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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Followed this recipe to the T, absolutely wonderful as are all your recipes.
Thank you again Jenn,
Meat is more generally sold in one pound packaging. For this reason (because I did not want three quarters of a pound of leftover of two kinds of meat), I tried the recipe with one pound of each meat. Seemed to come out fine as compared to when I have made it with 1.25 pound of each meat. Works for me, anyway. My spouse, who is a connoisseur of meatballs loved them.
Shady Brook Farms used to sell their packages in 1.25 pound packages. Now, like everyone else, they have cut back on the volume in the packages. :o(
A winner again. Delicious meatballs. Wonderful flavor and not mushy as some others I have made.. your recipes always make me look like a fantastic cook! My favs so far are your chicken salad and sloppy joe recipes. So many more to try😁
Yum!!
I’ve been making these for years and they are my absolute favorite meatballs, hands down. I’m catering my own going-away party this weekend and made a triple batch of meatballs — I ended up with 101 balls. I couldn’t get my hands on the turkey sausage that I usually use, so I went with pork sausage instead … well, I didn’t think these babies could get any better, but the pork sausage makes them even more juicy and flavorful. Either way, though, you can’t go wrong.
If I could rate this 10,000 stars, I would. My aunt is from Sicily and taught me to make her gravy – rib meat, homemade meatballs that are fried on the stovetop, sausage fried on the stovetop, red wine…it takes me ALL day. Don’t get me wrong, it tastes amazing, and it’s a family heirloom of a recipe. But this recipe is at least as good as my Aunt Lisa’s. My four children ate 16 meatballs as snacks, I kid you not. And my husband said this is better than any restaurant meal he’s had.
We used a top quality sauce (rao’s)…I hate to admit that we used jarred sauce. I doubled it so I could freeze some. We happen to love sauce, so we also added two 28oz cans of crushed tomatoes the the pot. We used rao’s spaghetti. Best dinner in a long time.
Will make this again and again.
This is one of our favorite recipes, and it gets rave reviews every time we serve it. I usually have to tinker with recipes, but in this case, we make it exactly in accordance with the recipe. Leftovers freeze well.
Hi Jenn,
I made these last night and they were soooo easy to make. They were delicious and will use the recipe over and over again. Thank you!!!
This recipe was amazing! I made meatball grinders with it. Everyone loved it, thanks!!
Would this recipe work with curly kale instead of spinach? Would you do anything differently to soften or break down the kale? Thank you!
Hi Audrey, I think this would work with kale but I may steam it for a few minutes so it softens it up and more closely resembles the texture of baby spinach. Please LMK how they turn out!