Healthy Turkey Meatballs (with Sweet Potato!)

finished baked turkey meatballs on a lined pan.

Healthy Turkey Meatballs (with Sweet Potato!)

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: baked turkey meatballs, healthy turkey meatballs

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 15

Total Time: 25

Servings:

Calories: 158kcal

Author: Megan Gilmore

These healthy turkey meatballs are among the best things I've ever made. They come together without breadcrumbs or eggs (so they're naturally gluten-free), and taste like they'd be served at a restaurant. It's hard to stop eating them right out of the pan! The secret binding ingredient? Sweet potato. Be sure to bake one ahead of time, so you can assemble these meatballs in just about 10 minutes before they go into the oven.

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Ingredients

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 portion the meatball mixture and drop it onto the lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining mix to create about 24-28 balls. Use wet hands to shape the balls, if needed. (Getting your hands damp 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 a quarter of the batch (6-7 meatballs) or roughly 148 grams of cooked meatballs, if you're using a food scale. This information is automatically calculated and is 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