Nothing says comfort like meatballs. These Italian turkey meatballs are super tender and flavorful, gluten free, dairy free and low fat. So feel free to come back for seconds or even thirds.
These are the meatballs we can't stop eating. One of my favorite weeknight dinners is these homemade turkey meatballs simmered in Rao's (store-bought) marinara sauce with angel hair pasta, or with spaghetti squash, for a healthy, low-carb dinner.
What sets these turkey meatballs apart from classic Italian style meatballs is ground turkey instead of ground beef and pork. And, unlike most Italian style meatballs, there's no cheese, bread or milk in this recipe. These little polpette (Italian for "meatballs") get all their flavor and texture from vegetables. Onions and garlic, of course. And a surprise ingredient, grated sweet potato, which gives the meatballs a wonderful texture and an earthy sweetness. There's also tomato paste in the mix, which adds rich umami flavor to the meatballs. Chickpea flour makes the mixture just dry enough to roll, yet leaves it with a super tender consistency.
How to make these tasty Italian turkey meatballs:
- Combine ground turkey (I like to use half dark meat and half light meat) with chopped onion, minced garlic, an egg, tomato paste, grated sweet potato, salt and pepper. (I grated the sweet potato on a box grater and then chopped it more finely on a cutting board.) Add 3 tablespoons of gluten free flour. I used a mix of garbanzo bean and fava bean flour from Bob's Red Mill.
- Refrigerate the mixture for at least a half hour to firm it up and making rolling easier. Roll up the meatballs and sauté them in a little oil, to brown them.
- In a saucepan, combine the meatballs with your favorite store-bought marinara sauce and gently simmer them for 25 minutes.
- Serve Italian turkey meatballs with pasta or spaghetti squash or zoodles.
By the way, if you don't mind gluten in your meatballs, feel free to use bread crumbs instead of gluten-free flour. I've tested the recipe with bread crumbs and so did my oldest son, who's s a bit of a meatball expert. He makes meatballs every Monday night for "Meatball Monday," and invites friends over. Here's what he texted me one Monday night when he made these: "These meatballs are so amazing...my friends are going nuts for them...they're the softest meatballs I've made so far." I was very happy to get that text. 🙂
I want to give a shout out to my friend Nina who gave me the idea of putting sweet potatoes in meatballs. Such a genius idea. Thank you Nina!
Other delicious ground turkey recipes to try
- Ottolenghi's Turkey-Zucchini Meatballs
- Turkey Falafel Meatballs
- Sicilian Turkey Meatloaf with Potatoes Capers and Wine
- Quick Turkey Ragu
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Italian Style Turkey Meatballs
- Total Time: 1 hour 25 mins
- Yield: 4-5 1x
Description
These turkey meatballs are extra tender and flavorful and naturally gluten free, made with lean ground turkey, grated sweet potatoes, chickpea flour and tomato paste.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground turkey, preferably dark meat or half dark
- ¼ cup finely minced yellow onion
- 2 teaspoons finely minced garlic (2 medium cloves)
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- ½ cup finely minced sweet potatoes (note 1)
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground Aleppo pepper (note 2)
- 3 tablespoons garbanzo bean flour (note 3)
- 2-4 tablespoons of vegetable oil (such as light olive oil or canola)
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Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine turkey, onion, garlic, egg, tomato paste, sweet potato, salt and pepper. Stir with a fork until well mixed. Sprinkle in flour and stir or knead with your hands until just combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least ½ hour or up to 4 hours. If you omit this step, the mixture will be mushy and harder to shape into balls. The longer you chill the mixture, the easier it will be to roll the meatballs.
- Set a large plate on your work surface. Roll all the meat into balls, a heaping tablespoon at a time. Set meatballs on the plate as you go. If your hands get sticky, fill a small bowl with ice water and dip your hands in periodically to prevent meat from sticking.
- Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large heavy cast iron or non-stick skillet, over medium heat. When oil is hot and looks wrinkly, add half the meatballs and sauté 5 minutes or so, turning gently with a spatula every minute or so, to brown them on all sides. Transfer meatballs to a plate and repeat with remaining meatballs, adding more oil if the pan is dry.
- Return meatballs to the skillet (or to a saucepan, if you need a large vessel) and add 4 cups of your favorite marinara sauce and ½ cup of water. Gently simmer, uncovered, for 25 minutes, until meatballs are cooked through. Serve with pasta or spaghetti squash or zoodles.
Notes
- To finely mince the sweet potato, first grate it on a box grater and then mince it finely with a sharp knife.
- If you don't have Aleppo pepper, you can substitute an equal amount of Maras pepper or half the amount of fresh ground black pepper.
- If you are not interested in making these meatballs gluten-free, you can use an equal amount of fresh bread crumbs or Panko.
- Prep Time: 40 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Simmer
- Cuisine: Italian-American
I just made these and had the same problem as Nora. They tasted great when I tried to brown them but never firmed up and completely disintegrated in the sauce. So now I have Italian Style Turkey Meat Sauce ????. What did I do wrong?
I'm so sorry Ann. I haven't had that issue but I'm going to go back and retest this recipe. Thanks for the feedback.
These did not stay together and all the tomato paste made the inside red and look like they were under cooked. Will not make again.
I'm so sorry the recipe didn't work out for you Nora.
Omgomgomgomgomgomg I use to eat Meatballs every Monday with my friends, and these were literally my absolute fav! Like omg they are so killer! And a great source of protein and GLUTEN FREE!!! So yummy it’s just to die for!
I had these for dinner as my weekly Monday ritual. I don't think I would have made it thru the week without them!
🙂 I'm so happy to hear it... and btw, meatballs once a week sounds like a great ritual!
I had these ritually every Monday. I don't think I would have made it thru the week without them!
I made a double batch of these for a meatball-themed gathering and they were great!
Made these for dinner tonight and they were well received! I did have to sub grated carrot for the sweet potatoes (since we apparently ate them all last night). Seemed like it worked well. Can't wait to try some of your other delicious looking meals!
That's great to hear Sharon. I'm so glad you all enjoyed the meatballs and that the recipe worked with carrots. Thanks so much for letting me know!
Lisa, these are as light and fluffy as you said they would be. We loved the sweet potato as an additional flavor. It's a great, healthy alternative to meat meatballs. I loved the video- so skilled!
Thank you Ellen. I'm so glad you enjoyed 🙂
I've never met a meatball I didn't like, and I don't see it happening any time soon. These look SO good. Definitely need to have a pasta night soon!
Made the meatballs tonight and love them!!! So good to know about the bean based flour--who knew??
Like the video - very catchy tune!
For me a video would be super beneficial when there is a tricky step or unusual prep of a less common ingredient - so more instruction themed??
What the video did do in this case is re-enforce how simple and easy it is to make these.
Can't wait to try it out - always love new ways to incorporate sweet potatoes...
Not sure what I think about garbanzo flour (new one for me) - will report back.
Thanks
Joel
Thanks Joel. I agree that a video is extra helpful for the trickier recipes. You'll like my next video that I shot yesterday. It's a recipe that seems very difficult. But once you see the video, I think you'll feel like it's doable: Turkish Cigar Borek. If you make the meatballs, I hope you enjoy them as much as we do.
Lisa, glad you are back in the video production business! Meatballs look great -- can't wait to try them. - Susan
Thank you Susan!
Wow, fantastic job in your first video, Lisa!! Hope you're all feeling better and we can reschedule the visit soon.
Thanks Aviva. I'm pretty happy with how the video turned out. Still have to get better with lighting... I am feeling better and I'll look at the calendar. I would love to visit you!
Gotta love a recipe that no one in the family complains about!
Hahaha - you're so right!