Mini Turkey Meatballs

We’ve been to Disney twice in the past 6 months, and apparently I’m Disney cursed, because both times I’ve come home sick. Immune system fail. The first trip was in the winter, in the midst of flu season, so I guess I wasn’t terribly surprised but I thought for sure I’d be fine this time. I mean, who gets sick in 90-degree Florida weather? Turns out I do, because unfortunately I’ve had a nagging sore throat for the past few days that only seems to have gotten worse this morning.

It just gives me an excuse to let the suitcases sit unpacked for yet another day 🙂 Do you guys unpack quickly after coming back from a trip? We’re the worst! Even if I felt 100%, I guarantee those bags wouldn’t be touched until next weekend.

Luckily I did get out to the store yesterday to grab some food so we won’t be reduced to eating cookies all week (as fun as that might be)…

We’re on a major meatball kick right now, I think we’ve tried two or three new recipes in the past month and they’ve all become regulars in our dinner rotation. These mini turkey meatballs are probably my second favorite of the bunch. Not only are they moist, flavorful and healthy, but they’re seriously so super quick and easy to throw together. We’re talking maybe 5 minutes of prep time and about 10 minutes in the oven, you really can’t beat that. You’d never guess these were made with ground turkey rather than ground beef either. Because they’re mini, you can enjoy quite a few too and still consider it a reasonable serving size. That might just be my favorite part of all!

Mini Turkey Meatballs
heavily adapted from Giada de Laurentiis (via Food Network)

{Note: if you prefer, you could brown the meatballs in a skillet and simmer them in marinara sauce to finish the cooking, but I think baking is so much easier and less messy so it’s my preferred method.}

1 large egg, lightly beaten
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup bread crumbs
3 tablespoons ketchup
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 lb ground turkey
marinara sauce, optional (for serving)

Preheat oven to 400 F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil then spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, stir together the egg, garlic, bread crumbs, ketchup, parsley, Parmesan, salt, and pepper. Add the ground turkey and gently mix until all of the ingredients are thoroughly combined. Use a small cookie scoop (mine measures about 1 1/2-inches) to shape the mixture into tiny meatballs. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for about 10 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center of the meatballs registers 165 F. Serve with toothpicks and marinara sauce for dipping, if desired.

Makes about 30 meatballs