Cheesy Baked Turkey Meatballs cooked in Marinara sauce to keep them flavorful and moist. An irresistable comfort food that only takes 30 minutes to make!
Cheesy Baked Turkey Meatballs in Marinara
Happy Labor Day!
It’s kinda crazy that this is the first Labor Day in over 10 years that I get to spend with family.
I guess it’s still kinda surreal to me that I can drive home from the grocery store and stop by my parents house because it’s on the way!?
Anywho. So if you’re wondering what I’m doing today .. as I’m sure you all are. In fact, I know that you woke up at 4am today because you knew that’s when my post was coming out, just so you could see what I was doing today. Well, I’m with my parents and my husbands parents.
Ok, I’m done.
Let’s get right to business shall we.
Turkey meatballs!
I was never a fan of meatballs growing up. If my mom made spaghetti it was usually with a meat sauce that she made from scratch, never meatballs.
I have only made meatballs once since Mike and I’ve been married. Okay, twice if you count this time. The last time I just baked them on a sheet pan, they were turkey and turned out kinda dry.
This time. Oh no … that was not the case at all!
The meat mixture itself was really moist, which is awesome considering it’s turkey and turkey can get dry really fast. The trick? I seared the meatballs first in a skillet to lock in all the flavors.
Then I poured my favorite Marinara sauce all over them. Basically covering them in liquid to ensure those meatballs don’t dry out and are the moistest most delicious meatballs you will E V E R have! The flavor from the meatballs seeps into the marinara sauce making this dish absolutely irresistible.
Oh, and don’t forget to cover these bad boys with cheese.
Because … um … cheese is everything! It’s the game changer. No body looks at a spoon with melting cheese dripping down and says ..
“um.. no thank you. No cheese please.”
Only crazy people say that. And honestly there is only 3/4 cup of cheese in this anyways which means each meatballs maybe has like a tablespoon. So get over it and eat the cheese .. you know you want to!
So, what to eat the meatballs with? Well, we at them with Spaghetti Squash. But you could serve them over pasta, zucchini noodles, or make a meatball sub with them! Either way you need this comfort food in your life!
Bon Appetit friends!
Baked Turkey Meatballs
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 12 meatballs 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
Description
These Baked Turkey Meatballs are cooked in marinara to keep them flavorful and moist, and they’re also loaded with cheese. Done in 30 minutes!
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. ground turkey
- 1 cup diced yellow onion
- 4 garlic cloves, diced
- 1/2 cup gluten free panko
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 1 tablespoon dry oregano
- 1 tablespoon dry basil
- 1 tablespoon dry parsley
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 jar of marinara sauce
- 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- In a large mixing bowl, add ground turkey, onion, garlic cloves, parmesan cheese, eggs, oregano, basil, parsley, salt, fennel seeds, and black pepper. Using your hands, mix all the ingredients.
- Form into twelve 2″ balls.
- Place the meatballs in the pan.
- Bake for 15 minutes.
- Remove from oven and place the meatballs under broiler for 4 minutes to brown.
- Remove meatballs from the oven. Cover the meatballs with marinara sauce and sprinkle with cheese.
- Place the meatballs back in 400°F oven and bake for another 5 minutes or until internal temperature of meatballs reached 165°F.
- Garnish with basil and serve.
