GO TO: Nikki Turkey Meatballs ❤ (Swedish Meatball Sauce included)

Nikki Turkey Meatballs

I love making these in big batches. I freeze them in quart sized bags and take them out to add to spaghetti sauce, Swedish meatball sauce or just to dip into BBQ sauce. Seriously, my go-to and always have on hand. I usually make 6 pounds at a time and roll into larger meatballs so 3 for a meal is plenty!

The bold means that's what I do. 
I included my Swedish (Svenska Kottbullar) meatball sauce below. My Swedish meatballs are made with beef and pork but the sauce is amazing with these meatballs too!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb lean ground turkey (93% or leaner)
• 1 egg (or 1 tbsp Greek yogurt if avoiding eggs)
• 1/3 cup gluten-free breadcrumbs OR 2 tbsp almond flour
• 1 tbsp finely chopped or grated onion or onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder or 1 tablespoon fresh minced garlic
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 tbsp fresh or dried parsley 
• 1 tbsp grated parmesan
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• Olive Oil

Instructions: 

• Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with a cooling rack and foil for easy clean up. You can use parchment paper but the cooking liquid from the meatballs gets funky and kind of slimy. Using a baking rack ensures that they cook and brown nicely and all around and don't sit in their own juices. Trust me on this, if you use parchment paper, you will know what I am talking about and think, "ahhh, yep, should have used the rack."
• If using grated or minced onion, saute in a bit of olive oil for 7 minutes and add minced garlic and cook for another 1-2 minutes until translucent. This ensures that it's not a raw bit in the meatball and takes the raw bite out of it. 
• In a bowl, mix dry ingredients: breadcrumbs (or almond flour), parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
• Beat the egg and add the turkey, cooked onion and garlic to the dry ingredients. 
• I add a little olive oil to my hands to coat them slightly or you could lightly spray hands with cooking spray and roll into 12–14 small meatballs. Like I said, I make mine much bigger like the size of a mandarin orange. So you will get 1/2 the yield. You will want to make it smaller for a crowd dinner. 
• Place on the baking sheet that has a cooling rack on it, spaced evenly. (the juices get funky when on parchment paper so this way it gets browned all around. 
• Bake for 18–20 minutes or until lightly golden and cooked through. If you make them larger bake for more like 25 or more turning 1/2 through.

Notes:

• Serve over rice, potatoes, with veggies, with homemade/store bought marinara or make cream based Swedish meatballs sauce.

Swedish Meatball Sauce: 

• 1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/4 teaspoon dill (OPTIONAL not traditional but I like it, I add it to my stroganoff recipe and fell in love with it lol)
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/3 cup Flour (GF: Bob's Red Mill 1:1)
• 2 cans beef broth, 10.5oz
• 1 cup whipping cream
• Melt butter in a saucepan, add flour and mix together for a thick paste, add beef broth and spices, constantly stirring until it thickens. Finish with whipping cream and salt/pepper to taste. 

Macros:

• MACROS: 220 calories | 26g protein | 4g carbs | 10g fat (smaller meatballs and not the sauce)
• DIET: low-fat | gluten-free | high-protein | low-carb | dairy-free (if no parmesan) | pancreas-friendly 
• Source:  Mama Bear ❤