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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!
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 an easy 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 Easy Turkey Pesto Meatballs, Mediterranean beef meatballs, Baked Chicken Meatballs, Beef Kafta Meatballs, these Slow Cooker Mediterranean Beef Meatballs.
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.
Storage Tips
You can store these meatballs in an airtight container for up to 4 day in the fridge. These also freeze great. Just make sure to let them cool completely and then you can freeze them 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.
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:
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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.