. Predictably, I had to make substitutions, but still, came out great and this will definitely be in the rotation. I used 93:7 white turkey meat, only had fresh parmesan on hand and just started grating, eyeballing the amount, added some Italian Seasoning blend spice, Italian seasoned bread crumbs [again, eyeballed it] but pretty much stayed true to the rest of the recipe. Browned the turkey meatballs, drained, and simmered for ~20 minutes in a jar of store bought spaghetti sauce I had on hand. Made some garlic bread, nice and delicious meal in a pinch. Simmering for 20 minutes really made the flavors marry; even more awesome the next day on french hard roll buns. DH loved it.
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