Herbed turkey meatballs

Herbed turkey meatballs

Turkey mince means these meatballs are low-fat, while the herbs and sauce ensure they're not lacking in flavour

Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 5

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 15 mins

Cook time

Cook 15 mins

Freezable

Low-fat

Method

  1. Tip the crumbs into a large bowl, then stir in the milk until the crumbs have absorbed the liquid. Add the mince, 1 tsp oregano and half the parsley, then season and mix with a fork. Use wet hands to shape into 30 meatballs.
  2. Heat the oil in a large non-stick pan, then brown the meatballs for 5 mins, turning to cook all over. Pour in the passata, sugar, remaining oregano and most of the remaining parsley. Stir well, then simmer for 8-10 mins until the meatballs are just cooked through.
  3. Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to pack instructions. Season the sauce, spoon the meatballs and sauce over the pasta, then sprinkle over any remaining parsley.
Try

Meatball pittas

For a delicious lunch, make the meatballs, then brown as above and finish in a hot oven for 5-10 mins. Cool, then stuff into pitta bread with salad and chutney.

PER SERVING

260 kcalories, protein 25g, carbohydrate 33g, fat 4 g, saturated fat 1g, fibre 1g, sugar 12g, salt 1.45 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, February 2009.

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Latest comments and suggestions

  • 2009-01-18 18:51:24.333711

    amandab commented on this recipe

    Nice quick and easy meal. I used minced chicken as I think it's tastier than turkey, and I used basil in the sauce and in the meatball mixture.

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  • 2009-01-19 11:56:01.195309

    Kat A rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    Cooked this last night and found that the meatballs just fell to pieces in the sauce. I didn't use any parsley, and used sage and mixed herbs instead of oregano, then used sage in the tomato sauce as well, the sauce had a really intense flavour which was really delicious, shame about the meatballs falling apart!

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  • 2009-01-22 09:57:03.801556

    Beth rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    I didn't like the flavour of the turkey very much and I also found my metballs fell apart a bit. I was making for two and never have passata so used a tin of chopped tomatoes and added half a tin of water.

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  • 2009-01-23 11:38:11.96315

    Gemma rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Heeding the comments above about the meatballs falling apart I was very gentle when turning them and when mixing the sauce in - I only lost 2 in the end! The sauce was a little bland so I added a few splashes of worcestershire sauce, salt and black pepper, a pinch of chilli and a spoon of pesto. I wouldn't bother with the onion and garlic passata in the end, I would flavour myself with onion and garlic. I would also season the meatballs before cooking, possibly add a little chilli to them too. Finally, I served with linguine rather than pasta shapes - I removed the meatballs from the sauce and mixed the linguine in and served the meatballs on top. This was very easy and will definitely be made again.

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  • 2009-01-27 13:12:17.221258

    Julia rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    These were delicious, mine didn't fall apart but I put them in the fridge for half an hour first so that must be the key. I added a bit of chopped onion & cheated by using a ready made sauce after reading comments above. There were enough meatballs left to make the pittas underneath too! Will certainly be making these again.

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  • 2009-02-12 11:17:52.864176

    LannyLee commented on this recipe

    Can anyone tell me what the type of pasta is in the picture above?

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  • 2009-02-12 15:37:19.079976

    Gemma commented on this recipe

    I've made this a couple of times since my comments above and added a bit more bread to to mixture. It really improves the texture of the cooked meatballs. Last night I used 500g of turkey mince (which had been frozen), 150g breadcrumbs and 110ml of milk. I've also been adding spring onion as well as my seasonings, herbs, chilli and a dash of worcester sauce to echo my sauce. Excellent base recipe, just requires some tweaking to taste!

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  • 2009-04-08 17:28:40.733219

    yorksroyal rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    Cooked this and it was a little disappointing. However, I had frozen half the mixture and it tasted much better second time around. So maybe it's worth making in batches and leaving it to 'marinade' for a few days...

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  • 2009-05-01 09:28:18.761697

    katiecrumpet rated and commented on this recipe

    2 stars

    i liked the sauce but really thought the turkey didn't work, not great on taste but the worse thing was they just fell apart.

