This is the best easy to make gluten-free turkey meatballs recipe. They are kind of fun to make using an ice cream scoop too; you don't have to touch raw meat if you don't want to.
Okay, so I am pretty much determined to make eating healthy as simple as possible! And I realized I have not shared this recipe with you and it is my current favorite for my most simple and most delicious recipe! I love healthy recipes this is a FAVORITE at our house! And at only 113 calories per meatball, these are what I would call "skinny."
They are…..Turkey Balls! They sound weird, I know. But trust me; these tasty little things are gonna rock your world!
And if you wanna be a star in your hubby’s eyes, make him lunch for work every day! (I know, some of you are rolling your eyes…like us busy moms have time to make lunch for our hubby's every single day! Geez!) Well, guess what, these little gems are gonna change all that. You are gonna look like the hero when he tastes how delicious these are and thinks you spent hours and hours prepping these. And guess what, BONUS! Kids LOVE THEM TOO!! I swear these things are gonna never get old! Ready for it?
It’s as simple as:
Dump, Squish, and Roll.
The best part is this recipe has it all! The protein, the veggies, and the energy! Top a salad with it, eat with a side of rice, dip in ketchup or BBQ sauce, or eat alone! There’s a world of options for ya!! Make them a little different every single time! Freeze them for next week or eat them fresh!
Can you freeze these?
These are a good example of a simple meal prep freezer food that's healthy, easy and delicious. I bake a big batch one time a week and store them in 2’s in baggies in the fridge or freezer! And in fact, if my hubby goes for them for dinner or a snack and they aren’t there, he grumbles out of disappointment!
To serve them in my hubby's lunch I take the frozen meatballs and add them to one of my bento box lunch containers * along with some healthy sides like spaghetti sauce, a salad, veggies or fruit. So easy and it saves us so much time, money and the stress of figuring out what to eat for lunch.
I hope you like these as much as I do! And I also hope these make your life a little more simple having another easy-prep meal! Please comment below and let me know if you make these or have any tips to share with others.
PrintRecipe
Best Easy, Gluten-Free Turkey Meatballs Recipe
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
- Category: Main Course
- Cuisine: Gluten-Free
Description
This turkey meatballs recipe has it all! The protein, the veggies and the energy! Top a salad with it, eat with a side of rice, dip in ketchup or BBQ sauce, or eat alone! There’s a world of options for ya!! Make them a little different every single time! Freeze them for next week or eat them fresh!
Ingredients
- 1 Small Onion (or half a large onion), skin removed
- 1 Red Bell Pepper, seeds and stem removed
- 1 Jalapeno, seeds and stem removed (you can leave the seeds in for SPICY meatballs!)
- ⅓ Cup Oat Flour * (or ½ cup quick cooking oats)
- ½ tsp Ground Cumin
- ¼ tsp Paprika
- 1 tsp Dried Oregano
- 1 tsp Real Salt *
- ½ tsp Black Pepper
- 1 ½ tsp Yellow Mustard (powder or prepared)
- 2 tsp Garlic Powder
- 20 oz Ground Turkey (or ground chicken - I grind my own in the food processor)
- 1 Tbl Olive Oil
- 2 Eggs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease the wells of a muffin tin well with desired oil.
- Place the onion, red bell pepper, and jalapeno in the bowl of a food processor fitted with an ‘S’ blade.
- Pulse several times, until the peppers and onions are chopped into small pieces. Add the oat flour, cumin, paprika, oregano, salt, pepper, mustard, garlic powder, turkey, olive oil, and eggs to the food processor and process for 10-20 seconds, or until the mix is fully combined.
- Scoop ¼ cup of the mix into each muffin well. I like to use a hand scoop that has a ¼ cup capacity for easy measuring and a nice domed top, but a ¼ cup measuring cup will work as well.
- Bake the meatballs in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, or until they are golden brown on top and cooked through. To remove – run a knife around the edge of each muffin and scoop out with a spoon.
Jenna W.
These were so good
Michelle
Delicious!
