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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Very tasty! Will definitively be making these again! We had them over pasta for dinner. The recipe did made a lot. I froze about half the recipe, after cooking, I vacuum sealed and froze them later use (Yum!). The only changes I made to the recipe was used gluten free bread crumbs to make them GF and didn’t have scallions on hand so used white onion. Delicious! Thanks Jen!
These meatballs are really helping me out on busy nights. My son, who is quite picky, really likes them. I make a batch and freeze them. I also freeze grinder/sub rolls and when I need a meal I will defrost enough for one sandwich and my son can have it for his dinner. I add the whole 5 oz container of spinach and use Raos sauce. Comes out great. Thanks!
These were so DELICIOUS!!…and extremely easy to make. We will most definitely keep this in our rotation.
I am, however, baffled by a couple of things:
1) I felt like I was pretty good at keeping the size of the meatballs right around 1.5” and, yet, this ended up yielding closer to 3 1/2 dozen meatballs, instead of 30.
2) The night we first tried these we ended up using only 18 meatballs for three of us (which happily left us with enough for another full meal!). My concern lies in the quantity of the sauce. I used a 28oz jar of Rao’s (from Costco) and it was barely enough sauce for the 18 meatballs.
I worked in restaurants for nearly 40 years (front of house), 8 of those in NYC, and am extremely fortunate to have worked with some world-class chefs. Although I’m not a ”kitchen professional” per se, I do know my way around a kitchen, which is why I was caught off guard about the proportions.
Any thoughts about this, Jenn?
Thank you
Jeffrey
Hi Jeffrey, so glad you all enjoyed the meatballs! Regarding the meatballs, there’s some variation in terms of how large people make the meatballs – I guess mine were closer to 2 inches in diameter, hence fewer meatballs. And regarding the sauce, everyone likes a different amount of sauce – I thought what the recipe included was enough, but it sounds like clearly the 24 ounces would not have been sufficient for you for the whole recipe, so feel free to change that amount to whatever you prefer. 😊
Thank you, Jenn! I had a feeling it would be something along those lines, but didn’t want to subscribe to that assessment until I heard back from you. 😊
As usual, a great recipe from Jenn; my only change was to use hot turkey sausage. The ground turkey knocked down the heat of the sausage but the spice from the sausage increased the flavor of the meatball a little bit.
Jack
The sodium content is due to the cheese, breadcrumbs and sausage, correct (as there is no added salt in the recipe)?
That’s right — the one way I can think of that could reduce the sodium is to use low-sodium or no salt added marinara sauce.
I made my own Italian breadcrumbs from Billy Parisi’s website. Progresso Italian breadcrumbs are extremely salty…450 MG per 1/4 cup. That will cut out about 1 g of salt out of the recipe.
I am trying to find an uncooked turkey Italian sausage for this recipe, but am having no luck. My neighbor is under the weather and I want to make this for her.
The brand you use apparently is not available in my area which is surprising. I can only find fully cooked turkey Italian sausages. Can you provide me with some options and spices that I can use to compensate for the turkey sausage? I can’t substitute Italian pork sausage because she can’t eat pork or beef. Thanks in advance.
Hi Brenda, They won’t be quite as tender and juicy with all ground turkey, but you can get away with it. I’d add some Italian seasoning to the mixture (I’d guesstimate you’d need a heaping tablespoon). You’ll also need to add salt if the Italian seasoning doesn’t include it. Hope that helps and that your neighbor enjoys!
I love everything about this recipe! I make it a lot. The meatballs are so flavorful. I’m so glad I found it. Thank you
These were delicious and so easy to make. I’ve been just resorting to frozen meatballs for all these years – but not any more! Thanks for sharing this recipe.
I have been making this for years now and it never disappoints. Easy to put together and the ingredients generally what is on hand. Family favourite.
I’ve made these hundreds of times over the years. They never fail and are so delicious. This time I’m making ahead and freezing. How could I reheat these in a crockpot and can I do it from frozen? Thank you Jenn!
Hi Vikki, so glad you like them! If you’re freezing them, I think I’d thaw them prior to reheating in a crockpot. And as I don’t have a crockpot, I’m honestly not sure how long it will take. Sorry, I can’t be more helpful!