Healthy Turkey Meatballs are juicy while being low fat! Made without breadcrumbs, they’re keto, Whole30, paleo, gluten free and dairy free! A nutritious twist on a classic dish. Made with lean turkey and fresh herbs- they’re the perfect dinner! I love pairing with tomato sauce and zucchini noodles.
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Whether you’re Italian or not – there’s no denying that there are few better things in life than a big bowl of pasta + meatballs. Especially when they’re delicious AND gluten free, dairy free, paleo, whole30 AND taste just like what you grew up eating!
These Healthy Turkey Meatballs are loaded with flavor, packed with lean protein, and super easy to make.
Plus.. they can be made with no breadcrumbs! Yes, it’s possible to make meatballs without breadcrumbs, I’ll show you how!
What makes these turkey meatballs healthy?
These turkey meatballs are healthy and delicious. Here’s what makes them healthy:
- Low fat: These turkey meatballs are made with ground turkey which is lower in fat than traditional meatballs which are often made with ground beef and ground pork.
- Dairy/Gluten Free: These meatballs are easily made gluten free by using GF breadcrumbs or subbing coconut flour.
- High Protein: These turkey meatballs are high in protein making them a great snack or meal!
Ingredients for Turkey Meatballs
To make this recipe you’ll need:
- ground turkey
- egg
- breadcrumbs OR coconut flour
- onion, garlic
- dried basil, dried parsley, dried oregano
- salt, pepper
- olive oil
- parmesan cheese (optional)
There are many substitutions you can make with these healthy meatballs – check out the green box below!
How to make Healthy Turkey Meatballs:
To make this recipe:
- Mix all ingredients together in a bowl until combined.
- Roll the batter into about 1.5 tablespoon balls and place on cookie sheet. Tip: Use a cookie scoop for consistency!
- Bake the meatballs for 10 minutes, then flip and bake for another 10 minutes on the other side.
Substitutions for Turkey Meatballs without Breadcrumbs:
Ground Turkey: You can sub ground chicken or ground beef for the ground turkey. You can also try our Ground Beef Meatballs Recipe or Ground Chicken Meatballs.
Egg: If you have an egg allergy you can skip the egg, but we do recommend it. It helps bind the meatballs.
Breadcrumbs: You can use 1/2 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs OR coconut flour to make this recipe gluten free/paleo/Whole30 friendly. This recipe originally used to call for a mix of coconut flour/almond flour but to make it simpler/lower in calories we adjusted the recipe.
Fresh Herbs: Fresh herbs are so much better than dried ones! If you have fresh basil or parsley on hand, sub in 1 tablespoon of minced fresh for 1/2 teaspoon of dried herbs.
Extra Veggies –You can add in chopped spinach or kale for extra veggies. I actually like to pulse in the food processor so it gets super fine. You can’t even taste it!
Parmesan Cheese: Cheese is optional in meatballs but it helps to make the meatballs super tender and flavorful.
Doubling the batch: You can easily double this batch of meatballs and we totally recommend it!
How to make turkey meatballs on the stovetop: You can easily make these turkey meatballs on the stovetop. Heat a pan with olive oil. Add the meatballs to the pan and cook for 10-15 minutes, turning every 3 minutes until all sides are browned.
How to make turkey meatballs in the air fryer: Air Fry at 400° for 12-15 minutes until golden brown, allow to cool + enjoy!
How to make turkey meatballs in the instant pot: We don’t recommend making these meatballs in the instant pot, but it is possible. Place meatballs on top of trivet, stacking as needed.
Cover instant pot and make sure the pressure release is set to sealing. Lastly, set instant pot to pressure cook for 7 minutes.
Storing Turkey Meatballs:
This Turkey Meatball recipe stores SO well!
Refrigerator: These turkey meatballs will last in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Freezing: Freeze cooked turkey meatballs in an airtight container for up to 6 months. You can also freeze in a reusable ziploc bag.
Reheating: I microwave these turkey meatballs to reheat them, but you can also cook them on the stovetop until warm or put them in the toaster oven.
Can you freeze Turkey Meatballs?
YES! And you totally should. I like to double the batch and freeze half of them after they have been baked.
Then you can quickly defrost for busy nights or simple lunch! I recommend allowing them to cool completely and putting in a container or freezer size ziploc bag.
When you’re ready to eat you can microwave them or heat in a pan!
You can freeze them raw, but we don’t recommend it.
