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Turkey Pesto Meatballs

June 1, 2010

After posting a picture of these Turkey Pesto Meatballs last week on our Facebook School Lunch photo gallery, I got so many requests for the recipe that I decided I should put it up ASAP!

A weelicious reader emailed me recently saying that she had tried a version of these meatballs at a friend’s house, and while she knew the flavors and ingredients, she could not recall the amounts or how to make them. I love getting requests to figure out recipes because part of the fun for me in testing is discovering new family favorites. I’m so grateful to that reader because everyone under my roof loved these bite-sized gems. Shockingly, the person who ate the most -- Chloe, our 14 month old -- downed six (six!) in one meal. She probably would have eaten the whole batch had I let her, but even babies need to share!! Next time I have to remember to make double the amount.

Turkey Pesto Meatballs  (Serves 4-6)

  • Prep Time:10 minutes,
  • Cook Time: 25 minutes,
  • Total Time: 35 minutes,

Ingredients

Preparation

  1. 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. 2. Place all the ingredients (except for the marinara sauce) in a bowl and using your hands, combine until everything is incorporated.
  3. 3. Using about 1 tablespoon of the mixture per meatball, roll into balls and place on a plate.
  4. 4. Pour the marinara sauce into a 9 x 9 inch baking pan and top with the meatballs.
  5. 5. Cover the baking pan with foil and bake for 20-25 minutes.**
  6. 6. Serve.
  7. To Freeze: Roll into balls and place on a cookie sheet and freeze. After 30 minutes place the par-frozen balls in a ziploc bag, label and freeze. When ready, defrost in fridge for 24 hours or put them straight in the oven with sauce increasing cooking time by 5 minutes.

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Comments






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  2. Stephanie

    February 12, 2013 at 9:25 pm

    These are awesome! My boys are pretty easy to please when it comes to meatballs, but we had a family friend over and her daughter usually refuses to eat meat. She loved these meatballs and even asked for seconds!
    Another wonderful weelicious recipe!

  3. Tamara

    January 25, 2013 at 7:54 pm

    Great recipe– at long last a tender meatball recipe that my twin toddlers will eat! Best part for me is that they don’t require frying before baking… they’re SO MUCH easier/faster to make than every other meatball recipe I’ve tried! Thanks!

  4. AGomez

    January 16, 2013 at 6:59 pm

    Mine were also still raw after 25mins with a preheated oven. is it because I’m using a glass baking dish? What kind of dish do you mean when you say a 9×9 baking pan….would metal make a difference? And how deep is the pan?

  5. tiffany

    December 3, 2012 at 11:01 pm

    I’m confused, it says if you want to freeze them, to make the balls and then put them (uncooked) in the freezer. Aren’t you not supposed to refreeze defrosted meat? Or is this under the assumption that the meat was never frozen in the first place?

    • catherine

      December 4, 2012 at 2:25 pm

      I make these with fresh meat! If you’re using defrosted meat it should be okay to be refrozen after mixing it with the other ingredients, especially if the meat wasn’t frozen too long in the first place. If you’re using meat that you have had in your freezer for 3 months, then you should make these and eat them instead of freezing since the meat is ready to be used up anyway!

  6. cocovolleyball

    December 3, 2012 at 12:36 am

    Wow, these turned out great!! All ingredients from Trader Joe’s; used panko instead of regular breadcrumbs. Used the jarred organic marinara with no added salt. Got my handy 1 inch cookie dough scoop and didn’t pack the meatballs too hard. Cooking time was more like 30 minutes for me.

  7. Beverly Galashan

    November 16, 2012 at 5:30 pm

    Hello. I made these meatballs (as well as the chicken ones made in a sauté pan) and although I found them delicious, my 10 month old was unable to chew them because they were so compact and firm. He has eaten meatballs from the preparred food section of whole foods as well as turkey meatloaf that I make at home. Am I rolling the meatballs too tight or is this just how the recipe works? We used the fresh ground white meat from Wholefoods, in case that is what is missing, the fat.
    My son. Johnny, loves to eat food with his hands so we have tried many of your delicious recipes in search of more exciting options for him. A few of his favorites are the Zucchini Parmesan cakes, baby bolognese, pumpkin pear bread (dangerously delicious) and Mac and cheese chicken bites. Next up to try are the spinach ricotta cakes. We have numerous others that we purée and he gobbled them up.
    Thank you for the wonderful recipes.
    Beverly

    • catherine

      November 16, 2012 at 7:26 pm

      The fat is definitely what was missing. White meat cooks more quickly and will dry out faster which makes things like meatballs and chicken nuggets seem more dense and tough.

