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These Turkey Pesto Meatballs are an easy weeknight dinner that’s full of flavor and will be loved by the entire family. I’ve been making it for many years and everyone from toddlers to adults can’t get enough of this one.
Why I Love Turkey Pesto Meatballs
- Easy to Make: These homemade meatballs take very little effort. All you have to do is mix the turkey with the pesto and other ingredients, form them into balls and bake them on top of a delicious tomato sauce.
- Family Friendly: I developed this recipe many years ago and one of my favorite parts was that my toddlers and my husband both loved it. This recipe is about as family friendly as it gets so you don’t have to make multiple meals to please everyone.
- Packed with Flavor: Considering how little effort you have to put into these turkey meatballs, it’s amazing how tasty they are. The homemade basil pesto really adds tons of flavor to the meatballs along with the marinara sauce. I think this recipe will be in your weekly rotation!
The Ingredients
- Lean ground turkey: I recommend anywhere from 99% lean to 93% lean ground turkey for this recipe.
- Pesto: You can use your favorite store bought pesto in this recipe or make it homemade! I have tons of pesto recipes that you could try: Basil Pesto, Nut Free Pesto, or Kale Pesto are some favorites.
- Breadcrumbs: Feel free to use Italian seasoned breadcrumbs or plain for this recipe.
- Parmesan cheese: This ingredient adds more flavor but if you need this to be dairy free you can leave this out. You’ll also need to find a dairy free pesto since most pestos also have parmesan in them
- Marinara or tomato sauce: Again, you can use your favorite store bought red sauce for this recipe, but it’s also really easy to make your own homemade tomato sauce.
How to Make Turkey Pesto Meatballs
1. Prep Oven: Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Make Meatballs Mixture: Place all the ingredients (except for the marinara sauce) in a bowl and using your hands, combine until everything is incorporated. Don’t over mix or the meatballs will be tough.
3. Form Into Balls: Using about 1 tablespoon of the mixture per meatball, roll into balls and place on a plate. Try to not pack the meatballs too tight, they can become tough if you do.
4. Add to Baking Dish: Pour the marinara sauce into a 9×11 inch baking dish and place the meatballs on top.
5. Cover and Bake: Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 25-30 minutes until meatballs are cooked through.
Recipe Tip
If the meatballs feel too sticky while you’re shaping them, try wetting your hands!
Storage/Freezing Instructions:
To Store: Store leftover turkey meatballs in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
To Freeze: Roll into balls and place on a cookie sheet and freeze. After 30 minutes place the par-frozen balls in a ziploc bag, label and freeze. Freeze for up to 3 months. When ready, defrost in fridge for 24 hours or put them straight in the oven with the sauce and increase cooking time by 5 minutes.
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Tips for This Recipe
Use Your Hands: Don’t be afraid to get your hands a little dirty with this recipe. After all, your hands are your best cooking tool and help make sure everything is properly mixed. Also, if the mixture feels too sticky, try wetting your hands.
Don’t Over-mix: With that said, don’t over-mix. The more you mix, the tougher the meatballs can be, especially if you’re using a lean meat like turkey.
Smaller meatballs for little ones: You can make meatballs any size you prefer, but I find that smaller bite-sized meatballs are best for the little ones. It can be intimidating to see something huge on your plate when you’re small. Little hands can easily hold little items, so smaller meatballs are perfect for toddlers and young kids.
Ways to Serve Turkey Pesto Meatballs
You can serve turkey pesto meatballs on top of pasta, in a sub sandwich, or on their own. I like to make a double batch, freeze half, and take out just a few at a time to add to school lunches. These little meatballs also make a great appetizer for events like the Super Bowl!
More Meatball Recipes
Next time you’re looking for an easy dinner recipe to please everyone in the family no matter their age, go for these Turkey Pesto Meatballs. They’re super delicious and sure to be a hit! Let me know in the comments what you think of this recipe and tag me on social media if you make it!
