The Best Ever Turkey Meatballs
Man I love meatballs! The orange glaze on them makes it a delicious main dish all by itself. I also love pairing them with spaghetti and tomato sauce. This is what my family likes. The last time I made it when everyone was over at our house, I was told that the orange glaze mixed with the tomato sauce was truly amazing.
I have several other recipes that I use to make meatballs and they've never come out badly. Eaten alone or with spaghetti, they are always delicious.
This recipe also makes a great make-ahead meal to freeze. When I make this to the two of us, we eat meals with meatballs for at least a week, and for several lunches, because you only need 3 or 4 meatballs to make a meal.
I hope you enjoy this one!
Cook Time
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 cup bread crumbs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon all-purpose seasoning
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 (18oz) jar orange marmalade
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 1 pinch ground red pepper
Instructions
- The main key here is going to be how you defrost your turkey meat and how you choose to cook your meatballs. Either use fresh ground turkey, allow it to defrost overnight in the refrigerator, or use the microwaves appropriate setting for defrosting ground turkey. Don't rush it. You don't want to try and make meatballs with partially cooked ground turkey.
- Meatballs are typically cooked either in a crock-pot, fried in a saute pan, fried in oil, or cooked in the oven. In most situations, the meatballs just fall apart as you try to cook them. We are going to oven bake them in order to preserve their shape and consistency.
- Begin by beating your egg and milk in a large bowl.
- I don't use store bought bread crumbs becomes it makes the items I make rubbery. I pop a couple of slices of freshly baked bread into the food processor to create the needed bread crumbs for my recipe.
- Stir in your bread crumbs, salt, and all-purpose seasoning.
- Add your ground turkey (properly defrosted) and mix everything well. Cover the bowl and refrigerate your mixture for 1 hour.
- While your meatball mixture is cooling, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a rectangular (9 x 13) casserole dish generously with cooking spray.
- Remove your turkey mixture from the refrigerator and shape into 1" balls. Place your meatballs into your pre-prepared rectangular casserole dish.
- In a medium bowl, mix your orange marmalade, chicken broth, vinegar, and red pepper. Pour into a saute pan and melt/mix the ingredients over medium-heat. When sauce is a smooth texture, and all ingredients are well mixed, pour over the top of your meatballs in the casserole dish.
- Place your meatballs in the oven and cook for 30 minutes, or until cooked thoroughly when checked.
- Marinate meatballs periodically with your sauce throughout cooking time. Allow to cool some before serving.
Nutritional Information
Nutrition Facts | |
---|---|
Serving size: 3 meatballs | |
Calories | 123 |
Calories from Fat | 27 |
% Daily Value * | |
Fat 3 g | 5% |
Carbohydrates 17 g | 6% |
Fiber 0 g | |
Protein 7 g | 14% |
Cholesterol 37 mg | 12% |
Sodium 245 mg | 10% |
* The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA. |
This recipe was great with orange marmalade, and I've also got a recipe for hamburger with grape jelly. Can you imagine how many varieties of jellies, jams, and marmalades there are in existence?
Each and every one of them would make an amazing meatball recipe! I would love to hear some of the recipes you've put together for your own family meatballs.
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© 2013 Victoria Van Ness