How to serve Healthy Turkey Meatballs
These clean eating turkey meatballs are perfect on their own but here are some other ideas:
- With Crockpot Tomato Sauce – The key to the best turkey meatballs ever is cooking them IN sauce after they have been baked. I like to let my meatballs cook low and slow for hours in our homemade sauce.
- Over pasta: We like to serve these over Homemade Ricotta Cavatelli – so yummy!
- Over zoodles (zucchini noodles)– If you don’t have a spiralizer
you have to get one! As much as I love eating a bowl of pasta – spiralized zucchini is a great lower calorie option, or if you are GF/paleo/Whole30 - Over a salad – These meatballs are great over spring mix with a yummy dressing. We like our Greek Salad Dressing Recipe or with our Kale Salad with Lemon Dressing.
you have to get one! As much as I love eating a bowl of pasta – spiralized zucchini is a great lower calorie option, or if you are GF/paleo/Whole30Tips for making the Best Healthy Turkey Meatballs
Make a full batch or double batch and freeze some of these clean eating meatballs. It will make your life SO much easier. These freeze perfectly in a big ziploc bag and then you can just defrost them as you need them!
Cook the meatballs in sauce after baking them. They’re delicious on their own, but so yummy when you let them cook low and slow!
Add things in! These Caprese Meatballs or Greek Turkey Meatballs have fun add ins and are SO yummy!
Pro Tip: Use a large cookie scoop for forming ‘balls’ for even, equal meatballs! I scoop the batter with a cookie scoop and then roll them for uniform meatballs.
Turkey Meatball FAQ
The healthiest meatballs are high in protein and low in carbs/fat. These meatballs are made from lean ground turkey and you can use almond/coconut flour instead of breadcrumbs to make them lower in carbs!
Turkey meatballs are healthier than beef for a few reasons. Ground turkey is lower in calories and fat than ground beef – making turkey meatballs a healthier choice than beef meatballs.
Yes, Trader Joe’s turkey meatballs are healthy! They’re high in protein, made with no artificial ingredients, and low in calories.
These turkey meatballs have roughly 70 calories per meatball.
Adding an egg to meatballs is a good idea. It works as a binder that helps hold the meatballs together
You can make meatballs stick together a few different ways. Breadcrumbs, milk, and eggs all act as binders for meatballs.
Turkey meatballs will get rubbery if they are over-mixed. Just mix the batter until combined and gently form into balls. Do not overwork the batter!
Turkey meatballs fall apart if they have too much egg, milk, or breadcrumbs in them.
Will meatballs fall apart without breadcrumbs? No, meatballs will not fall apart without breadcrumbs, but they might not be as tender. If you’re not using breadcrumbs in this recipe, you can sub with coconut flour and it will help to bind them.
Other healthy turkey recipes:
We love ground turkey! It’s so versatile and delicious. We have a whole list of the Best Healthy Ground Turkey Recipes but here are some of our favs!
Healthy Turkey Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs OR coconut flour (sub for gf/paleo/whole30)
- 2 tablespoons almond milk
- 1/2 cup onion finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic about 3 cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese optional – omit if DF/paleo/Whole30
Instructions
Oven Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a parchment lined baking sheet. (Nonstick foil will also work)
- Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl until thoroughly combined.
- Roll the batter into about 1.5 tablespoon balls and place on cookie sheet. Tip: Use a cooke scoop for consistency!
- Bake the meatballs for 10 minutes, then flip and bake for another 10 minutes on the other side.
Instant Pot Instructions
- Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl until combined. Roll into approximately 1.5 inch balls and place on cookie sheet.
- Freeze meatballs for 10 minutes to make them easier to handle.
- Once meatballs have been frozen, place trivet insert into Instant Pot. Pour 1 cup of water into bottom of pot.
- Place meatballs on top of trivet, stacking as needed.
- Cover instant pot and make sure the pressure release is set to sealing. Set instant pot to pressure cook for 7 minutes.
- Allow pressure to naturally release for 5 minutes. Release any remaining pressure and remove with tongs.
- See Notes for additional tips/tricks for cooking meatballs in instant pot.
Air Fryer Instructions
- Preheat air fryer to 400 degrees.
- Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl until thoroughly combined
- Roll into approximately 1.5 inch balls and place in greased air fryer basket
- Air Fry at 400 for 12-15 minutes until golden brown, allow to cool + enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Cook time does not include time to come to pressure (about 14 minutes).
