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!
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.
Looking for more meatball recipes? Try these Maple Dijon Turkey Baked Meatballs, Mediterranean beef meatballs, Baked Chicken Meatballs, Beef Kafta Meatballs, these Slow Cooker Mediterranean Beef Meatballs.
Recipe Ingredients You’ll Need
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: I like to use regular breadcrumbs but you can also use panko. The texture is just a bit different with panko.
- 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.
Please see the recipe card below for exact ingredient amounts and instructions.
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.
How to Make These Baked Turkey Meatballs
Step 1: Mix Ingredients: 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.
Step 2: Add Ground Turkey in: 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.
Step 3: Bake: 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.
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.
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:
If you try it, please leave me a star rating and comment below, and follow me on Instagram, Facebook or Pinterest 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.
- 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.
- Other Ways to Cook You also could cook these in a frying pan over medium-heat or in an air fryer.
- 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.
- 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
We made these tonight and served as a rice bowl – absolutely loved them! Thought the flavor was restaurant quality! You don’t happen to have the calorie count for these do you? Thanks for the recipe!
I am so glad you enjoyed them! I do not have the calorie count- I am working on implementing nutritional info soon.
Hi there – any recommendations on how to make this gluten free? Can’t use breadcrumbs but open to suggestions!
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!