| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 1 hr 35 min |
| Active: | 20 min |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 1/3 pounds 93 percent lean ground turkey breast
- 1 cup canned 100 percent pumpkin puree
- 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 egg, slightly beaten
- Cinnamon-Sage Tomato Sauce, recipe follows
- Spaghetti Squash Pasta, recipe follows, for serving
- 3 cups reduced-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
- One 24-ounce jar of your favorite tomato or marinara sauce
- One 15-ounce can 100 percent pumpkin puree
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 6 fresh sage leaves, minced
- Salt and black pepper
- Crushed red pepper, optional
- 1 large spaghetti squash
Instructions
- Using a fork, mix together the turkey, pumpkin puree, sage, sugar, cinnamon, salt, black pepper, nutmeg, ginger, garlic powder and egg in a large bowl. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to help firm.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Form the turkey mixture into evenly sized (approximately 1.5-inch) meatballs. You should end up with about 22 in total. Note: If they’re fussy, you can smooth them into a rounded shape once they’re on the baking sheet.
- Bake the meatballs for 15 minutes on one side. Carefully turn them over and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Add the meatballs to a pot of simmering Cinnamon-Sage Tomato Sauce. Cover and simmer for another 10 to 15 minutes, allowing the meatballs to soak up the yummy sauce flavor. Serve with the Spaghetti Squash “Pasta.”
- Add the broth, tomato sauce, pumpkin puree, basil, garlic powder, cinnamon and sage to a large pot and mix well. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle on some crushed red pepper to kick up the heat if desired.
- Microwave the spaghetti squash to soften slightly, about 4 minutes.
- Slice off the ends of the squash, then slice in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds and pulp. Place the squash cut-side down in a baking dish with an inch of water. Microwave for 9 to 10 minutes. Once cool, use a fork to scrape out spaghetti-like strands.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 502 |
| Total Fat | 12 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3 g |
| Carbohydrates | 67 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 11 g |
| Sugar | 15 g |
| Protein | 34 g |
| Cholesterol | 94 mg |
| Sodium | 1370 mg |
Reviews
Nope! As a card-carrying Italian, I agree with the other review here. Very lackluster. I’ve always avoided ground turkey like the plague and this confirms it. Sorry. Do love the show, though.
So delicious! I was very surprised that the pumpkin flavor wasn’t overwhelming. I did add garlic to sauce and meatballs, 1/4 of an onion to the sauce and 1/4 teaspoon of ginger to the meatballs and after the 30mins in the oven I broiled for a couple of mins the meatballs because I like them with some color.
Delicious with an unexpected fall twist in a meatball! My family agrees.
Great flavors! The pumpkin helps keep the meatballs moist. As earlier posts suggested, a full can of pumpkin mixed in with the turkey made the mixture too “watery”. I had to add additional ground turkey to be able to shape the meatballs, which wasn’t bad. It’s just more of a good thing. For the future, I’d divide a can of pump[kin between the meatballs and the sauce, reducing the broth to 2 cups to still have a sauce consistency.
I was skeptical if I would like this dish, but it is AMAZING!!!! The meatballs were SO good, and tender!!!! Only recommendation is to salt the spaghetti squash before cooking the 9-10 minutes. Other than that the seasonings are awesome!!!
Omg! This is absolutely delicious!
Very good!
Delicious! My husband who is not a fan of autumnal flavors loved this as did my dad who is not a fan of Turkey!
Delicious!!
Truthfully, I found this dish a huge disappointment. I wanted to love it, but it’s just not happening. I’m Italian and quite experienced at cooking meatballs and homemade marinara sauce, and I also generally love things like veggie burgers, but the pumpkin and spices just threw this sauce into uncharted territory that I found just plain off. Followed the recipe to the letter (though I did use only one can of pumpkin, and even that was far too much), and though the consistency was nice, we found the flavor a total turnoff. The meatballs were perfectly cooked, but, again, just tasted wrong. (I will say that the spaghetti squash cooked perfectly in the microwave, so this will now be my preferred way to prepare it.)