Turkey Pesto Meatballs

Turkey pesto meatballs with ground turkey, basil pesto, and baby spinach. Simmered in marinara sauce and topped with mozzarella cheese.

We love them with a side of our Easy Chickpea Tomato Salad for an easy weeknight meal.

this recipe

Turkey Pesto Meatballs

Turkey meatballs that you’ll actually want to make week after week. These are the pesto meatballs that my kids go crazy for. So juicy, tender, and full of flavor.

Made with ground turkey, basil pesto, and spinach. They are simmered in marinara sauce and topped with mozzarella cheese for extra creaminess. 

So easy to put together for an easy weeknight meal. They serve well over spaghetti, with a green salad, or over a bed of roasted veggies, similar to our chicken patties with corn succotash recipe or mini chicken meatloaves.

Why You’ll Love These Turkey Meatballs

These meatballs call for basic ingredients. That’s the best part about this recipe is that the ingredients are all so easy to find at the supermarket or your own pantry.

For these turkey pesto meatballs, you’ll need ground turkey, breadcrumbs, egg, yellow onion, garlic, basil pesto, dried oregano, marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, and fresh basil. You’ll also need olive oil, salt, and pepper. 

These meatballs freeze well for later. There’s nothing better than having freezer meals for busy nights. This recipe makes 15 meatballs and serves about 6 people (or more if you’re serving to little ones) so you can easily freeze the leftovers for later.  

This recipe is relatively easy to make. Even though the recipe may look like it calls for a lot of ingredients but with minimal chopping or special prep it goes so quickly.  You’re basically making the meatballs, cooking them in marinara, and topping them with cheese. So simple.

How to Make Turkey Pesto Meatballs

Have all your ingredients set out before starting. It’ll make the whole process much faster. You’ll find the full recipe below, but here’s a rundown:

Step 1: Make the meatballs: In a large bowl, combine the ground turkey, breadcrumbs, egg, onion, garlic, pesto, oregano, salt, spinach, and olive oil. Mix gently with hands to combine, and form into 15 meatballs, roughly golf-size. 

Step 2: Cook the meatballs: Heat a large skillet, either stainless-steel skillet or a non-stick skillet with little olive oil, and when hot, add the meatballs to the pan. Cook for 3-4 minutes per side until golden brown. 

Step 3: Add the marinara: Add the marinara sauce to the pan and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and cook the meatballs, partially covered, for about 5 minutes.

Step 4: Add the cheese: Top the meatballs with mozzarella cheese, cover, and cook until melted. Garnish with fresh basil and serve over spaghetti or any favorite pasta.

Helpful Tips for Making Turkey Meatballs

Do not overmix the meatball mixture otherwise, the meatballs will be tough. Put all the meatball ingredients into a bowl at once and always use your hands to mix. 

If the meatball mixture is sticky, wet your hands with water or lightly oil your hands. It’ll help with the mixture not sticking to your hands.

To help meatballs stick together, do not leave out or substitute any ingredients. Yes, you do need an egg to bind the meat, breadcrumbs, and everything else together. Also, the breadcrumbs are necessary to keep meatballs tender and moist. 

Do not skip the sear. You’ll get the best flavor out of meatballs by quickly searing them first. Technically you can add raw meatballs to the sauce and cook them that way but you just won’t get as much flavor out of them.

Make sure not to overcook the meatballs. They only need 3-4 minutes of sear time per side and then 5 minutes of active simmer in the sauce. Meatballs are cooked when an instant-read thermometer registers at 165°F in the middle.

Serving Suggestions

There are a handful of ways we love to serve these turkey pesto meatballs that do not involve some sort of pasta, such as with crusty bread to soak up all the sauce, over roasted veggies, twice baked spaghetti squash, zucchini noodles, or even cooked quinoa.

I personally love to make a bowl of meatballs to have with a green salad, such as Avocado Toast Salad or Chopped Wedge Salad. And of course, there’s always mashed potatoes that will transform any meal into comfort food heaven.

More Meatball Recipes

• Orecchiette with Baked Chicken Meatballs
• Sheet Pan Chicken Parmesan Meatballs
• Healthy Chicken Meatballs
• Mini Asian Chicken Meatballs
• Sweet and Spicy Meatballs

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