I wanted to make Chiles Rellenos the other day, but didn’t want anything deep fried. I also wanted to try using ground oats instead of breadcrumbs for a gluten free meatball. So I merged the ideas with ground turkey to make these Stuffed Green Chili Meatballs in Tomatillo Sauce.
I made this a bit ago, but it’s a another that I wanted to put out there that some of you might have missed.
I’m sure this isn’t original, although in my version I use ground turkey instead or pork or beef and I ground oats instead of the usual Panko breadcrumbs. I recently read that pulverizing oats in your food processor or Vitamix was a great gluten free breadcrumb substitute and thought I would try and see how the taste and texture would be. They ended up being fantastic and with some homemade tomatillo sauce drenched over then baked, these were super moist, soft and extremely flavorful.
With the abundance of green chilies lately I was excited to incorporate them, all roasted and chopped, into the meatball itself. I grilled them on the BBQ, removed the stems, and seeds and chopped them up. Allow them to cool down before mixing in the ground turkey. Feel free to used canned if you prefer.
While I was doing that I preheated the oven to 450°F. In a mixing bowl add the ground turkey, green chilies, ground oats (or bread crumbs), egg, Mexican oregano, garlic powder, salt and cumin. I had some string cheese sticks for snacking in the refrigerator and chopped them into small 1 inch chunks and inserted them into the meatball. They turned out pretty damn good.
I used a medium sized cookie scoop (or ice cream scoop if you have it, too) to start the meatball off and pressed the chunk of cheese into the scoop of the turkey mixture. It helped in that the cheese didn’t poke out the other side as it did when I first tried these just in my hand. After wrapping the meat around the cheese, I popped it out of the scoop and rolled it into a smooth ball. This should make 16 meatballs.
I had made a beautiful green chile and tomatillo sauce the previous day and then changed my mind mid recipe and went another direction, so this came in handy, but feel free to use store bought if you prefer. Here is my recipe for my Tomatillo Sauce, it really doesn’t take that long to make and is much better than store bought to me.
Place the meatballs in a greased 9×9″ baking pan. Pour the tomatillo sauce over the meatballs and then cover with aluminum foil to seal. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F and bake for 30 minutes with the last 5 minutes uncovered.
These were unbelievably moist, tender and so flavorful. The spiced tomatillo sauce napped over each meatball was thick and had just a hint of spice. I served this with some fresh grilled corn on the cob and called it a night. Enjoy!
I use ground turkey instead or pork or beef and I ground oats instead of Panko breadcrumbs for these Stuffed Green Chili Meatballs.
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 4 oz canned green chilies
- 1/2 cup ground oats or breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp Mexican oregano
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 16 oz package Pepper Jack cheese Sticks (See Note1)
- 2 1/2 cups Tomatillo Sauce or Salsa
- Preheat oven to 450°F.
- In a mixing bowl add the ground turkey, green chilies, ground oats (or bread crumbs), egg, Mexican oregano, garlic powder, salt and cumin. Mix thoroughly with your hands.
Next, cut 4 cheese sticks into 16 cubes, about 1/2 inch in size. Press each cheese cube into the scoop with turkey mixture and then mold the meat mixture around to completely cover the cheese cube.
- Place the meatballs in a greased 9x9" baking pan. Pour the tomatillo sauce over the meatballs and then cover with aluminum foil to seal. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F and bake for 30 minutes with the last 5 minutes uncovered.
1. cut 4 cheese sticks into 16 cubes, about 1/2 inch in size. Press each cheese cube into the scoop with turkey mixture and then mold the meat mixture around to completely cover the cheese cube. The cheese I get is a 16 oz bag, like string cheese sticks. I like to use Pepper Jack Cheese ones. If you can't find them, use a block of cheese and cut into 1/2" cubes. Save remaining cheese sticks for other use.
Can you use ground chicken instead?
I think it would be fantastic Kathryn, yes. I’d go for it and please come back to let me/us know!