Gosia E
Good recipe
Keli
I’ve made this recipe more times than I can remember and it’s still a family favorite!! Turkey muffins that aren’t dry? Yes please!
Rebecca
I'm so glad you like them! I also love how moist and flavorful they are.
Amber May
DELISH!! added hot sauce & they were perfect!
Dawn
Delish! I used ground turkey breast so I added a small grated zucchini to keep moisture and also added 1/4 cup grated Parmesan, will be making these again...
Rebecca
What a great idea! Thanks for the suggestions and thanks for commenting.
Tammy
I made this recipe and these mini meatloafs are delicious!! My husband loved them!
Rebecca
I'm so glad you like them! Thanks for commenting.
Paula
Hi Rebecca,
You have two nutrition labels at the bottom of this recipe. I'm assuming the first one is for the miniature meatloaf muffins, but what's the other one for?
Rebecca
You caught us in-between switching nutrition calculators. Just look at the top one; it's the correct one. The bottom one won't be on there much longer.
Julia
I tried these when I first saw them on Facebook, and was truly blown away. They are so simple to make since you don’t spend a ton of time mincing and prepping veggies. Throw them in the food processor, period. The only time I erred was when I got a large jalapeño rather than a more dimutive one. My mouth ignited! Of course, I’m a spice wimp; my family loved them. Do yourself a favor. Make these and revel in the free time not spent in the kitchen.
Rebecca
Thanks for commenting! It really is an easy recipe, good for meal prep and has individual servings with good flavor. I'm glad you discovered it too. . .
Lotts
Could you please tell me how much 20 oz is in grams?
We don't use oz in Sweden. ?.
Thx
Rebecca
567 grams.
De
My whole family loved this gluten free recipe! So tasty! Thank you!
Rebecca
Oh, good. I'm so glad you like it. It's amazing how a few veggies and spices can make such a big difference.
Kimberly Quiroga
Is (one) 1/4 cup muffin size the serving size to the nutrition label?
Rebecca
Yes.
Becca
I used quinoa tonight and it was amazing! I used your recipe as a base recipe but added much too it.
Shredded two medium carrots.
Finely chopped med yellow onion.
Two diced tomatoes.
Diced celery about 1/2 cup
Before I cooked the quinoa, I toasted it in a hot pan to bring out the nutty flavor, then I "toasted" it again after it cooked to help dry it out a little before adding it into the ground turkey. I also laid sliced tomatoes pieces on top of the meatloaf before baking it to add design, portion sizing, and flavor!! YUM!!
Rebecca
Thanks for the suggestions. I'm sure they will give lots of other people ideas. Glad you liked it!
Liana
Can you use a different type of flour as my husband can't have oats.
Rebecca
I would think breadcrumbs in whatever type of bread your husband can eat would probably work.
J'Marinde
Hello;
These look LOVELY & BEAUTIFUL, not to mention TASTY. I am considering them for family Christmas with a cream sauce of spinach, red pepper, yogurt and horseradish (Viana), then they can be sliced and put onto my homemade (GF, DF, SF ) Pumpernickel buns.) I am allergic to all forms of oats – not even the so-called “clean” oat products agree with me. I’m going to try using crushed brown rice flakes instead of the oat flour.
I also saw an article a while back that showed multi-colored sweet pepper pieces cut into stars and used for a garnish @ http://www.mennonitegirlscancook.ca/2016/11/caesar-salad.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MennoniteGirlsCanCook+%28Mennonite+Girls+Can+Cook%29, (What a great idea to build on – use in a stir fry with carrot flowers or chips, baby bok choy rosettes, celery diagonals, scallion curls, etc.) but I am putting them on a brimming veggie tray for those who just want a bite of fresh pepper.
Thank you so much and I wish you and your family the very best of the holidays. Be well and be good to yourself.
Rebecca
I'd love to know how it all turned out.
l
Can you replace the quick oats with quinoa?
Rebecca
It's worth a try. If you try it, please let me know how it turns out.
Faye
This is perfect for us because we're not crazy about chicken!