Mediterranean Baked Turkey Meatballs are turkey meatballs mixed with the warm, rich spices of cumin, cinnamon, allspice and cayenne pepper. These meatballs are lean and baked to create a healthy meal option. Pair these with fresh Mediterranean ingredients to create a rice bowl for dinner!
MEDITERRANEAN BAKED TURKEY MEATBALLS
We love meatballs in my house! The whole family will go crazy for them and I like experimenting with new flavor combinations.
These Mediterranean Baked Turkey Meatballs were a new combination that I made recently and a very easy dinner. They also make a fun addition to an appetizer spread alongside a tahini dipping sauce or this creamy dill sauce.
Lean, ground turkey is mixed with the warm, rich spices of allspice, cumin, cinnamon and cayenne pepper, breadcrumbs and an egg and then baked to perfection. The spice combination is typical in a lot of the Lebanese recipes that my family makes. I love the warmth of the cinnamon paired with the allspice and cumin and that hint of kick from the cayenne pepper.
One of my favorite things about this turkey meatball recipe is that they are a healthy option for meal prep that you can have on hand for the kids. Make a double batch and freeze some for later. As you can see from the pictures, I like to create rice bowls with my easy baked turkey meatballs.
If you like meatball recipes you should also try these Maple Dijon Turkey Baked Meatballs, Mediterranean beef meatballs, Baked Chicken Meatballs, Beef Kafta Meatballs, Greek Meatballs and these Slow Cooker Mediterranean Beef Meatballs.
I like using these meatballs in rice bowls. We have a layer of a grain, like brown rice, jasmine rice or bulgur wheat, followed by hummus, tabbouleh, yogurt, chickpeas, feta cheese and cucumbers.
We were eating Mediterranean style rice bowls before they were a thing!
The options are endless when it comes to the ingredients in your bowl. Sometimes instead of traditional tabbouleh I make this Kale Cucumber Tabbouleh or I replace regular chickpeas with Crunchy Roasted Chickpeas.
I find that in my house mixing things up and keeping meals new and exciting is half of the battle when it comes to getting my kids to try new things. In my opinion these are the best baked turkey meatballs. These meatballs are a nice change, and a fun, delicious way to cook with ground turkey.
The turkey in these meatballs works as a blank canvas to showcase Mediterranean flavors perfectly. Turkey is a healthy lean protein, flavorful and versatile for meals any time of day, year round making these healthy turkey meatballs. These simple turkey meatballs are versatile and make a nice dinner, lunch or an appetizer at a party.
Recipe Ingredients
You will love how simple the meatball ingredients are in this recipe!
- Ground Turkey: I used a lean ground turkey but any ground turkey will work. I do find that the turkey with a bit higher fat content works better to create juicier meatballs.
- Breadcrumbs:
- Egg: the egg helps to bind together the turkey meatball mixture.
- Garlic: I used fresh garlic in these meatballs but make sure you mince the garlic small. You also could use garlic powder.
- Shallots: I like the flavor that shallots add to meatballs but you can use minced sweet onion or red onion. You also can skip onion if you don’t want to use it.
- Fresh Herbs: fresh herbs are a great way to take meatballs to the next level and add flavor. The herbs in these meatballs are fresh parsley. You also could use fresh dill, fresh basil or fresh oregano.
- Spices: the spices in these turkey meatballs are warm and add a nice depth of flavor. I added cumin, allspice, cinnamon and cayenne red pepper. You also could use oregano, Italian seasoning or paprika. These would all add nice flavor.
Ways to Modify These Meatballs:
- Protein: This recipe works great with ground lamb, ground beef, ground pork or ground chicken. You might find that the ground chicken is a more wet consistency and you may need to add more breadcrumbs to bind the meatballs together.
- Sauce: You can serve these meatballs as an appetizer. If you are serving a crowd try making smaller sized meatballs and putting them on a toothpick to serve. You can serve them with your favorite sauce like a tzatziki sauce. Tahini Sauce or this Creamy Dill Sauce.
- Spices: You can add other spices to these turkey meatballs. Some I like are Italian seasoning, paprika, chili powder, crushed red pepper, za’atar or sumac.
- Fresh Herbs: You could add other finely chopped fresh herbs. Some good ones are chives, fresh basil, fresh mint or oregano.
- Other Ways to Cook You also could cook these in a frying pan over medium-heat or in an air fryer.
Recipe FAQ
I highly suggest using a cookie scoop to help form your meatballs. I use a smaller sized one but you can use a large cookie scoop for bigger meatballs. When they are an even size they cook more evenly.
Mix the ingredients just until combined but do not over mix. Overmixing can make the meatballs tough and a bit dry and not create juicy meatballs.
You need to add moisture to the meat mixture. Some options are to add an extra egg to add moisture, soak bread in a small amount of milk until just mushy and mix that with the ground turkey or add finely grated veggies like minced onion, zucchini or carrot. This is a great way to also add in extra vegetables to your diet.
I suggest a ground turkey with at least 7-10% fat (this is often labeled 93/7). If the turkey is too lean (99%) it can make the meatballs dry.
If you let the meatballs sit for a few minutes before serving them to guests this will help redistribute the juices and keep them moist.