- Freezing meatballs isn’t necessary but will make the meatballs easier to handle and they won’t cook together in the pot.
- If you want the meatballs to be browned, you can either sauté them before cooking. In the Instant Pot you can use the sauté method – be sure to scrape off any bits of food on the bottom of the pan before cooking or you may get a burn notice.
- You can also sauté or broil meatballs after cooking to brown them.
GiGi Eats says
Meat balls are something I DO not make often but I LOVEEEEEEE them so I must! They’re just so so so easy!
thecleaneatingcouple@gmail.com says
I love em’ too, girl!
Cassie says
I used to smash meatballs in my face like no other! They were absolutely addictive 🙂
thecleaneatingcouple@gmail.com says
They’re sooo good!
Renee @ The Mind-Body Shift says
Sounds tasty! I’ll have to tinker around with this to see if I can find a lower carb substitute for breadcrumbs that won’t compromise texture and flavor.
thecleaneatingcouple@gmail.com says
You could swap the bread crumbs for almond meal! 🙂
Birdie says
Sub oatmeal quick oats for breadcrumbs still very tasty
The Clean Eating Couple says
I’ve never tried quick oats as a sub in this recipe so I’m not sure if it would be successful. I have tried almond meal which is a lower carb option!
Madison | A Joyfully Mad Kitchen says
These meatballs were SO good! We used fresh basil and you’re so right, definitely makes a big difference! We’ll be making these OFTEN!
The Clean Eating Couple says
You’re the sweetest!! I’m so glad you like them!
Molly says
The first time I made these I was skeptical because there’s no cheese and no breadcrumbs. I wanted meatballs without the dairy and the extra carbs, but I couldn’t help but wonder if they would actually taste good. THEY DO. THEY TASTE SO GOOD. When I tasted them for the first time, I actually said out loud (to no one by myself and my dog), “Holy (beep beep), these are amazing!!!” (I’m censoring myself so you can keep your blog PG.) Now whenever I’m making them, I double the batch. I make them every 2-3 weeks and always have these delicious and healthy meatballs in my freezer for those nights I don’t want to or don’t have time to cook!
The Clean Eating Couple says
Even I was skeptical about making a cheese and breadcrumb free meatball, but they really ARE delicious!! Love that you double batch them – I do the same thing!!
Courtney says
These turkey meatballs are my go-to meal prep item. I love that they’re Whole 30 friendly, simple ingredients and can eat them for any meal. My personal fave is over zoodles with a good tomato basil marinara!
The Clean Eating Couple says
Thank you so much, Courtney!! I’m with you on the zoodles and marinara.. that’s the best!
Linda says
I have a granddaughter who LOVES meatballs, but I haven’t been able to make them for her since her family began eating grain-free. I am super excited because there isn’t anything in these she can’t have! So, even though I haven’t made them yet, I am giving them 5 stars, because there is hope! Woohoo!
The Clean Eating Couple says
You are so sweet, Linda! I can assure you – grain free meatballs ARE possible!! I grew up in a big Italian family. When you cook these in sauce all day on the stove they get SO tender – your grandaughter will love them!
Kaitlyn Woods says
Probably my favorite go to quick dish! I like to add some greens into the mixture and freeze the turkey when they’re cooked.
The Clean Eating Couple says
Thank you so much, Kaitlyn! We always freeze these too – they’re great to be able to defrost for a quick meal!
Kimberly Mowdy says
I made a batch of these to freeze so I would have meals for surgery recovery. There’s so many things you can do with these and they taste amazing!
The Clean Eating Couple says
Yay!! Totally agree- they’re perfect for stocking your freezer/fridge with! So easy and yummy!
Alyssa Maas says
These are my favorite go-to meal prep recipe!! I love them. So good with pasta or on their own.
Gigi Lee says
so good!! i froze half of it and they were super easy!!
The Clean Eating Couple says
So glad you liked them, Gigi!
Kim says
One of my favorite go-to recipes on this site! Gluten free and packed with so much flavor, I always make a double batch with intention to freeze but we end up eating all of it in two days. It’s so good you can eat with or without sauce.
The Clean Eating Couple says
Thank you so much! I’m so glad you like them! They’re great plain.. in a salad.. with sauce.. possibilites are endless 🙂
Savannah says
These are awesome for meal prepping! Super easy and this recipe makes a ton! So they will last all week. Also delicious.
