Cheesy Turkey Meatball Skillet covered in sauce and cheese, made all in one skillet. Serve this with a green salad and a little bread on the side for dipping!
Cheesy Turkey Meatball Skillet
If the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, then these meatballs will certainly make the heart grow fonder! My meatball loving husband gave them two-thumbs up. Some of his other favorite meatball recipes are Giant Meatball Parmesan, Swedish Meatballs, Turkey Meatball Stroganoff and Salisbury Steak Meatballs.
Tommy loves meatballs, he orders them as an appetizer every time we go to our favorite Italian restaurant. Since we always share apps with our friends, he gets an extra order for himself, that’s how much he loves them. And trust me, he’s pretty particular and will judge a restaurant based on their meatballs, so making meatballs with turkey that meet up to Tommy’s standards is never easy. But he loved these, and told me to freeze the leftovers so we can have them for another night! (Another compliment because Tommy doesn’t eat leftovers).
To make these turkey meatballs taste great, I did a few simple things. Added umami ingredients like good quality Locatelli Pecorino Romano (don’t use the cheap powdered cheese from shelf, it’s awful), and a little tomato paste to the mix. Also, I browned them right in the skillet, I do think browning them really adds flavor. No need to add a lot of oil, I just sprayed the skillet with a little olive oil spray.
What To Serve With Skillet Meatballs
Tommy’s not eating carbs this month, (not counting the small amount of breadcrumbs in the mix) so we ate this with a green salad on the side and some roasted veggies. Normally, when I make this I serve it with some crusty bread, for dipping into all that sauce. This would also be great on roasted spaghetti squash or zoodles.
Helpful Tips:
- To make meatballs all the same size I use a food scale, weighing all the meat together then dividing it by the amount of meatballs I want. For this recipe it was about 1.6 oz each.
- Don’t overwork your meatballs or they will be tough.
- I made the sauce from scratch, just a quick marinara but you can also use a jar of your favorite sauce to make it even quicker.
Cheesy Turkey Meatball Skillet
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 30 mins
Total Time: 45 mins
Cheesy Turkey Meatballs covered in sauce and cheese, made all in one skillet, serve this with a green salad and a little bread on the side for dipping!
Meatballs:
- 2 tablespoons skim milk, or water
- 1/3 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
- 1/3 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
- 2 small cloves crushed garlic, or 1 large
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley, plus more for garnish
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 pounds 93% ground turkey
- cooking spray
Sauce:
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed with the side of a knife
- 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes, I prefer Tuttorosso
- kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
- 1 1/2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, I like thicker shredded Polly-O
- parsley or basil for garnish
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In a large bowl combine the milk, breadcrumbs, Pecorino, garlic, egg, tomato paste, parsley and salt and mix well to combine.
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Add the turkey and mix using a fork to fully mix everything together, careful not to overwork and form into 18 meatballs.
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Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, when hot spray with oil and brown the meatballs about 5 to 6 minutes on each side. Set aside on a dish.
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Reduce heat to medium-low, add the oil and garlic and cook until golden, about 1 to 2 minutes.
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Add the tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste and return the meatballs to the skillet. Partially cover and simmer medium-low until cooked through, about 5 minutes.
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Uncover, top with mozzarella cheese, cover and cook until melted, about 2 minutes. If your skillet doesn’t have a cover, you can put it under the broiler 2 to 3 minutes, until melted.
Serving: 3meatballs and sauce, Calories: 356kcal, Carbohydrates: 16g, Protein: 31.5g, Fat: 18g, Saturated Fat: 6.5g, Cholesterol: 134.5mg, Sodium: 809mg, Fiber: 0.5g, Sugar: 5.5g
Blue Smart Points: 8
Green Smart Points: 9
Purple Smart Points: 8
Keywords: Italian Meatballs, meatball skillet, turkey meatball skillet