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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 an easy meal option. Pair these with fresh Mediterranean ingredients to create a rice bowl for dinner!
Meatballs are a nonnegotiable in my house, the whole family goes crazy for them, and this Lebanese-spiced version is one of my favorite flavor experiments yet. Lean ground turkey gets mixed with warm allspice, cumin, cinnamon and a hint of cayenne, spices you’ll find throughout my family’s Lebanese cooking, then baked until juicy and golden. They’re an easy weeknight dinner, a meal-prep staple I keep on hand for the kids, and just as good on an appetizer spread with a tahini dipping sauce or this creamy dill sauce. Make a double batch, freeze half, and you’ve got dinner covered for weeks. My favorite way to serve them is piled into a rice bowl, exactly like the pictures above.
Craving more meatball recipes? Don’t miss these Easy Turkey Pesto Meatballs, Mediterranean Beef Meatballs, Baked Chicken Meatballs, Beef Kafta Meatballs, or these Slow Cooker Mediterranean Beef Meatballs.
Why This Recipe Works
Ground turkey with a slightly higher fat content (rather than ultra-lean 99/1) stays juicier under the dry heat of the oven, lean turkey alone has almost no fat to keep the meatballs moist as they cook. Mixing the spices, egg and breadcrumbs together before adding the turkey, then folding it in gently, keeps you from overworking the meat, which is what makes meatballs tough. Checking for doneness at 165°F internal temperature, rather than judging by time alone, prevents the overbaking that dries turkey out fastest.
Recipe Ingredients You’ll Need
Please see the recipe card below for exact ingredient amounts and instructions.
- 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.
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.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Overmixing the turkey mixture. Mix just until combined by hand. Overworking it develops the proteins and makes the meatballs dense and tough instead of tender.
- Using ultra-lean ground turkey. Turkey with almost no fat has little to keep it moist in the oven. A slightly higher fat content bakes up juicier.
- Skipping the temperature check. Judging doneness by time alone risks overbaking, which dries turkey out fast. Pull them at 165°F internal temperature.
- Making meatballs different sizes. Uneven meatballs finish cooking at different times, some will be done while others are still raw in the middle. Use a small cookie scoop or wet hands to keep them consistent.
- Serving them straight out of the oven. Cutting in immediately lets the juices run out. A short rest first helps them stay moist.
Storage Tips
- Store leftover meatballs in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave, in a skillet over medium heat, or in a 350°F oven until warmed through.
- To freeze, let the meatballs cool completely, then store in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating, or reheat gently from frozen in a 350°F oven.
Recipe FAQ
Use a small cookie scoop or measure with wet hands, about 1-inch portions, so every meatball bakes for the same amount of time and none finish over- or undercooked.
Overmixing is the most common cause. Once the turkey goes in, mix just until combined, working the meat too much develops the proteins and creates a dense, chewy texture instead of a tender one.
Add a splash of olive oil or a tablespoon of water to the mixture and mix gently until it holds together. This usually happens with very lean ground turkey, going with a slightly higher fat content from the start helps prevent it.
A few minutes’ rest after baking helps the juices redistribute through the meatball instead of running out when you cut into it, the same principle as resting a steak.
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:
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Mediterranean Baked Turkey Meatballs
Video
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
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Unfortunately I do not have an oven, but I panfried this recipe and it was absolutely delicious!!! Full of flavor and quick to cook.
So glad! Thank you for letting me know- I am happy they worked out for you.
Made the meatballs tonight and they were very tasty. The only thing I would change is to leave out the allspice. I thought it was a little overpowering as I prefer a stronger cumin taste. I will definitely make again next time substituting the allspice for garlic powder. Thanks for the recipe!
Great ideas. Glad you liked them. Yes, sometimes people find allspice overpowering- I think it is definitely a personal preference!
Very tasty and easy to make! We loved how flavorful the meatballs were. The rest is customizable, which is great. Thanks for the recipe!
So glad you liked them!
Someone shared this recipe link with me, but I can’t see the recipe on this page. Only the comments about how good it is.
If you are on this link: https://www.acedarspoon.com/mediterranean-baked-turkey-meatballs/ and let the page load and scroll down the recipe is there. I am not sure why you aren’t seeing it? Sorry!
Im having the same problem 🙁
So you have on the recipe and scroll down and you only see the comments? That is so strange. I can see the recipe when I am on the page. The comments are below the recipe so if you scroll up just above that you should be able to see it.If you still can’t see it please email me at acedarspoon@yahoo.com and I can send it over. Thanks!
I never comment on anything but these were absolutely delicious!! Restaurant quality!! Ate several straight from the pan, they were that good!
I am so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing. 🙂 These are a favorite of my family.
These meatballs are so yummy! I doubled the recipe but it only made about 26 meatballs. Maybe mine were bigger than Julia’s…? They had a nice crust to them and smelled wonderful while cooking! I made an Israeli salad to go with it: https://www.slenderkitchen.com/recipe/israeli-chopped-salad and some store bought tzatziki, hummus, brown rice, and chickpeas. It was out of this world and very filling!. Thank you, Julia!
That sounds wonderful!! I make mine on the smaller side so it might have been that yours were larger. Thanks for sharing!
These meatballs are so yummy! I doubled the recipe but it only made about 26 meatballs. Maybe mine were bigger than Julia’s…? They had a nice crust to them and smelled wonderful while cooking! I made an Israeli salad to go with it: https://www.slenderkitchen.com/recipe/israeli-chopped-salad and some store bought tzatziki, hummus, brown rice, and chickpeas. It was out of this world and very filling!. Thank you, Julia!
This recipe is delicious. I tripled it. Used a 1.5 in cookie scooper and it made 43 balls that baked on foil lined sprayed sheets for 25 minutes perfectly (a little crispy on the bottom the way I like them). I had to leave out the allspice because I didn’t have any and had to sub green onions for the shallots… and didn’t put as much of the cayenne because of the kids. And I added chopped up raisins.The flavor of these turkey meatballs is amazing and they smell SO good! The texture of them is perfect too. I’d love to try the recipe with the allspice and shallots as it’s written (still keeping the raisins though) when my kitchen is a little better stocked! Thank you for giving me a go to turkey meatball recipe! .. My Aunt loved them too so I sent her the recipe 🙂
Thanks for sharing and I am so glad you liked them. What a great idea to add the raisins-I plan to try that!
This recipe is delicious. I tripled it. Used a 1.5 in cookie scooper and it made 43 balls that baked on foil lined sprayed sheets for 25 minutes perfectly (a little crispy on the bottom the way I like them). I had to leave out the allspice because I didn’t have any and had to sub green onions for the shallots… and didn’t put as much of the cayenne because of the kids. And I added chopped up raisins.The flavor of these turkey meatballs is amazing and they smell SO good! The texture of them is perfect too. I’d love to try the recipe with the allspice and shallots as it’s written (still keeping the raisins though) when my kitchen is a little better stocked! Thank you for giving me a go to turkey meatball recipe! .. My Aunt loved them too so I sent her the recipe 🙂
Hello flavor!! This is my kind of bowl 🙂 I’ve been craving mediterranean lately!
Thanks! I love the combination of the flavors together. I hope you like it.