The Clean Eating Couple says
Thanks Savannah! We love to meal prep them too 🙂 Glad you enjoy them!
Courtney says
I made these with dried herbs because my grocery store didn’t have any of the fresh ones that I needed and the meatballs were still absolutely delicious!! I added a jalapeño because I love spice but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. Served them with whole30 compliant marinara sauce over zoodles. Going to be a weekly dinner for us! Thank you Liz!
The Clean Eating Couple says
So glad you liked them, Courtney! Love the addition of jalapeño
Kim says
I make these all the time, but this time made them with my favorite gluten free italian breadcrumbs and added some fresh parm like suggested – I honestly didn’t think it was possible to love them more but I’m OBSESSED. My only regret was not making more because they didn’t last more than two days!
The Clean Eating Couple says
Yay! So glad you like them. We always double the batch and put a bunch of them in the freezer!
Lindsey says
These meatballs are so good. I was nervous I would be able to taste the coconut flour, but I didn’t even notice with sauce on them. This is definitely a new staple in my house.
The Clean Eating Couple says
Thank you so much, Lindsey! You really can’t taste the coconut flour at all 🙂
Jessica says
Made these for dinner tonight and they came out amazing! Definitely a family favorite! (Even my picky 3 year old loves them)
The Clean Eating Couple says
This makes me so happy to hear, Jessica! So glad you both enjoy them!
BY says
YUM!!!!! These are amazing ! Even by themselves full of flavor, the fresh herbs make a difference.,
The Clean Eating Couple says
So glad you liked them!!
Amanda says
We make these all the time for our lunch meal prep! So delicious!
The Clean Eating Couple says
Thank you so much, Amanda! So glad you like the meatballs!
Kim says
Obsessed is an understatement. I meal prep these every week because they’re so easy and so delish. I’ve tried making them a variety of ways with substitutes mentioned and every time it’s absolutely amazing. My favorite on the site
The Clean Eating Couple says
Thank you Kim!! I’m so glad you like the meatballs 🙂
R says
Thank you for this. My doctor placed me on keto for blood sugar issues/pcos/weightloss and I have a daughter allergic to dairy/beef/pork and my kids really wanted meatball subs for Christmas dinner and I had searched the internet for a while before I found this recipe that could give everyone what they want/ need. You saved Christmas!
The Clean Eating Couple says
So happy you liked them, Rachel! We have lots of Keto friendly/dairy/beef free recipes on our site – hope you find some more you can enjoy!
Heidi says
These look great – I am going to make them tomorrow. How long should I put them in the crockpot with the sauce in the slow cooker? Thank you.
The Clean Eating Couple says
Hi Heidi- I cook the meatballs completely per the directions in the post and then add them to the tomato sauce. I usually cook them for 8 hours, but any amount of time will be fine. The longer they cook the more tender they are!
Heather says
Been making this recipe for a while, and absolutely love the ease of cooking these in tomato basil sauce in the crock pot. Super tender and very delicious!
Alyse says
I made this gluten free with coconut flour but I think I did something wrong. Does the coconut flour make the meatballs more dried out?
The Clean Eating Couple says
They should not be dry! Did you use fat free turkey? We recommend 93/7 or 90/10
Katrina says
Made these last night and we all enjoyed them! I love that they came together so fast! Thanks for creating such great recipes!
Candy says
These were amazing. I was pleasantly surprised!!! I’ll be making them again for sure.
Natasha D says
I never thought making meatballs could be so easy. This is a recipe my family already asked me to make again. I have some picky eaters in the family. Not only did he ate mine and had 4 more meatballs. That was huge win! Fresh ingredients and so easy to found. Now I’m just thinking of the many ways to eat them with.
Thank you for sharing
Lou says
Easy to make. I cooked them in the oven as above and then made a sauce and put them in to absorb the flavours – delicious!
Kim Ford says
Making these now. Wondering if you’ve experimented with adding mushrooms or black beans? Can wait to make batches of these!
The Clean Eating Couple says
I haven’t added mushrooms – I think those would get soggy. I’m sure the black beans would be fine. I would only add maybe 1/2 cup to the batter!
Kim Ford says
Love! I added fresh parsley, ground fennel seed, minced fresh garlic too. I doubled the recipe using 1 pound of 99% lean and 1 pound of 93% lean Turkey. Thanks for this recipe.