This dish is a healthier spin on classic spaghetti and meatballs, using lean ground turkey. As turkey can be a little flavorless, Ree makes an herb mixture to give the dish a little zing.
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 50 min |
| Active: | 25 min |
| Yield: | 4 to 6 servings |
Ingredients
- Kosher salt
- Butter, neutral oil or cooking spray, for the baking sheet
- 1 cup fresh parsley leaves, plus more for garnish
- 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, plus more for garnish
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for garnish
- 1/4 cup fresh oregano leaves
- 2 cloves garlic
- Zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 pints cherry tomatoes
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 pounds 85/15 ground turkey
- 1 large egg
- 12 ounces whole wheat or regular spaghetti
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Grease a baking sheet and set aside.
- In a food processor, pulse the parsley, basil, Parmesan, oregano, garlic and lemon zest and juice until combined and chopped. With the machine running, add 1/4 cup of the olive oil until a thick paste forms.
- Place the cherry tomatoes in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish and toss with half of the herb mixture. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and set aside.
- Add the ground turkey, egg, remaining herb mixture, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper to a large bowl and mix until thoroughly combined. Pinch off 1 1/2- to 2-inch mounds and scatter them around the greased baking sheet.
- Place the meatballs on the top rack of the oven and the tomatoes on the lower rack. Bake until the meatballs are cooked through, browned and crisp and the tomatoes have begun to burst, 18 to 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, boil the pasta until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water, then drain the pasta.
- Add the pasta, remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and a splash of the pasta water to the pan of tomatoes. Toss, adding pasta water as needed, until a sauce forms. Taste and season as needed. Top with the meatballs and more grated Parmesan. Add some parsley leaves and torn basil for garnish before serving.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 644 |
| Total Fat | 32 g |
| Saturated Fat | 10 g |
| Carbohydrates | 51 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 10 g |
| Sugar | 4 g |
| Protein | 43 g |
| Cholesterol | 155 mg |
| Sodium | 890 mg |
Reviews
I’m sure this dish is excellent! But as far as healthier, the sodium and saturated fats are too high for someone that has to follow a heart healthy diet. Having said that, I’m sure it can be modified, but then it wouldn’t be the same recipe. Love Ree!
This is excellent! Not a huge fan of ground turkey but this is great. A total win! These would be good on a meatball sub too! Thanks Ree!
Your Review
Review: This was excellent. Cooked this for 2 people. Followed recipe exactly except used just one pound of ground turkey. Still had plenty of leftovers. Split the “sauce” 2/3 going in tomatoes and 1/3 going in the meatballs. To the sauce ingredients I added one hatch chile and one shallot. To the tomatoes I added a couple splashes of Resiling. To the meatballs I added panko crumbs until consistency I liked. Flavors are amazing. Would make more sauce next time; while it was enough to coat the pasta it was so tasty I wanted more.
Review: This was excellent. Cooked this for 2 people. Followed recipe exactly except used just one pound of ground turkey. Still had plenty of leftovers. Split the “sauce” 2/3 going in tomatoes and 1/3 going in the meatballs. To the sauce ingredients I added one hatch chile and one shallot. To the tomatoes I added a couple splashes of Resiling. To the meatballs I added panko crumbs until consistency I liked. Flavors are amazing. Would make more sauce next time; while it was enough to coat the pasta it was so tasty I wanted more.
Great recipe. But for the love of cowboy boots! Let us print these recipes
This recipe was excellent. I have made it twice. Once with the turkey meatballs and once with grilled shrimp. Both great! The only changes I made was adding 1/4 C white wine to tomatoes before they go into oven and like others added bread crumbs to meatballs. Adding to the keeper list.
This recipe was EXCELLENT! so light and flavorful. I made as written using grape tomatoes. Only thing I added to turkey mix was 1/2-cup Panko and 1/2-cup chopped onions based on other reviews. Didn’t need extra T of oil. Could’ve even have used full lb of pasta. Made 24 meatballs, so I ended freezing 10 of them for another meal. Thank you Ree for another simple and super tasty recipe.
I absolutely love this recipe. The only recommendation I have is to add breadcrumbs to the meatball part of the recipe – they hold the meatballs together a little better. The tomato sauce is unbelievably delicious! I could drink it!! I’d give this recipe 10/5 stars if I could.
I like the recipe and ingredients but needs something to make it less dry if that’s possible with turkey.
This recipe turned out really good and seems very healthy. I like the idea of using turkey instead of beef and actual tomatoes instead of sugary spaghetti sauce. The turkey mixture was so soft, it seemed to be missing a binder so I added some panko breadcrumbs to make them hold together better. I also added dried oregano and onion powder. I didn’t want to spend the money on fresh herbs that I always end up throwing away, so I used bottled pesto. For the pasta, I used cauliflower fettuccine. My husband said the meatballs were pretty bland (which turkey usually is) so next time I would add more spice – maybe some onion and red pepper flakes for a little kick. But this came together really easily and made a good weeknight meal with lots of meatballs left over for lunch.
I made this tonight. Was very tasty, but for some reason my meatballs didn’t get crunchy on the top or bottom. They had a lot of juice coming out and looked poached. I ended up putting them under the broiler for a little while. Turned out ok.