Spicy Turkey Meatballs

There are few things I can eat for days and days without getting sick of the same taste. For whatever reason, for me, this includes spaghetti with meatballs covered in tomato sauce. While it's much faster to make pasta sauce simply with ground meat, making it as a meatball tastes so much better! It takes more work with your hands, but the juicy texture in the end makes it so worthwhile!

In my below version, I use turkey instead of meat to make it slightly healthier. However, you can definitely substitute or do a combination with ground beef or pork. In addition, while most other recipes require you to bake the meatballs, the recipe below is a NO BAKE version! It just requires a quick sear before it starts simmering and cooking in the tomato sauce. Last but not least, another perk about meatballs is that you can serve them with your spaghetti OR as an appetizer. Regardless of which you decide, it will mouthwatering...

Spicy Turkey Meatballs

Prep Time: 15 min

Cook Time: 35 min

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup milk

• 1 large egg

• 1 lb ground turkey

• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

• 1/2 cup bread crumbs

• 1/2 tsp dried oregano

• 1/8 cup fresh basil (minced)

• 1/8 cup fresh parsley (minced)

• 1/4 tsp black pepper

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1/4 tsp chili powder

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 2 garlic cloves (minced)

• 1/4 tsp red chilli flakes

• ~25 oz can of tomato sauce

Directions:

• In a large bowl, mix together milk and egg. Add ground turkey, Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, oregano, basil, parsley, black pepper, salt, and chili powder. While you can use a spoon to mix all ingredients together, it's best to use your hands. Combine all ingredients together evenly, but avoid overly mixing or crushing the pieces of ground meat.

• Think about how you plan to serve your meatballs to determine the size you want to mold them into (e.g. served over pasta or as an appetizer). For 1.5" meatballs, it should yield about 13-15 meatballs.

• Wet your hands with water or with light oil, then roll the meat to desired size with your hands. Set them aside on a large baking sheet or plates.

• In a large frying pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and red chili flakes and sauté for about a minute until fragrant. Carefully add in meatballs. Let sit to sear for about 2 minutes. Using a spoon, roll meatballs over and let sit for another 2 minutes.

• Lower stove heat to low and evenly add in tomato sauce. Use a lid large enough to cover the entire pan. Let simmer for 15 minutes. Remove lid, and roll over meatballs. Cover pan again with lid and let simmer for another 5 to 10 minutes (or until meatballs temperature reach 165 degrees F).

• Turn off stove, transfer meatballs to serving plate, and enjoy warm! Garnish with more basil, if desired.