Healthy Garlic Turkey Meatballs
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These healthy turkey meatballs feature slow roasted garlic for incredible flavor! Get my recipe and tips for making the best garlic turkey meatballs! It’s a healthy meal that’s delicious, too.
These roasted garlic turkey meatballs are the result of another recipe I was working on and ended up becoming a fantastic dinner morsel. The initial thought was to roast garlic for a sauce idea, but that recipe post will have to come later, as we ate the meal before I could take the photos! Oh well, at least I know it’s a good appetizer.
Ground turkey is used quite a bit around this house, as it is a light and healthy protein that pairs well with many different seasonings.
In last night’s dinner I figured I would put to use the aromatic, slow-roasted garlic I had on hand and incorporate that into these wonderful and flavorful turkey meatballs. Alas, no sauce on these as just a squeeze of lemon did the trick, trying to keep it light these days.
I didn’t feel the need to do a single post on roasting garlic and incorporated it into this one for those of you who might need to know how.
Making garlic turkey meatballs
First let’s preheat the oven to 350°. With a sharp knife slice the top portion of the head of each garlic bulb. Place the top back on the garlic bulb.
Wrap the sliced garlic bulbs in aluminum foil, making a nice little package and place in a 8” round cake pan or baking sheet. I like to keep them all snug together.
The house starts to smell pretty amazing as these roast!
Roast these for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool. When cooled squeeze the garlic from each top and bottom into a container and top with olive oil to seal. This gets sticky, but get every last drop of garlic pulp and discard the garlic skins. It is so creamy and buttery, not as pungent or strong as one might think. Store in the refrigerator for multiple uses.
The reason I put the tops back on is to use every bit of the garlic bulb and I wrap them so they don’t form a skin on them either. When they are done and in a storage container a good topping of olive oil will keep them sealed and from drying out.
Tips for making ground turkey meatballs
Turn oven up to 400°. In a bowl mix together the ground turkey, 1/4 cup of the roasted garlic, egg, Panko, sesame seeds, kosher salt, red pepper flakes and chopped flat leaf Italian parsley.
Using a small scoop make the meatballs and place on a baking sheet lined with a Silpat baking mat or aluminum foil.
Bake these delicious guys for about 18 minutes.
Remove from oven and serve as is with a squeeze of lemon or with your favorite sauce.
These healthy turkey meatballs are super moist, full of rich roasted garlic flavor and the addition of the sesame seeds adds a great pop of flavor and texture.
What to serve with healthy turkey meatballs
Instead of a heavy sauce like you might find on Swedish meatballs, I decided to keep the meal simple, allowing the flavor of the meatballs to shine. A simple squeeze of lemon juice is all that’s needed. For a healthy side dish, I recommend either wild rice pilaf or this delicious Mediterranean couscous salad.
I hope you enjoy these roasted garlic ground turkey meatballs!
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Healthy Garlic Turkey Meatballs
Ingredients
- 6 bulbs garlic
- olive oil
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1 egg
- 1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- With a sharp knife slice the top portion of the head of each garlic bulb. Place the top back on the garlic bulb. Wrap the sliced garlic bulbs in aluminum foil, making a nice little package and place in a 8” round cake pan or baking sheet.
- Roast for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool. When cooled squeeze the garlic from each top and bottom into a container and top with olive oil to seal. This gets sticky, but get every last drop and discard the garlic skins.
- Store in the refrigerator for multiple uses. Turn oven up to 400°F.
- In a bowl mix together the ground turkey, 1/4 cup of the roasted garlic, egg, Panko, sesame seeds, kosher salt, red pepper flakes and chopped flat leaf Italian parsley.
- Using a small scoop make the meatballs and place on a baking sheet lined with a Silpat baking mat or aluminum foil. Bake for 18 minutes.
- Remove from oven and serve as is with a squeeze of lemon or with your favorite sauce.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
These meatballs are great! We make them regularly. Last week I was short on garlic; but long on pesto… So I used the pesto instead of just roasted garlic, toasted pine nuts instead of sesame, and finely diced mushrooms instead of the parsley. Your method is so fool proof… the proportions and baking technique…. they came out great. Thanks for upping the meatball game, Kevin!
Thanks so much Stephanie. I’m not sure if you know this, but I am a meatball fan and have so many recipes on the site devoted to them. Enjoy!