Healthy Turkey Meatballs

These healthy turkey meatballs are a magical, nutritious twist on the classic. No breadcrumbs or eggs are required for binding. Instead, they rely on a simple ingredient—sweet potatoes!

As a result, these meatballs are gluten-free, egg-free, and high in protein. You can use them over your favorite pasta, in a stir-fry with veggies, or on a salad or grain bowl this week.

The flavor is delicious (actually, amazing) all on its own, but you can also toss it with any number of sauces.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Featured Review

“I tried them as per the recipe and they are delicious! Super easy too. We used our favourite tomato sauce. The entire family loved them. I will make them again!” – Julie

Healthy Turkey Meatball Ingredients

• Ground Turkey. I tested this recipe with 92% lean ground turkey, but I imagine you can use a leaner option, as well. (Ground chicken could work, too.)
• Sweet Potato. A baked sweet potato serves as the binder, eliminating the need for eggs or breadcrumbs. This doesn’t need to be warm or freshly baked, so you can use leftovers from a previous meal.
• Spices. Garlic powder, thyme, and salt help boost the flavor. It tastes like Thanksgiving!

How to Make Turkey Meatballs with Sweet Potato

Step 1:

Preheat your oven to 400ºF and line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup. (If your pan has no rim around the edge, juices could leak into the oven.)

This recipe assumes you already have a large baked sweet potato on hand. To measure the sweet potato, scoop the center into a measuring cup and mash it down with a fork. You’ll need one tightly packed cup for this recipe, which can be obtained from a medium to large baked sweet potato.

In a large bowl, combine the measured sweet potato, ground turkey, garlic powder, dried thyme, and salt.

Step 2:

Use a fork to mix the ingredients in the bowl. Keep stirring until the mixture looks uniform and the spices are evenly distributed. 

Scoop the mixture with a 1-ounce cookie scoop (or a heaping tablespoon) and drop the mounds onto the prepared pan. The mixture will be sticky, so a cookie scoop that can help release the mixture is helpful. Repeat until you’ve made about 24 meatballs.

Use wet hands to shape any balls that need smoothing. (Getting your hands wet will prevent sticking.)

Step 3:

Bake at 400°F for 15 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer registers 165°F in the center of the meatballs. (It’s okay if it goes higher than that, too.) The baked meatballs will only be golden brown on the bottom of the pan, so they don’t look quite as pretty as pan-fried meatballs.

But, boy, are they easier this way! 

Turkey Meatball Serving Tips

Serve the meatballs over spaghetti in your favorite marinara sauce and garnish with fresh parsley or basil. Or, toss them in any other sauce you love. Their flavor is neutral enough to be used in many dishes. 

(Below, they are tossed in my Kung Pao sauce and served with steamed broccoli.)

Healthy Turkey Meatballs (with Sweet Potato!)

5 from 7 votes

These healthy turkey meatballs are a delicious alternative to the classic! Made with baked sweet potatoes, they have a perfectly tender texture and are naturally gluten-free.

prep10 mins cook15 mins total25 mins

Servings:4

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Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1 cup baked sweet potato , tightly packed
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 400ºF and line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, combine the ground turkey, sweet potato, salt, thyme, garlic powder, and black pepper. Use a fork to mix the ingredients until the mixture looks relatively uniform.
• Use a 1-ounce cookie scoop to scoop the meatball mixture and drop it onto the lined baking sheet. Repeat the remaining mix, creating about 24 balls. Use wet hands to shape the balls, if needed. (Getting your hands damp wet will prevent sticking.)
• Bake the meatballs at 400ºF for 15 minutes, or until the center of the meatballs reaches 165ºF with an instant-read thermometer. The tops will not look golden, but the bottom of the meatballs (where they touched the pan) should be light brown.
• Serve the meatballs warm in your favorite sauce. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Notes

Nutrition information is for roughly 6 meatballs, assuming you get 24 total from this recipe. This information is automatically calculated and just an estimate, not a guarantee.

Sweet Potato Note: This recipe assumes you have a large baked sweet potato on hand. For a tutorial, here’s how to bake sweet potatoes. You might be able to use leftover mashed sweet potatoes or regular mashed potatoes, too! Let me know if you experiment with this idea.

Seasoning Note: Thyme is a great flavor with sweet potatoes and turkey, but you can swap it for oregano if you want an Italian flavor. Or add in some freshly minced ginger for a variation that would go well with Kung Pao Sauce.

Nutrition

Calories: 158kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 27g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 62mg | Sodium: 658mg | Potassium: 457mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 4756IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 1mg

Author: Megan Gilmore

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: baked turkey meatballs, healthy turkey meatballs

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If you try this healthy turkey meatball recipe, please leave a comment and star rating below, letting me know how you like them.