I love meatballs but I don’t love the calories and fat that go with them! I wanted to use what I had on hand and the idea came to me- teriyaki turkey meatballs!
The idea for the meatball mix came from Ellie Krieger. I used carrots, scallions, and chopped red bell pepper in the mix to keep the meatballs moist and delicious! Also, I used the fuller fat ground turkey. I find that the very lean turkey breast can become quite dry when baked in the oven and even if you buy the fuller fat, its still better than full fat red meat.
To give these an extra zing of flavor, I made a teriyaki sauce to lightly drizzle over the meatballs. If you want, you can use store bought, but this sauce is ready in just a few minutes and tastes great! I served the meatballs with some smashed potatoes just because I had some yukon gold potatoes in the pantry and some light fresh peas. I can see these meatballs being paired with lots of different sides and I will definitely keep this one in the rotation.
This was a great week night meal- the sweet sauce complements the turkey and it kept me full.
Teriyaki Meatballs
1 pd of ground turkey (fuller fat)
1/3 cup of breadcrumbs, preferably whole wheat
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 cloves of garlic minced
2/3 cup of grated carrots
6 scallions, white part thinly sliced
few tablespoons of finely chopped red bell pepper
Mix the above and preheat oven to 400. Form mixture into large meatballs- makes about 12. Cook for about 10 to 15 minutes or until no longer pink inside.
Teriyaki sauce
1/2 cup of soy sauce, low sodium
1 clove of garlic minced
1/4 teaspoon of ginger
1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil
1/4 cider vinegar
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1 tablespoon of cornstarch.
Whisk above ingredients in a small bowl, with particular attention to the cornstarch.
Set over low heat until bubbly and brown. Then set aside and keep warm.
Drizzle sauce over the meatballs when they are done and immediately serve!
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
yum! i love all the Ellie Krieger recipes I’ve tried
these look great!
Mmmmm! I bet those would be so good with smushed between a hoagie roll.
Try omitting the breadcrumbs from the meatballs and using chopped mushrooms instead – its fantastic!