| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 50 min |
| Active: | 25 min |
| Yield: | 42 mini meatballs |
Ingredients
- 1 small onion, grated
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup dried bread crumbs
- 3 tablespoons ketchup
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
- 1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 pound ground dark turkey meat
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 26 ounces Simple Tomato Sauce, recipe follows, or store-bought marinara sauce
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 stalk celery, chopped
- 1 carrot, chopped
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 4 to 6 basil leaves
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, optional
Instructions
- Add the onion, garlic, egg, bread crumbs, ketchup, parsley, Parmesan, Pecorino, salt and pepper to a large bowl and blend. Mix in the turkey. Shape the turkey mixture into 1 1/4-inch-diameter meatballs. Place on a large plate or baking sheet.
- Heat the oil in a heavy large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and saute until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Turn off heat.
- Transfer the meatballs to a plate. Pour off any excess oil. Add the marinara sauce, about 3 cups. Return all the meatballs to the pan. Turn the heat to medium-low and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly and the flavors blend, 15 to 20 minutes. Season the sauce, to taste, with salt and pepper. Transfer the meatball mixture to a serving bowl. Serve with toothpicks.
- In a large casserole pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 2 minutes. Add celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, basil, and bay leaves and simmer covered on low heat for 1 hour or until thick. Remove bay leaves and check for seasoning. If sauce still tastes acidic, add unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon at a time to round out the flavors.
- Add half the tomato sauce into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Continue with remaining tomato sauce.
- If not using all the sauce, allow it to cool completely and pour 1 to 2 cup portions into freezer plastic bags. This will freeze up to 6 months.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 48 |
| Total Fat | 3 grams |
| Saturated Fat | 1 grams |
| Cholesterol | 15 milligrams |
| Sodium | 180 milligrams |
| Carbohydrates | 3 grams |
| Dietary Fiber | 0 grams |
| Protein | 3 grams |
| Sugar | 0 grams |
Reviews
Great, easy. Like others, I bake instead of fry, then freeze, adding to sauce if needed when I use them.
I’ve been making this recipe for several years. Great for a holiday get together or a weeknight family meal. I bake them at 400* for 20 minutes on the bottom oven rack and then broil for 3-5 minutes. I then plunk them into sauce (I use Bertoli Traditional Marina). I freeze them in batches with the sauce. An easy go to meal. The entire family loves them! Thanks Giada
Great recipe, I make into meatballs, sliders or turkey burgers. Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes. Doesn’t even need the sauce. Kids and Hubby love them.
Yum
We’ve made these for years as our go to recipe, and it was rated 5 stars with 317 reviews, so not sure why so few now. I use half white turkey meat, sometimes add fresh parsley, tsp. dried oregano, bit of red pepper flakes as Ina adds in hers. I bake them at 350, 12 mins. on each side, then put them in a marinara sauce instead. I usually double the recipe and freeze them after backing.
The best meatball recipe. I’ve been making it for years and every time I do, my family says wow, these are the best! The only thing I change is instead of frying I bake them on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper at 350 F for 20 minutes. They turn out awesome.
I use raos marinara sauce to save time (and honestly it’s better than when I make sauce from scratch) and this is the best meatball recipe ever.
So i made this recipe, as i was making it i was furious. The mix was very wet, i had to add 2 extra slices of bread (i turned them into breadcrumbs). It was still very wet, i coated meatballs in flour and fried them in a pan and finished in the oven.
These are amazing, I’ll take my hat off to Giada. I think it’s the ketchup, it just adds that depth. It’s been a while since i had such good turkey meatball.
Giada, if you are reading this, Thank You.
Awesome use of ground turkey ! My entire family loves these mini meatballs. I have been making them for years !
Delish!! Cheesy, perfect texture. Flavorful. Yum!