A few weeks ago I did a video sharing my ideas "Lighter" Stuffed Shells. I mentioned making meatballs special for the husband who requested "regular" ones as opposed to my normal turkey ones.
This is how I made them. He likes them but doesn't LOVE them. Me? I think they are great! and so does the child. They are much closer to a traditional meatball. The recipe here uses all dry ingredients for convenience sake. However, I think the meatballs would really pop with some fresh herbs, fresh minced onion and fresh garlic.
Either way, I thought the base recipe would give you some ideas. Cook them for a few hours in my Homemade Sauce and your house will smell like an Italian restaurant, I swear! 🙂
Ingredients
- 2 slices of whole wheat bread (I use the ends)
- ½ lbs (8oz) lean ground turkey
- ½ lbs (8oz) lean ground beef
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- ½ tablespoon dried basil
- ½ tablespoon dried oregano
- 2 tablespoon parmesan cheese
- Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
Instructions
Run the bread through your food processor to make the bread crumbs.
Add all ingredients in a bowl and mix with your hands until well blended.
Weight out 1 oz of meat and roll into a ball. It should make 20 meatballs with a little leftover.
Now, you can broil these as I do with these turkey meatballs or you can simple pan fry with a little olive oil spray in the same pot you are making sauce in. That's what I did this morning.
I then cooked the meatball in the sauce all day (6 hours.)
P.S. Can you tell I'm LOVING my new camera? Also notice the little guy back there, he wasn't feeling well today. 🙁
📖 Recipe
Simply Meatballs
Ingredients
- 2 slices of whole wheat bread I use the ends
- ½ lbs 8oz lean ground turkey
- ½ lbs 8oz lean ground beef
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- ½ tablespoon dried basil
- ½ tablespoon dried oregano
- 2 tablespoon parmesan cheese
- Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
Instructions
- Run the bread through your food processor to make the bread crumbs.2 slices of whole wheat bread
- Add all ingredients in a bowl and mix with your hands until well blended.½ lbs 8oz lean ground turkey, ½ lbs 8oz lean ground beef, 1 egg, 1 tablespoon onion powder, 1 tablespoon garlic powder, 1 tablespoon dried parsley, ½ tablespoon dried basil, ½ tablespoon dried oregano, 2 tablespoon parmesan cheese, Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
- Weight out 1 oz of meat and roll into a ball. It should make 20 meatballs with a little leftover.
- Now, you can broil these as I do with these turkey meatballs or you can simple pan fry with a little olive oil spray in the same pot you are making sauce in. That's what I did this morning.
- I then cooked the meatball in the sauce all day (6 hours.)
Ima Zul
hey! thanks for posting this recipe!! i'm simmering the sauce now. my house smells Italian!!
roni
You should be fine if you just mince them up. These held together great!
Meemz
Thanks for that Roni 🙂 one more question please. If I am using fresh onions instead of the dried stuff. Should i chop the onion finely or just grate the whole thing? I don't want my meatballs to fall apart 🙁
roni
Meemz - I've never used bulgur but you could totally get away with 1/2-3/4 of a cup of oatmeal.
As for the time, I've simmered mine in sauce for more then 6 hours with no major issues.
Hope that helps!
Meemz
Hi Roni,
Great pics 🙂 I hope your little one feels better soon. I was wondering, if I were to use oatmeal or bulgur instead of the breadcrumbs, how much would I need? Will it be the same amount or will I need to use less or more? Also, would it significantly change the taste? And if I were to cook the meat for 6 hours+, should I put the heat on the lowest temperature possible?
Thanks,
M.
Marla Schwartz
This is too funny! I just made meatballs for dinner than noticed my Greenlitebites email update 3 hours later. I made mine South Beach Style with no bread crumbs. They had a Greek flavor with feta, garlic, onions, oregano and some red wine vinegar - to name a few. However, I'm wishing I'd made them early and let them simmer in your sauce. Looks delicious.
Michele
I made meatballs this morning. I put bulger in them this time rather than oatmeal or bread crumbs. I figured they would "beef" them up a bit. They turned out great, and not dry at all (which i was a bit worried about).
Susan
This sounds great! I'll have to give it a try! My Mom (who is Sicilian) always puts wine in her meatballs, whichs adds a lot of flavor and probably not many points. Meatballs are my 4 year old's favorite! 🙂