Baked Gluten Free Turkey Meatballs
Whether you’re gluten-sensitive or simply craving a healthier meatball alternative, try my Baked Gluten-Free Turkey Meatballs. These tasty turkey meatballs showcase that you don’t have to sacrifice flavor if you want to enjoy gluten free foods. They are made with lean ground turkey, simple spices and they’re great for busy weeknights or meal prep.
Original Post: October 2022 | Updated Post: January 2025
My favorite way to enjoy these turkey meatballs is for my meal prep as a snack and also as an easy dinner. My family enjoys them with rice or pasta. The meatball mixture has such a mild flavor that my toddler likes it and doesn’t complain it’s too spicy.
Why you will love this recipe
- Just like my Bison Meatballs , these healthy turkey meatballs can be enjoyed as a high protein snack or appetizer, on top of a salad or your favorite gluten-free pasta.
- These turkey gluten free meatballs are oven baked and can be prepared ahead of time.
- Ground turkey is a great source of protein for the whole family.
Other gluten free ground turkey recipes to try: Turkey Meatloaf, Best Italian Stuffed Ground Turkey Zucchini Boats and my Shakshuka with Ground Turkey.
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Ingredients for Gluten Free Ground Turkey Meatballs
- Lean ground turkey. I like to use 93/7 or 85/15. I wouldn’t go lower in fat unless you need to for dietary reasons.
- Italian parsley.
- White onion.
- Gluten free bread crumbs. You can use my Homemade Gluten Free Breadcrumbs or store bought.
- Egg. This will act as a binder along with the breadcrumbs in the meatball.
- Fresh parmesan cheese. Cheese is an optional garnish
- Marinara sauce. This is an optional dipping sauce or you can throw the cooked meatballs into your favorite pasta sauce.
- Black pepper and kosher salt,
- My spice blend of dried oregano, dried basil, granulated garlic powder, paprika, onion powder, cayenne and dried thyme.
How to make Gluten Free Ground Turkey Meatballs
Step One: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper. In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground turkey along with parsley, onion, bread crumbs and egg.
Step Two: Gently combine the meat mixture with your hands for 30 seconds. Then add the bread the spices. Continue to combine until all the ingredients are incorporated. (But don’t over mix)
Step Three: Divide the mixture into 20 individual balls and place on the lined baking sheet.
Step Four: Place meatballs in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. The internal temperature should be 165 degrees and the meatballs will be a nice golden brown color.
Step Five: When done, carefully remove from the oven and let them cool for about 5-10 minutes. Serve with grated parmesan and marinara sauce or top with your favorite sauce.
Storing and freezing meatballs
To save on time, you can prep the meatballs the night before and place them on a prepared baking sheet to bake off the next day. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. To freeze, store raw meatballs in a freezer bag up to 3 months.
Helpful tips for this easy recipe
- Using gloves makes the meatball making process much easier (and less messy!)
If you feel the meatball mixture is too soft to form the balls, put the mixture back into fridge for about an hour. Having the mixture cold helps form the meatballs better.
- Use a meat thermometer to ensure the meatballs are the correct temperature.
- Throw the onion in the food processor for a quick chop.
- To better portion the meatballs you can use a large spoon, or a cookie scoop or a small ice cream scoop. I like to do them by hand.
- When cooking ground turkey, its super important to keep moisture in it. When making a meatball especially, if you go too low in fat, it will taste dry. I recommend using 85/15. If you need to use 93/7, you can and it will still be good. But anything lower like 99% fat free may taste dry.
- You can sub out the ground turkey for ground beef but the same fat content rules apply- use over 10% fat. 90/10, 85/15 and 80/20 are good choices. Ground pork and ground chicken are delicious as well.
Serving suggestions for this Turkey Meatball recipe
- They make a great protein snack and can be reheated in the microwave.
- They are even more enjoyable with a sauce. Any kind of sauce really would be amazing. (or my husband would say just throw ketchup on them and you’re good!) I recommend my Simple Roasted Vegetable Sauce for Pasta or your favorite marinara sauce, tomato sauce, sweet and sour, barbeque or a puttanesca.
- As these are baked in the oven for this recipe, you can also sear them in large skillet or cast iron with some olive oil and then finish the cooking process by braising them in a sauce. Once you get the sear, you will want to add them to the sauce carefully with tongs so that they don’t break. You can also finish the cooking process in a slow cooker. This gluten-free meatball recipe can be cooked in an air fryer as well.
- Some ways to enjoy these gluten-free meatballs is in meatball subs, meatball sliders, on top of your favorite pasta or low carb on top of spaghetti squash, cauliflower rice or zucchini noodles. This is the perfect recipe for the entire family and anyone followling a gluten-free diet.
- These are the best meatballs for the holiday season if you need an easy appetizer idea.
- This meatball recipe works with regular breadcrumbs if you don’t need it to be gluten-free.
- Other simple ingredients would be tasty in these gluten-free meatballs such as fresh basil or red bell peppers.
- Use grain free breadcrumbs to make paleo turkey meatballs.
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Baked Gluten Free Turkey Meatballs
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Ingredients
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1/3 cup Italian parsley washed and chopped
- 1/2 medium white onion small dice
- 1/2 cup gluten free bread crumbs
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup fresh parmesan cheese optional garnish
- 1 cup marinara sauce optional garnish
Italian Spice Blend Seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
- 1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine the ground turkey along with the parsley, onion, bread crumbs and egg.
- Gently combine the meatball mixture with your hands for 30 seconds. Then add the bread the spices.
- Continue to combine until all the ingredients are incorporated.
- Divide the mixture into 20 individual balls and place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
- Place in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes.
- The internal temperature should be 165 degrees.
- When done, carefully remove from the oven and let them cool for about 5-10 minutes.
- Serve with grated parmesan and marinara sauce or top with your favorite sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
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