Baked Turkey Meatballs (with zucchini)
Grated zucchini keeps these gluten-free, dairy-free, low-carb meatballs moist and juicy.
Double this recipe and stock your freezer with cooked turkey meatballs. Defrosting and reheating meatballs is easy (see tips in blog post above). A batch of cooked meatballs in the freezer is so helpful when yo don't have time to start cooking from scratch.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 15 to 18 meatballs 1x
- Category: turkey and chicken
- Method: baked
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 1 to 1 1/4 pounds ground turkey (preferably 93% lean or less)
- 1 cup packed grated zucchini (grated on a cheese grater)
- 1 egg
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano or Italian seasoning
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil or parsley (optional)
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Heat oven to 400 F. Line a rimmed sheet pan with parchment or foil, or spray with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, gently mix together ground turkey, zucchini, egg, garlic, dried and fresh herbs and salt.
- Use your hands to form the meat into evenly sized meatballs about the size of golf balls (I usually end up with 15 to 18 meatballs). The meatballs will be wet and loose, but will form into balls. Keeping your hands slightly wet can help keep the meat from sticking to yor hands.
- Space the turkey meatballs out evenly on the baking sheet. If you want the meatballs to brown more evenly on all sides, then set a rack (sprayed with non-stick cooking spray) on the sheet pan.
- Bake 15 to 20 minutes. If you want to make sure the meatballs are cooked, use an instant read thermometer. The internal temperature of fully cooked turkey meatballs is 165 F.
Notes
I skip adding breadcrumbs because these meatballs don’t really need it. The egg will bind the meat together, even with the extra moisture that zucchini adds. However, if you prefer meatballs with a slightly more dense and firm texture, then add ½ cup panko or breadcrumbs.
Freezing Meatballs: To freeze meatballs, let the cooked meatballs cool, then put them in a Ziploc freezer bag. To make sure the meatballs don't stick together, you can first freeze them on a sheet-pan for 1 to 2 hours, then put the meatballs in a freezer bag or other container.
Defrosting frozen meatballs: To defrost meatballs, leave them in the refrigerator overnight.