For some reason, the thought of pesto sprang to mind when I was looking for a fresh way to prepare my ground lean turkey meat. Who would have imagined that pesto meatballs would be so fantastic? These delectable meatballs make a fantastic classic dinner with a nice twist, especially when paired with homemade sauce and wheat pasta.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 40 mins |
| Total Time: | 55 mins |
| Servings: | 6 |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- cooking spray
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 cup frozen spinach
- 1 pound lean ground turkey
- ⅓ cup pesto
- 2 egg whites
- 1 ½ (1 ounce) packets plain instant oatmeal
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a large baking pan with cooking spray.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; cook and stir until browned, about 5 minutes. Add spinach; mix until fully cooked, 3 to 5 minutes.
- In the meantime, combine turkey, pesto, egg whites, oatmeal, Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper in a large mixing bowl. Add onion-spinach mixture and mix well. Shape mixture into balls using an ice cream scoop. Place in the prepared pan.
- Bake in the preheated oven until no longer pink in the center, 30 to 35 minutes.
- If you want to cook the meatballs in sauce, bake for 20 to 25 minutes then transfer to your favorite homemade sauce. Simmer for 45 minutes. I like to do this so the meatballs and sauce can add flavor to each other.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 262 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 9 g |
| Cholesterol | 63 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Protein | 22 g |
| Saturated Fat | 4 g |
| Sodium | 282 mg |
| Sugars | 1 g |
| Fat | 16 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
This is excellent. I used around half the onion and 1 block of frozen spinach. I also used 1 whole egg instead of 2 whites. I love cooking these in the oven. I got 20 big meatballs. This is a keeper
Yummy I served with a creamy pesto sauce