These delicious homemade healthy baked Italian turkey meatballs are so easy to make, bake in less than 20 minutes, and are leaner than traditional beef meatballs. They’re the perfect family-friendly meal for any night of the week served with your favorite gluten free pasta or creamy polenta.
I love making homemade meatballs using ground turkey instead of beef. They’re lighter, healthier, tender, juicy, packed with protein, and so filling. These baked Italian turkey meatballs are so simple to make with just a few staple ingredients that you probably already have on hand. You’ll need lean ground turkey, gluten free panko breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, fresh herbs, dijon mustard, Italian seasoning, cumin, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper. It may seem like a lot of spices, but it results in the most delicious meatballs.
Baked meatballs are so simple to make and take hardly any effort. Most meatball recipes require you to brown the meatballs in a skillet on the stove which can make such a mess and can be a bit of a pain. Baking them in the oven is a much simpler way to do it. Just scoop the meatballs onto a baking sheet, place them in the oven, and in less than 20 minutes they come out perfectly browned and ready to eat. No huge stovetop mess to clean up.
While the meatballs bake you can prep anything you’d like to serve them with. My favorite way to eat them is over creamy cheesy gluten free polenta, covered in my favorite pasta sauce, topped with freshly grated parmesan cheese and some fresh basil. Mmm, so good!
Make sure to tag @glutenless_apron on Instagram and comment below if you make this recipe. To pin this recipe and save it for later, click on the Pinterest button or any of the photos. Enjoy!
Healthy Baked Italian Turkey Meatballs (Gluten Free)
- Yield: 19 Meatballs
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
These delicious homemade healthy baked Italian turkey meatballs are so easy to make, bake in less than 20 minutes, and are leaner than traditional beef meatballs. They’re the perfect family-friendly meal for any night of the week served with your favorite gluten free pasta or creamy polenta.
Ingredients
(links below are the gluten free & celiac safe products I used in this recipe)
- 1 ½ pounds 93% lean ground turkey
- ⅓ cup gluten free panko breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup shredded parmesan cheese, lightly packed
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons diced fresh parsley
- 2 tablespoons diced fresh basil
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt (use code glutenlessapron for 15% off)
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- olive oil cooking spray
Instructions
Step 1
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Step 2
In a large bowl add ground turkey, breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, garlic, parsley, basil, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, cumin, garlic powder, cayenne paper, salt, black pepper, and dijon mustard. Using a fork or your hands, mix until well combined.
Step 3
Using a #24 cookie scoop (about 2 ½ tablespoons) scoop out the meatball mixture and place onto the prepared baking sheet, about 1 inch apart. Spray each meatball with a little olive oil cooking spray.
Step 4
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until meatballs are fully cooked and a meat thermometer reaches 165 degrees when placed into the center of a meatball.
Step 5
Serve meatballs with your favorite pasta sauce and gluten free pasta or creamy polenta.
More Italian inspired dinner recipes you’ll love:
The Best Healthy Turkey Lasagna You’ll Ever Eat
One Skillet Cheesy Turkey Meatballs
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