  8. Kelly Martin

    November 7, 2012 at 8:50 pm

    I have made these loads of times, but tonight they didn’t cook at the same speed. I use a table spoon to measure, but this time I used extra lean turkey instead of lean. I wonder if that made the difference? So weird!

  9. Tiffany

    November 3, 2012 at 6:10 pm

    Could I cook them without the sauce? Just put the meatballs on a baking sheet and do it that way? My 3 yr old likes his meatballs plain (we buy frozen ones and he doesn’t like sauce on them).

    • catherine

      November 5, 2012 at 6:29 pm

      You absolutely can bake them that way!

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  11. D's Mom

    October 22, 2012 at 6:51 am

    Thank you so much for this recipe! I’ve made it three times now and my husband and 18 mo old son love it! We’ve tried it with beef too and we prefer it with turkey, fyi, for anyone who’s wondering. Thanks again!

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  13. Heather

    September 5, 2012 at 5:11 am

    Looks great! How lean is the turkey you use –99% fat free or the 93%?

    Thanks!

    • catherine

      September 5, 2012 at 11:31 am

      99%!

  14. Michele M

    August 26, 2012 at 9:03 am

    I have been making these for our little one as well as the whole family for a while. She LOVES and will request for a meal! Yummy!!! I found they turned out better if I did not roll or pack the ball too tight… keeps it light and cooks better. My husband likes to slice the leftovers for a mini pizza or put in a sub. Thanks for a great meal in our rotation!

  15. D's Mom

    August 14, 2012 at 8:17 pm

    My husband loved these and he’s a tough judge!! I made these last night, using Trader Joe’s pesto, and then popped them into the oven tonight for dinner. I used Whole Foods 365 Roasted Vegetable pasta sauce. We served them over whole wheat couscous. DELICIOUS! I cant wait for or 16 month old son to try these. Thanks for the recipe and thanks for making it egg-free. (It’s helpful because sometimes we run out!)

  16. catherine

    June 11, 2012 at 3:40 pm

    I haven’t tried that, but I don’t see why not! I’ll have to try it. :)

  17. Daksha

    June 8, 2012 at 4:12 pm

    Can you make these in the crockpot?

  18. Kelly

    May 10, 2012 at 8:33 pm

    My 13 month old loves these!!! And I did too!

  19. Rachel

    April 13, 2012 at 11:20 am

    Thanks for the recipe! Used it last night as we celebrated Passover…used Matzo Meal instead of bread crumbs (we don’t keep kosher so we left the cheese in). Oh, and we also used the enerG Egg Replacer, due to a egg allergy in the family.

    The entire family loved it, which rarely happens since we have a wide range of ages to please…the recently-turned-picky 22 month old, the bottomless pitt 11 yr old boy & the sophisticated palate of a 17yr old diva in training.

    Thanks again. :)

  20. Marcy Frazier

    March 19, 2012 at 9:14 pm

    Love the turkey pesto meatballs, but I tweaked the recipe just a bit. Remember my mother’s heavenly meatballs were cooked on the stove and developed a wonderful, crispy crust, so I tried the same technique. Yummy! Also doubled the breadcrumbs (from fresh honey whole wheat bread) because I prefer a fluffier meatball. My daughter Alexis devoured them!

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  22. Roxanne

    November 29, 2011 at 7:29 pm

    I made these turkey pesto meatballs last night for my family and they were a hit! So flavorful! As I type this review my 22 month old son is eating them so fast it’s amazing, he never eats like that. I will be making some more tonight to freeze.

    Just a side note, they did take a lot longer to cook than the 25 minutes. They were basically still raw when I took them out after the suggested time. I thought maybe I had made them too large, which I will make them smaller next time, but I do see that others had this issue as well.
    Thanks the wonderful recipe!

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  24. Samantha

    November 20, 2011 at 5:28 pm

    Can you substitute ground beef instead?

    Thanks!

    • mkiekow

      September 6, 2012 at 9:44 am

      I usually make them with GF ground beef… they are yummy!!

      • shell.k

        September 6, 2012 at 9:47 am

        …and pan cook them vs. cooking in the oven – that way I can drain off the fat/excess oil. Then I just add sauce and serve.

  25. CCMom

    August 8, 2011 at 5:28 pm

    We eat pasta regularly. These were the BEST meatballs I have ever made. So good it was ridiculous! I’m stuffed, but still want a 2nd helping!