Turkey Pesto Meatballs
Equipment
- 9×11 inch baking dish
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 pound lean ground turkey
- 1/4 cup pesto, more pesto recipes (including a nut free one) are linked below
- 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups marinara sauce (recipe linked here or below in notes)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Place all the ingredients (except for the marinara sauce) in a bowl and using your hands, combine until everything is incorporated.
- Using about 1 tablespoon of the mixture per meatball, roll into balls and place on a plate. Try to not pack the meatballs too tight, they can become tough if you do.
- Pour the marinara sauce into a 9×11 inch baking dish and top with the meatballs.
- Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 25-30 minutes.
I think I will try this as a meatloaf!
As I am kosher, can can’t combine milk with meat, do you think this recipe would be as delicious if I omit the cheese?
The meatballs should be baked separately on a baking sheet, with the sauce simmering on the side. The recipe makes 20, and I baked them in a 400º F oven for 20 minutes. This got the meatballs to an internal temperature of 160º F, which is just right..
I covered the meatballs in foil, but I probably should have taken the foil off for the last 5-10 minutes of cooking so they could brown. More importantly, I didn’t have to wait 30 extra minutes for my 2-year old to eat!
We made these and loved them, however, like others say they were not cooked through at 25 minutes. Made them the appropriate size and oven was fully pre-heated. We ended up cooking for 30 minutes and finally a quick microwave zap. Next time (and there will be a next time) I think I will just try 35 minutes.
Took me double time (50 minutes) to get them fully cooked in my preheated and otherwise very predictable oven. They were raw at 25 minutes. That said, these were absolutely delightful. I barely eat any meat and I had a ton, and my whole family gobbled them down. Thank you!!
My 3 year old loves the turkey albondigas that his daycare provider makes for him. I’ve never been able to recreate them even with her recipe. In fact, he has not liked any version of meatball I’ve made for him. Tonight I made these with broccoli pesto and he LOVED them. He ate 8!
I am these tonight for my 14 month old and had to post a comment! This
Is the first time I’ve gotten him to touch any meat…he ate 5 in one sitting!!! Awesome easy recipe for him and my husband and I loved them too!!!!!
Dear Turkey Pesto Meatballs: your deliciousness have changed my life. Thank you!
I just tried these in slow cooker and poured a little marinara over them to add some necessary liquid. I also read a few other posts and came up with 4 hours on high. Smelled great! Thanks Catherine!
Hi, how would you adjust for cooking in a slow cooker?
Our son was a great eater as a baby, then he became a toddler and a switch was flipped. Now, he’s super picky often eating nothing at meal time. I made these meatballs while he napped today. He woke up and downed 5 of them. I simmered them in sauce like the recipe called for but he didn’t want the “soup.” I also made them with ground goat as I didn’t have turkey in the house. Your recipes always pass the test!!
These are awesome! My boys are pretty easy to please when it comes to meatballs, but we had a family friend over and her daughter usually refuses to eat meat. She loved these meatballs and even asked for seconds!
Another wonderful weelicious recipe!
Great recipe– at long last a tender meatball recipe that my twin toddlers will eat! Best part for me is that they don’t require frying before baking… they’re SO MUCH easier/faster to make than every other meatball recipe I’ve tried! Thanks!
Mine were also still raw after 25mins with a preheated oven. is it because I’m using a glass baking dish? What kind of dish do you mean when you say a 9×9 baking pan….would metal make a difference? And how deep is the pan?
I make these with fresh meat! If you’re using defrosted meat it should be okay to be refrozen after mixing it with the other ingredients, especially if the meat wasn’t frozen too long in the first place. If you’re using meat that you have had in your freezer for 3 months, then you should make these and eat them instead of freezing since the meat is ready to be used up anyway!
I’m confused, it says if you want to freeze them, to make the balls and then put them (uncooked) in the freezer. Aren’t you not supposed to refreeze defrosted meat? Or is this under the assumption that the meat was never frozen in the first place?