This recipe is yummy! Followed it exactly with delicious results.
Thanks a heap!
Always enjoy reading comments like this Martha. Thanks so much!
Hi Kevin! These look delicious and I am planning on making them this week for dinner one night. I was wondering: how many oz of pepper jack cheese do I need? I can’t seem to find the exact amount in the post and don’t want to mess up 🙂 thank you!
Hi Abby, I updated the recipe to reflect: Next, cut 4 cheese sticks into 16 cubes, about 1/2 inch in size. Press each cheese cube into the scoop with turkey mixture and then mold the meat mixture around to completely cover the chili/cheese cube. The cheese I get is a 16 oz bag, like string cheese sticks. I like to use Pepper Jack Cheese ones. If you can’t find them, use a block of cheese and cut into 1/2″ cubes. Hope this helps, enjoy and thanks so the heads up!
Thank you, Kevin! I’m excited to try this recipe 🙂
Thanks for stopping by Abby, these are terrific. 🙂
This is another I need to try! I love tomatillo’s, although they have only had them here once in my 8 years living here????. We tried planting the seeds, but nothing germinated. I do keep cand of green chili’s on hand though, the only thing I need to buy is the cheese, well and the corn looks good with????
I think often of going to other countries and setting up a Mexican import food business. I think even in some parts of the U.S. someone would make a killing! 🙂
I adore dishes like this… ones that don’t shy away from bold flavors. And I’m a sucker for tomatillos… it adds such wonderful brightness to recipes.
Sorry for the late reply Brian as I’ve been gone the last 2 weeks in India, but am back sifting emails, checking out everyones posts I missed and replying here. Thanks for the kind words. I actually restocked my refrigerator yesterday on things and picked up some more tomatillos… they are so good and not just for sauce. Fried with cheese is superb!
I have been craving Tex-Mex for about a week now and I have a feeling that this would completely satisfy that craving! I love Chilies Rellenos, but I’m with you on deep frying. This is a great alternative! Love that you used oats as binder too.
Thanks Faith, I keep trying to do things different and deliver the flavor – and ease. BUT, I do love some deep fried every now and then, I think I got my fix in India though. For at least awhile. 🙂
Hey Kevin! I like that these are baked, I never fry meatballs anymore! These would be perfect as appetizers! Your creativity never ceases to amaze me! Happy weekend! 🙂
Agreed and the sauce for dipping, great idea Dorothy!
Great pics and instructions. I can’t wait to try this one, it sounds so flavorful but almost too easy! 😉 I’m a huge chile fan myself and the sauce looks incredible.
Thanks Sally, just be sure to wrap enough meat around the cheese so it doesn’t ooze all out! 😉
This sounds incredible, Kevin! You really are the chili master. I imagine you having a whole garden of chilies growing in your backyard, and you walk through the garden in the late afternoon plucking only the very best for that night’s meal. Haha! Ok, maybe that was a stretch. But these meatballs sound amazing…and I love that you used turkey!
Definitely a stretch as both dogs would eat them all before I could pick them. I had a garden once. I repeat once. They ate everything, jalapeños and all. Ground turkey is so versatile isn’t it? Love it. 🙂
I am unsure on the cooking time. The meatballs aren’t very brown. It worries me. But they taste great.
Hello Karen, thanks for trying this one out. The meatballs will never get browned as they are covered with the tomatillo sauce. The cooking instructions should be correct.
First you need to preheat your oven to 450°F. Next, place the meatballs in a greased 9×9″ baking pan. Pour the tomatillo sauce over the meatballs and then cover with aluminum foil to seal. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F and bake for 30 minutes with the last 5 minutes uncovered. The turkey meatballs will be thoroughly cooked and tender. I hope this helps and thanks for trying my recipe.
Bursting with so much flavor, love these Kevin! Great pics too.
Thanks Matt, really working hard on the photography and lighting. Practice, practice, practice!