Turkey, Spinach & Cheese Meatballs
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The addition of turkey sausage and cheese makes these meatballs tender and flavorful.
Photo by Johnny Miller, Clarkson Potter 2021
I used to be one of those opinionated people who felt you shouldn’t sneak vegetables into your children’s food, but then I gave birth to a picky eater and all that righteousness went right out the window. Parenting is nothing if not humbling, right? These meatballs are a great way to sneak in some spinach, but what makes them really special is the addition of turkey sausage. Not only does the sausage make the meatballs tender, but it also adds great flavor without the need for a ton of other ingredients. Serve the meatballs with pasta, Parmesan smashed potatoes, or polenta and a big Italian salad, and dinner is served!
Table of Contents
“DELICIOUS!!!! I make a full batch and freeze for individual dinners. We serve it with zucchini noodles—really great twist on meatballs.”
What You’ll Need To Make Turkey Meatballs
Step-by-Step Instructions
To begin, mix the egg with chopped spinach, scallions, and garlic.
Add the ground turkey, turkey sausage, bread crumbs, mozzarella cheese and Parmigiano Reggiano.
Mix until evenly combined.
Form the mixture into 1-1/2 inch balls.
Broil the turkey meatballs until golden, about 10 minutes.
Then simmer in the sauce for 10 minutes more.
That’s all there is to it. Enjoy!
Video Tutorial
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Turkey, Spinach & Cheese Meatballs
The addition of turkey sausage and cheese makes these meatballs tender and flavorful.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large egg
- 3 ounces baby spinach, chopped (3½ cups whole; 1½ cups chopped)
- 3 scallions, white and green parts, finely sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1.25 pounds 93/7 ground turkey (I use Shady Brook Farms)
- 1.25 pounds Italian turkey sausage, removed from the casings (I use Shady Brook Farms)
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella (preferably whole milk but low-fat will work)
- ⅓ cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano, plus more for serving
- ½ cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
- 1 (24 oz) jar marinara sauce, homemade or good quality store-bought
Instructions
- Preheat the broiler and set an oven rack on the second-highest rack. Line a baking sheet with heavy duty aluminum foil and grease with the olive oil.
- In a bowl large enough to hold all of the ingredients, beat the egg. Add the chopped spinach, scallions, and garlic and stir until evenly combined. Add the ground turkey, turkey sausage, mozzarella, Parmigiano-Reggiano and bread crumbs. Using your hands, mix until evenly combined. Shape the mixture into 1½ inch balls and place on the prepared baking sheet.
- Broil the meatballs until golden brown on top, about 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat the tomato sauce in a large pan on the stovetop. Add the broiled meatballs and simmer over low heat for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the meatballs are fully cooked.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: These can be frozen in their sauce for up to 3 months. When ready to serve, reheat the meatballs in their sauce on the stovetop over medium heat until hot in the center.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (6 servings)
- Calories: 509
- Fat: 27g
- Saturated fat: 8g
- Carbohydrates: 18g
- Sugar: 7g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 49g
- Sodium: 1409mg
- Cholesterol: 194mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Made these meatballs today, 3rd time now; these meatballs are easy to make & are soooooo tasty. This meatball recipe is now in our regular recipe rotation. Thx for a great recipe.
Hi Jenn,
I re-heated the leftovers from yesterday’s meatball dish, medium fire on stovetop. At 15 min., they were still cool in the center, but at 18, although the temperature was perfect, the meatballs were a little burnt on the bottom, and the sauce thickened up, sort of like a paste. If I make them first cook with more sauce, would the original sauce consistency hold up better? And should I be stirring the meatballs so they don’t char on the bottom? Thanks for your help!
Hi Elise, sorry you had a bit of a problem when reheating these. Yes, I would definitely stir the meatballs periodically so they don’t char on the bottom. And regarding the sauce thickening up, did you have the pot covered? If not, I would cover it next time around.
These meatballs are delicious! For “making ahead” for serving the next day, is it better to assemble, broil, and cook them up in the sauce completely, and store in a sealed container, just reheating only on the stovetop, right out of the fridge the next day, or should we only assemble the meatballs and store them overnight, raw, with the broiling and simmering in the sauce on the day of serving? Or something in between🙄.? Or does it matter? I’m one of those relatively non-confident cooks! Thanks for all your help- want it to taste fresh, but have a lot of other prep to do on the day of serving too!
Hi Elise, Glad you like these! You really could go either route –both options will work!
I made this dish last night.. we thoroughly enjoyed it over a bed of zucchini linguine. I can’t wait to make it again👍🏻
I would love to make this tonite, would fontina be a good substitute for mozzarella?
Yep 🙂
***** These turkey meatballs were the best I have ever made. So moist and soft and beautifully flavoured. Absolutely delicious. They will certainly remain in my repertoire of recipes. Thanks for another great dinner recipe.
These were SOO good. I’ve never liked ground turkey but I clearly had not tried this recipe before. The meatballs were moist, flavorful, didn’t fall apart, easy to put together, and so so tasty. One of my husband’s favorite meals is spaghetti and meatballs, but he said he’d prefer these going forward – taste good AND feel good later. Thank you Jenn!! I used a 1.5 inch cookie scoop and got roughly 60 meatballs
meatballs were ok
What would be the best way to freeze these? What kind of container? Would it be better in foil pan or smart seal glass dish?
Thanks!
Cindy
Whatever is the most airtight would be the best, so I would guess the glass dish. Hope that helps!
Jenn, I want to make these (again) but when I ordered ingredients, the store substituted Italian-seasoned ground turkey for the turkey Italian sausage. I wonder if there are things I might add to end up with the same yummy meatballs – fennel? Garlic? Others? I can’t tell from the package what the seasoning is, but I could guess basil, garlic, oregano (can’t see anything in the meat). The recipe makes a lot – I hope I can turn this into something close to the original.
Hi Judy, I think you could get away with using the Italian-seasoned ground turkey without adding any additional seasonings. Due to using all turkey instead of the combo of turkey and turkey sausage, the meatballs may not be as tender and juicy. Hope that helps!
Jenn, Thanks for your quick response. I decided to wait until I can get the turkey sausage because we loved your recipe, as written!
👍