Herb Turkey Meatballs

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Nut-free/Dairy-free

Skill Level: Beginner

Yield: About 20 meatballs

Prep Time: 20-25 minutes

Cook Time: 8-12 minutes

Equipment Needed:

• Cutting board 

• Chef's knife 

• 1-tablespoonsized portion scoop (optional, but helpful)

• Air fryer (optional)

The Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound ground turkey

• 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder

• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt

• 1 egg

• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh herbs such as basil, oregano, Italian flat-leaf parsley, thyme, or a combination of any of these

• Cooking spray

Procedure:

1. Add all ingredients together in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Use your hand to combine all ingredients until everything looks fully incorporated. The key here is to only handle the mixture as much as you need to and to not overwork it, or the meat will become tough.

2. Using a portion scoop or a tablespoon, scoop out 1 tablespoon of the meat mixture at a time and form into a ball. I like to wear food-safe gloves when I do this because I think the meat doesn't stick as well to them as it does my bare hands. Again, during this step you want to handle the meat as little as possible to maximize tenderness of your meatballs, so just give them a quick shape and then put them on a plate.

3. Air fryer method: Preheat your air fryer to 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 2-3 minutes. Spray the inside of the basket with cooking spray, then add half of your meatballs to the basket. Give them enough space so that they are not touching each other. Cook for 4 minutes, then use an instant-read thermometer to check the internal temperature. If your meatballs have reached 165 degrees Fahrenheit, transfer them to a clean plate and repeat this process with the remaining meatballs. If they are not quite at 165 degrees, cook for 1 more minute and check again.

4. Conventional oven method: Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a cooling rack with cooking spray and place it on a cookie sheet. Arrange your meatballs on the cooling rack so they are not touching one another. Bake for 5 minutes, then check the internal temperature using an instant-read thermometer. If your meatballs have reached 165 degrees Fahrenheit, remove from the oven. If they are not quite there, return to the oven for 1 more minute and check again. Continue checking every minute until they reach 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

5. Store leftover meatballs in the fridge for 2-3 days.

To Seve: Meatballs are so versatile! My kids love spaghetti and meatballs, so that is usually where I serve these tasty little flavor-bombs, but you could toss them in BBQ sauce and serve them over rice or as an appetizer, put 3-4 of them in a hoagie bun and smother them with marinara and mozzarella cheese and broil for a yummy meatball sub, or add them to any pasta dish. The texture of these meatballs is quite soft, so I also think these would make a great baby/toddler snack or meal.

Adjusting for your diet: Although I haven't tried it, I think these meatballs could easily be made vegetarian by using a plant-based protein. Make them gluten-free by using gluten-free panko breadcrumbs.

Tips:

• I usually use 90% lean 10% fat ground turkey, but I'm sure you could use any type. You could also try using ground chicken, pork, or beef in place of the ground turkey.

• I like to use basil as my herb of choice in this recipe, but any of the herbs mentioned in the ingredients list should work wonderfully. If fresh herbs are not available to you, you could try substituting 2-3 teaspoons of dried herbs, but fresh are going to give you the best flavor in this recipe.

• I use onion powder in this recipe, but you could also substitute in about 1/4 cup minced fresh onion as well. My goal was to make these meatballs as simple to prepare as possible, and since I was already mincing garlic and fresh herbs, I chose onion powder as a substitute for fresh and thought the flavor was still great.

• As noted in the recipe, you can use a conventional oven to make these meatballs if you don't have an air fryer, but if you do have an air fryer I highly recommend that method because they cook up just beautifully without heating up your house.

• The air fryer I use is pretty small so I cook these in two batches which is not a big deal because they cook up so fast, but if yours has a larger capacity you could definitely cook them all at once, just be sure they are not touching so the air can circulate and they can cook evenly.

• Feeding a crowd? This recipe could easily be doubled or tripled to meet your needs.

The Story:

Homemade meatballs and I have had a somewhat tumultuous relationship for most of my culinary career. When made successfully, homemade meatballs are, in my opinion, far superior to their frozen but much more convenient counterparts. After trying out MANY different homemade meatball recipes at home, I was always disappointed in the amount of effort I had to put in to achieve something that was kind of sub-par. I gave up for a while and started purchasing bulk bags of meatballs at Costco, which my kids were fine with but my husband and I, not so much.

Is there anything more classic?! My kids' favorite meal right here.

This spring I was gifted a great used air fryer (thanks M.S.), and while I hadn't ever thought about going out and buying this kitchen appliance, once I had one in my cupboard it was really fun to get curious and come up with new ways to use it. I had the idea to go back to the drawing board on meatballs and come up with my own recipe, using the air fryer to cook them up on a hot summer day.

This was one of those times when I threw a recipe together and really wasn't sure if it would turn out or not; I think I audibly gasped when I opened the air fryer and was greeted with perfectly browned, adorable little meatballs. Upon tasting my creation I was rewarded with a perfectly tender meatball that delivered a beautiful punch of herbaceous basil flavor, a lovely celebration of summer. These Herb Turkey Meatballs are big on flavor, satisfying, and quite healthy thanks to the use of lean ground turkey as the protein.

I'm all in on air fryer cookery, especially after this great success! If you have any awesome air fryer recipes, I'd love to hear about them :)

Happy tasting!