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  • 2009-06-07 10:39:27.703654

    Clare rated and commented on this recipe

    1 stars

    Bit dissapointed with this one, although on a good note the meatballs didnt fall apart as i made them in the morning and left in the fridge. wont be saving it to my folder :-(

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  • Binder photo Jo

    2009-07-10 11:21:36.144989

    Jo rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    Easy to do but a bit bland. i agree that the recipe is good but needs tweaking! Chilli would have improved it alot.

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  • 2009-07-29 23:08:50.15311

    foodbowl commented on this recipe

    Made these tonight with the ingredients listed. Made the meatballs ahead and left in fridge. They held together fine while cooking them in olive oil over a medium heat. One the whole they tasted fine. Unfortunatley, I misread the ingredients when I got to the sugar and added 4 tablespoons instead of teaspoons. I did think this was a lot of sugar to put in but for some reason never thought about checking the amount. Needless to say the sauce was a bit sweet and sickly. However, would make it again just to see if I could get it right next time. Everyone in the family ate it but they may need to see their dentist in the near future.

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  • 2009-12-09 12:28:47.827683

    Annab rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    I used pork mince, I couldn't get turkey mince. It's such a quick and easy recipe and the kids love it. I made double the quantity and put half of the meatballs in the freezer in their raw state. The sauce does need tweeking a little to make it less bland but a little red wine, extra garlic or chilli and some seasoning would work.

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  • 2010-04-14 09:52:07.813803

    Webby rated and commented on this recipe

    1 stars

    I did these last night, I did not like them, Turkey mince does not have much flavour so I shall be sticking to the Beef & Pork ones in furture. They did not fall apart though and I didn't use any breadcrumbs, I just dusted them in a litte flour and put them in the fridge to firm up for a bit. I also used plain passata sauce and added garlic and onion myself, I also added some chilli flakes to the sauce for extra flavour

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  • Binder photo Co

    2010-05-27 09:50:28.242579

    Co commented on this recipe

    When I make this I cook the meatballs in the oven and add to the sauce just before serving, this stops them falling apart. Also add garlic, onion and herbs with a bit of sugar, tomato ketchup and balsamic vinegar to plain passata to liven it up a bit.

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  • 2011-02-27 19:37:25.586218

    Belkey rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    I couldn't get any turkey mince, so used diced chicken thrown into the blender with the other ingredients and I added a egg to help with binding, also a clove of garlic and one shallot. I did the same for the tomato sauce as I only had plain passata. My tomato sauce needed a bit more help so added some worcerster sauce and a squirt of tomato ketchup. This recipe is more of a guide than a failsafe!

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  • 2012-03-17 20:29:29.742813

    michelin man rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Made meatballs as stated, used dried parsley instead, put on a lightly buttered baking tray in the oven fan assist 160 for 20 mins and added to sauce as serving. Kept their shape and were juicy not dry, plus slightly healthier!

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  • 2012-06-18 00:07:13.868095

    teapot rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Mine didn't fall apart even though I thought they would, without an egg to bind them, but I couln't tell you why! I did roll them quite firmly when shaping them and the mince was cold, straight from the fridge and into the pan within 1-2 minutes so that could be the reason. I added lots of seasoning and herbs to the meat mixture as well as the sauce, and a big pinch of chilli flakes which made them really nice. I didn't have parsley but I added some fresh basil instead, and I forgot to add sugar but the sauce was lovely anyway. Browning all the meatballs really thoroughly before adding the tomato sauce in the last few minutes helped get really good flavours and kept them juicy. Would definitely make again.

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  • 2012-07-18 18:22:12.165387

    keencook rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I made these using turkey breast mince and dried herbs as I didn't have any fresh. They held together fine (although I did briefly refrigerate them after shaping which may have helped) and I found them really tasty. I used plain passata and added my own dried mixed herbs, garlic and black pepper which complemented the meatballs well

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Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 5

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 15 mins

Cook time

Cook 15 mins

Freezable

Low-fat

Ingredients

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PER SERVING

260 kcalories, protein 25g, carbohydrate 33g, fat 4 g, saturated fat 1g, fibre 1g, sugar 12g, salt 1.45 g

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