Meatballs are one of my hubby, Meik’s, favorite foods but for some reason they always get forgotten in the rotation (oops…). A few weeks ago we were up in Kamloops visiting our families and his sister, Jeannette, was whipping up a batch of the family fave and it inspired me to make some. So much so that we grabbed a few ingredients on the drive home and I got to cooking when we got in Sunday afternoon.
I like making meatballs with ground turkey for a bit of a lighter version but I find that ground turkey can get a bit dry. Luckily I’ve got a little trick up my sleeve that I’ve been using for years. It gives you the juiciest, most delish ground turkey dishes. You might remember it from these Greek Turkey Burgers. The key is soaking your breadcrumbs in milk before adding them to your mixture – perfection.
These could also be baked in the oven but I love a good sear in a cast iron pan for some extra flavor. This is a great batch cooking recipe so if you want to be extra organized and set yourself up for the week, double the recipe and get ready for those jealous stares from your co-workers 🙂
I love the way that quinoa soaks up sauces so I decided to try them over quinoa instead of pasta. I wasn’t totally sure how this was going to turn out but it was amazing and also Meik approved.
I’ve been curious to try out a different meat like bison or elk for meatballs. Have any of you ever tried it? What’s your favorite ground meat? Leave me a comment below and if you have any favorite recipes. I’d love to try!
Juicy Skillet Turkey Meatballs
- Total Time: 45
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
I hope you enjoy my trick for the juiciest meatballs you’ve ever had!
Ingredients
- ¾ cup dry quinoa (I used GRAIN’s Golden Quinoa)
- ½ cup breadcrumbs
- ½ cup milk
- 1 lb ground turkey
- Coarse salt and freshly-cracker pepper (approx. ¼ tsp each)
- ¼ cup + 2 Tbsp fresh parsley, minced & divided
- ¼ cup + ¼ cup red onion, diced & divided
- 2 large cloves of garlic, minced or crushed
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 x 25 oz can tomato sauce
- 1 tbsp red wine
- ¼ cup oregano, minced (or 1 Tbsp dried)
- ¼ cup freshly grated parmigiano reggiano
Instructions
- Get quinoa cooking. Cook according to package directions.
- Next, add breadcrumbs to a small bowl and cover with milk. Set aside and allow the milk to soak in, approx 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, combine turkey, salt and pepper, ¼ cup parsley, onion and egg in a medium-sized mixing bowl. When all of the milk has soaked into the breadcrumbs add to the ground turkey mixture and use a fork to mix all ingredients until well combined (or go ahead and get your hands in there to mix!). Mixture will be quite wet, but will hold together once cooked.
- Roll into 8-10 large meatballs.
- Heat oil in your cast iron pan over medium-high eat. Allow to heat up for 1-2 minutes. Add onion and garlic and sauté for 3-4 minutes or until fragrant. Next add the meatballs and sear on all sides, approximately 1-2 minutes each side or until golden brown (You may need to add a bit more olive oil as you go).
- Keep the meatballs in the pan and add your tomato sauce, red wine and oregano. Simmer for 15-20 minutes to allow flavor to develop.
- Right before serving, sprinkle generously with freshly-grated Parmesan and remaining Parsley and dish up onto your quinoa.
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 25
- Category: Main Dishes
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: Italian
Keywords: Comfort Food, High Protein
Happy Eating!
Lindsay
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![5 minute Honey Tahini Energy Bites, anyone? (Pssst, they’re also packed with greens 😉)
Not only are these packed full of the PFF combo (protein, fat and fiber- my fave combo for a satiating snack), I’ve also leveled them up with @myprogressive VegeGreens! Each scoop is a potent source of antioxidants for those times you wanna level up with some easy greens on the go! [AD]
To make them:
1 cup + 2 tbsp cup quick oats
2 scoops @myprogressive VegeGreens
1/4 cup honey
1 cup tahini
2 tsp cocoa
1 tsp vanilla
Pinch salt
3 tbsp sesame seeds (for rolling)
Combine all ingredients except the sesame seeds in a medium bowl and mix until well combined. Roll into 1-inch balls and then roll the balls in the sesame seeds.
What’s your go-to snack these days? Share in the comments! #UnlockYourNextLevel](https://www.lindsaypleskot.com/wp-content/uploads/sb-instagram-feed-images/336978656_784793936031458_3112062857326878802_nfull.jpg)
Bill Witte says
I made a double batch of this recipe and it is very tasty. I substituted the quinoa for leftover brown rice with “wild” rice. You are correct when you say the mixture is “quite wet”. I ended up with very unusually shaped lumps as I browned two batches in the large frying pan. The balls slumped as they cooked on each “side”. I was concerned about the turkey not being thoroughly cooked so I slow baked them in the oven for an hour at 350F in the sauce. They turned out great.
Lindsay says
Hi Bill! Happy to hear you enjoyed them! You can always skip or cut down the milk in the breadcrumbs and just add the breadcrumbs if they are too wet. Great idea to bake them though! Baking is always a great alternative for a quicker more hands off method too ?