Basil Pesto Turkey Meatballs

April 19, 2016

I discovered a version of these meatballs last year when my husband and I made an attempt to eat nothing but a low carb, paleo based diet. It was a great idea in theory but neither our budget nor our children were capable of supporting that life choice 🙂

So, this recipe morphed into what it is today…a delicious weeknight staple that is still relatively healthy and packs a lot of flavor with the addition of creamy basil pesto. (Here’s me posing with the meatballs…and wishing I wasn’t still in my work clothes making dinner)!

Ingredients

2 lbs ground turkey

1 cup Panko bread crumbs

1 7-10 oz container basil pesto

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 eggs

1 jar spaghetti sauce (2 if your family likes a lot of sauce…which mine do)

Directions

Heat oven to 350°F.
In large bowl, mix all ingredients (minus the spaghetti sauce) until well combined.
Shape mixture into balls; place on rack or cookie sheet coated lightly with cooking spray.

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Bake 25-30 minutes or until thermometer inserted into the center of the meatballs reads 165°F.
Begin heating spaghetti sauce in a separate sauce pan. Spoon the meatballs into the sauce, cover, set to low and allow to simmer for 5-7 minutes.

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They look good, right! That’s it. Serve them over pasta noodles or stuff them into a toasted roll and top with provolone cheese (one of my husband’s favorite ways to eat them). If you have any cheese sticks in the fridge, cut them up into bite sized pieces and stuff them into the meatballs before you put them in the oven to bake (mom trick).

Enjoy!