Olive Garden Inspired Turkey Meatballs Recipes

TURKEY MEATBALLS IN TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine cheese, bread crumbs, onion, chives, garlic, salt, pepper, oregano and red pepper flakes, if using, and mix well. Add turkey and egg and blend with your hands until well mixed. If you've got time, cover mixture and chill for an hour or up to 24 hours. These are easiest to form into balls while very cold. Form into 28 meatballs, each about 1 1/4-inches in diameter.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large sauté pan. When hot, add enough of the meatballs to fit in one layer without crowding, and brown on all sides, 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a plate, add another tablespoon of oil to pan and brown another layer of meatballs, transferring them to the plate as they brown. Repeat until all meatballs are browned, adding more oil to the pan as needed.
• When meatballs are all browned, add marinara sauce to pan and bring to a simmer, scraping up the browned bits on the pan bottom. Return meatballs and their juices to pan, shake pan to cover the meatballs with sauce, and lower heat. Partly cover pan and simmer until the meatballs are cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Serve hot, drizzled with more olive oil and sprinkled with more cheese, if you like.

TURKEY MEATBALLS WITH SPINACH AND FETA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Toast the bread until just brown then transfer it to a bowl and add water to cover. Allow it to soak for about 5 minutes or until very tender. Discard the water and squeeze the bread very dry and crumble it a bit with your hands.
• In a skillet heat 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil. Add the spinach and cook briefly over medium heat until just wilted. Remove from the heat and let cool briefly.
• Make the meatball mixture. In a large mixing bowl, add the ground turkey, onions, garlic, crumbled feta, egg, parsley, and mint. Add the bread and wilted spinach. Season with a big pinch of kosher salt and black pepper. Mix well to combine.
• Form the mixture into balls (golf ball size) and arrange them on a large lightly oiled sheet pan.
• Bake in the heated oven for about 30 minutes or until fully cooked through.
• Transfer to the top rack and turn the broiler on for just a couple of minutes or until the tops are browned.
• Serve immediately with salad of your choice.

ASIAN-INSPIRED MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Thoroughly combine ground beef, milk, oats, crackers, egg, 1/4 cup onion, 1 teaspoons garlic powder, salt, pepper and chili powder for meatballs.
• Form meat mixture into 1-inch balls and place in a 13x9-inch baking pan.
• Combine catsup, brown sugar, liquid smoke, 1 teaspoons garlic powder, 1/4 cup chopped onion, ginger and sesame oil. Stir mixture until sugar dissolves (will be a bit grainy).
• Pour sauce mixture over meatballs.
• Bake at 350°F for one hour.
• I like to serve this recipe with rice and steamed Asian veggies.