Healthy turkey meatballs are studded with sun-dried tomatoes and fresh mozzarella, and brushed with savory basil pesto.
Last week was all about comfort food, and these baked turkey caprese meatballs with pesto hit the mark. After running the half-marathon last weekend, my body was in recovery mode. Last Sunday, the day after the race, things started out on the rough side. Let's just say that I had to slide down the stairs on my butt because I didn't trust my quads to hold me up for the downhill journey. Groaning like an old chair under a heavy weight, I staggered over to the bottle of Advil before falling onto the couch. I was spent.
Of course, I did manage to muster enough energy to drag my sorry self out to the car and then into a cozy new-to-us restaurant in our city, where we managed to recoup all of the weekend's burned calories over plates of calamari, Spanish tortilla, lettuce wraps and Asian ribs. I'll suffer any amount of quad pain for a good meal. Can you stand the martyrdom?!
The week's meals ranged from a light stir-fry to Spicy Chicken Thighs with Cucumber Avocado Salsa and then, finally, to these meatballs. One of the most-requested meals by my kids is Baked Teriyaki Turkey Meatballs. As much as we love that light and savory version, it was time to add a new flavor combination into our menu rotation. With sun-dried tomatoes (I use the variety that is not packed in oil) and basil pesto on hand, "caprese" sprung to mind. All I needed was some fresh mozzarella.
These meatballs were mixed and rolled in under 20 minutes. (This step can be completed several hours in advance.) After 15 minutes in the oven, the meatballs had a little bath in basil pesto before being finished off for an additional 5 minutes of baking. Serve the meatballs over brown rice or with some whole wheat pasta lightly tossed with olive oil, minced Italian parsley and Parmesan cheese.
The recipe:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Thoroughly coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, combine ground turkey, grated onion, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, parsley, oregano, egg, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper.
Mix well to combine. Using a 2 tablespoon portion of the turkey mixture, form meatballs by rolling between the palms of your hands. Place the meatballs on the prepared baking sheet, spacing evenly.
Bake until the meatballs are firm to the touch and cooked through, about 15 minutes.
Brush the meatballs liberally with the basil pesto. Return to the oven for 5 minutes. Serve immediately.
These meatballs can be served over rice as an entree, or as hors d'oeuvres (serve with toothpicks).
Other meatball recipes:
Baked Teriyaki Turkey Meatballs
Honey Garlic Baked Turkey Meatballs
Baked Salmon Meatballs with Creamy Avocado Sauce
Baked Caprese Turkey Meatball Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ pounds ground turkey meat preferably not extra-lean
- ½ medium yellow onion grated
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ½ cup finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes preferably not packed in oil
- 2 ounces fresh mozzarella diced
- 4 large fresh basil leaves thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons dried breadcrumbs
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- â…“ cup basil pesto
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Thoroughly coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, combine ground turkey, grated onion, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, parsley, oregano, egg, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper.
- Mix well to combine. Using a 2 tablespoon portion of the turkey mixture, form meatballs by rolling between the palms of your hands. Place the meatballs on the prepared baking sheet, spacing evenly.
- Bake until the meatballs are firm to the touch and cooked through, about 15 minutes.
- Brush the meatballs liberally with the basil pesto. Return to the oven for 5 minutes. Serve immediately.
Notes
The meatballs can be mixed and rolled several hours in advance. Cover and refrigerate. Remove from the refrigerator and uncover before baking.
Nutrition
Disclosure: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Rachel Cooks (formerly Not Rachael Ray)
These look fabulous! All my favorite ingredients!
claudia lamascolo/aka pegasuslegend
Very yummy looking Dara! The boys and hubby must have went nuts over these!
Part Time House Wife
Hahahahhaha.. I 1million % feel the pain of not trusting your quads to take you down the stairs! I ran a half this past saturday {was completely unprepared...haven't really run since October} and the last 2 miles my muscles were so fatigued I was getting charlie horses in my feet making my toes curl in my shoes spastically! It was intense, needless to say I've been hobbeling like an old lady!
But...Beyond that, these meaty balls of yours look incredible! I absolutely will be trying them!
Sara Louise
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carolinaheartstrings
Those look amazing! Your pictures are always so wonderful.
Marina {YummyMummyKitchen.com}
All I can say is WOW. These look so good I wouldn't trust myself not to pluck each one off the baking sheet and devour them all myself 🙂
Rachel @ Baked by Rachel
These would be fantastic for a party! I strangely love making meatballs 🙂
kellypea
Congrats on finishing the half-marathon! I can imagine the muscle fatigue, definitely. The meatballs sound delicious -- really like the pesto with them.
Laurie @SimplyScratch
This is genius! Great recipe Dara!
Julia {The Roasted Root}
Oh deary me...I love meatballs and I love turkey. And basil and sun-dried tomatoes. Very tastey!
Cassie
This is so unique, Dara. I love the addition of the pesto!
Georgia @ The Comfort of Cooking
Such a great dinner idea, and so creative! Love this, Dara. I'll be trying these soon.
Alison @ Ingredients, Inc.
sounds great! Love the pesto with the turkey!
Tara @ Chip Chip Hooray
Dara, these look AMAZING! I swoon for anything caprese, and I love subbing turkey in meatballs. These are on my must-make list for the spring.
And by the way, I totally sympathize with your quads--living in a third-floor walk-up apartment was murder the week after my half!! 😉
Lora
These look amazeballs! I must try this out. Also you did so well in your recent TV segment. Bravo!
Miss @ Miss in the Kitchen
I love that you rolled the meatballs in pesto, those flavors are so vibrant!
Emilie @ Emilie's Enjoyables
I love turkey meatballs, caprese AND pesto. This recipe was obviously meant for me 🙂
Maria
Love the pesto! I will have to check out Tin Roof Grill!
Lori @ RecipeGirl
Yum yum! I hope you have recovered nicely from the half. Still running?
bellini
I can feel our pain, although mine came from turning over my newly acquired garden plot and not anything as ambitious as a marathon. These meatballs are something I know i would enjoy as well.