Tender, flavourful, and juicy, these turkey meatballs are everyone’s favourite. Baked, not fried means they are big-batch and meal-prep friendly – healthier too! Packed with fresh spinach and the classic Greek players: feta, oregano, and lemon, then served with a delicious garlicky yogurt sauce.

These meatballs have been a family favourite of ours for the past 10 years. Always enthusiastically received, I realized early on that making a large batch of these was in my best interest. Several are usually snatched off the tray straight out of the oven before the rest make it to the dinner table to be dipped in yogurt sauce, or let’s be honest, most often ketchup.

Intentionally written as a “double-batch” recipe, with the first tray full baked for immediate consumption by our family of four and the second tray heading to the freezer. Once frozen, I pop the meatballs into an appropriate container and stash them away for another day. There’s nothing like finding a stockpile of these beauties on a night you thought you might have to order pizza – again.

Since turkey and chicken are generally leaner meats than beef or pork, using the wrong kind of ground poultry to make meatballs can lead to unfortunately dry and sometimes bland results.

But not this time.

Nope.

These little morsels defy the norm and are anything but dry and bland for a few simple reasons:

Look for ground turkey thigh meat when shopping. Dark poultry meat has a higher fat content, which means a more flavourful and juicer meatball. Most grocers have it available, but if you can’t find it, try your local butcher. Now, I will say that I’ve made this recipe plenty of times with ground turkey breast and they’re still delish, so don’t think of it as a deal breaker if you can’t find the thigh meat.

Seasoning is another key but sometimes overlooked factor. Besides making sure to use enough salt, taking the step to sauté and cook down the onions, garlic, and spinach not only adds a more developed flavour to the mix but allows us to sneak in more greens, and the kids are none the wiser.

Lastly, let’s agree not to overcook these, OK? Nothing ruins a turkey meatball faster. The cook time in this recipe is perfect for a tray full of meatballs measured with a 3 tbsp cookie scoop. Having said that, a trust-worthy instant-read thermometer is your best friend in the kitchen (besides your dishwasher). I use mine all the time for foods from homemade coconut yogurt to a perfectly medium-rare steak. With poultry, we’re looking for an internal temp of 165ºF.

One more quick word about the ground turkey …

Don’t get too hung up on the amount when shopping for it. I’ll never understand why supermarkets package ground meats in odd, random weights. It’s somewhat frustrating when you’re faced with a bunch of packages that weigh 367-ish grams when you need 454. Get as close as you can to the amount required, and err on the side of generous, rather than conservative. 

A cool, fresh, garlic and lemon-spiked yogurt is our sauce of choice. Served as a straight-up dip or even better as a spread for warmed pita to wrap up the meatballs and veggies. So good, you guys.

These meatballs could be served in all sorts of creative ways and would most definitely be a hit served as an appetizer for a crowd – maybe even as a component on a platter, mezze-style.

I hope you love this recipe as much as we do, and it soon becomes one of your go-to recipes too!

 

Thanks for reading and if you make this recipe, let me know! Drop a comment below and share your creation on Instagram. Don’t forget to tag #myfamilyfoodlife!

xo

Gayle