Mini Turkey Meatballs in Creamy Marinara
- Prep Time
45 minutes
- Cook Time
15 to 18 minutes
- Serves
14 to 16
- Calories
160
- Nutrition Facts estimate only
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Ingredients
- for meatballs:
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup of fairlife from total above
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 4 medium garlic cloves, finely grated on microplane
- 3 tablespoons dried minced onion
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley, firmly packed
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 lb ground turkey thigh
- 1 lb spicy Italian turkey sausage, bulk or links with casings removed
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- for creamy marinara:
- 24-28 oz jar good quality store-bought marinara sauce
- remainder of fairlife from above (1/2 cup)
Instructions
Step 1
Preheat oven to 400°.
Step 2
Combine the first 9 ingredients (eggs though black pepper) in a large bowl and whisk until fully incorporated.
Step 3
Add the ground turkey thigh and sausage to the bowl and gently mix with your hands until the wet mixture is evenly distributed throughout the meat (do not over-work the meat). The resulting mixture should be very wet but able to hold a loose meatball shape.
Step 4
Line 3-4 baking sheets with parchment paper (or work in batches refrigerating the meat mixture between batches) and use a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop to form the meat mixture into roughly 45-50 mini meatballs. Evenly space the meatballs across each baking sheet and refrigerate until ready to bake (can be prepared up to a few hours in advance).
Step 5
When ready to bake, lightly brush or spoon a dab of olive oil over each meatball and put them in a preheated 400° oven for 15-18 minutes or until cooked though.
Step 6
Meanwhile, empty the marinara sauce into a large high-sided pot over low heat and add the Fairlife® Ultra-Filtered Milk. Use an immersion blender to blend until smooth.
Step 7
Add the cooked meatballs to the sauce and serve warm.
freezer instructions: prepare the turkey meatballs through Step 4, but instead of putting them in the refrigerator, put them in the freezer to set-up more firmly. After about 30-60 minutes, you can remove them from the sheet pans and store them more compactly between sheets of parchment paper in an airtight container. They will keep in the freezer for up to 3 weeks. Bake directly from frozen in a pre-heated 400° oven. The sauce can be entirely made in advance and frozen for up to 3 weeks.
*"lactose free" recipe was developed using products either labeled as "lactose-free" or likely to be lactose free based on information provided in publicly accessible databases. Nevertheless, we cannot guarantee that recipe ingredients are lactose free. We recommend reading all product labels thoroughly and checking with the food’s manufacturer for lactose content if the product is not labeled as “lactose free.”