How to Make Juicy Turkey Meatballs
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
Step 1. Create the Turkey Meatball Mixture: In a large mixing bowl the meat mixture together. Add the bread crumbs, egg, garlic, shallots, parsley, cumin, allspice, cinnamon, red pepper flakes {optional}, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper and olive oil in a bowl.
Step 2. Form the Meatballs: Add the ground turkey and use your hands to gently mix everything together. Don’t over-mix the meatball mixture.
Form the turkey mixture into 1-inch turkey meatballs with your hands or a cookie scoop and put on the sheet pan or cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
Step 3. Bake the Meatballs: Bake the ground turkey meatballs in the oven for 20 minutes, until the meatballs reach an internal temperature of 165ºF. Don’t overcook as you want tender meatballs not dried out.
If you make a big batch you can freeze them and store the frozen meatballs in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
Ways to Serve These Meatballs:
- Serve these over a bed of greens or try adding it to this Lemon Arugula Salad, Lemon Arugula Salad with Capers, Arugula Orzo Salad, or this Tomato Feta Orzo Salad.
- Add these meatballs to a bowl. A few bowls I really like are this Buddha Bowl, Greek Quinoa Bowl or this Mediterranean Hummus Bowl.
- Serve these meatballs alongside a Mediterranean dip. I like this Easy Lebanese Hummus, Baba Ghanoush, Whipped Feta or Lemon Hummus.
Other Ground Turkey Recipes You Might Like:
We love using ground turkey in our house. It is affordable and such an easy protein to use in recipes. Try one of these other ground turkey recipes:
- TURKEY KOFTA KEBAB RECIPE
- INSTANT POT TURKEY TACO PASTA
- THAI TURKEY LETTUCE WRAPS
- CROCK POT TURKEY MEATBALLS
- INSTANT POT TURKEY CHILI
- SLOW COOKER TURKEY QUINOA CHILI
- TURKEY SLOPPY JOES
If you try it, please leave me a star rating and comment below, and follow me on Instagram @acedarspoon for more delicious recipes!
Mediterranean Baked Turkey Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground turkey {try to find ground turkey that is 93/7 fat content if you can to help keep the meatballs from drying out}
- 1/4 cup dried bread crumbs
- 1 egg
- 3 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 1/4 cup shallots, finely minced
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely minced
- 3/4 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne red pepper {optional}
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl mix together the breadcrumbs, egg, garlic, shallots, parsley, cumin, allspice, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper and olive oil.
- Add the ground turkey and use your hands to gently mix everything together. Don't over-mix the turkey mixture. Form the turkey mixture into 1-inch turkey meatballs using wet hands or a small cookie scoop and put on the cookie sheet.
- Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, or until the meatballs reach an internal temperature of 165ºF. I suggest checking your meatballs at about the 15 minute mark to see how they are progressing.
- Serve over rice with hummus and veggies or store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- You can freeze these meatballs for later. Let them cool completely and store in an airtight container or ziplock bag for up to 3 months.
Notes
- Serve these meatballs in a rice bowl with brown rice, chickpeas, Lebanese salad and hummus.
- You can freeze these meatballs for later. Let them cool completely and store in an airtight container or ziplock bag for up to 3 months.
Chandni
Monday 26th of February 2024
Hi there - any recommendations on how to make this gluten free? Can't use breadcrumbs but open to suggestions!
Julia
Monday 26th of February 2024
Hi there- Oats could work or try gluten-free corn tortilla chips. For the chips I would crush them with a food processor or blender maybe so they are smaller. I have also heard of people using gluten-free pretzels and crushing them in a plastic bag with a rolling pin. A sleeve of crackers could be good too. Try Ritz, Saltines or club crackers to create a binder for meatballs. They add buttery, slightly salty flavor – but be sure to adjust the salt amount in your recipe if opting for salted cracker. Hope one of these will work for you!
Lynn
Saturday 30th of December 2023
I make these meatballs a couple times a month, they are definitely one of my favorite healthy protiens for meal prepping. I love the blend of spices, the flavor in these is perfection. We like to eat them with homemade tzaziki sauce.
Shannen Mendiola
Tuesday 25th of April 2023
I made these with some improvising. I realized I forgot to buy bread crumbs so I crushed up some crackers. Also couldn't find all spice at my local grocery store, but still stuck with the recipe and it turned out amazing! I made my version of a tzatziki sauce and it paired so well with the dish. My husband and I are keeping this recipe for sure!
Donna
Tuesday 7th of March 2023
The meatballs were absolutely DELICIOUS!! The flavor profile was new to me in cooking (I was hesitant about the cinnamon, lol) but OH SO TASTY!! Thank you for graciously sharing. This will be become a regular.
Julia
Wednesday 8th of March 2023
Thank you! I am so glad you liked them. We use a lot of cinnamon in Lebanese cooking. I think people often aren't sure about it but I think they end up liking it in recipes once they try it!
Lindsay
Tuesday 9th of August 2022
This was excellent! Omitted the feta and drizzled dill sauce over the bowls. Big hit for the family - thanks!
Julia
Friday 12th of August 2022
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for letting me know.