Homemade Turkey Meatballs: gluten free, dairy free, still delish

almonds and asana homemade turkey meatballs

I'm constantly trying to find substitutes for breadcrumbs and/or ricotta in meatballs, you know something that will add some moisture but isn't a carb or cheese... its hard. But this week I tried a new trick and it actually worked.

What to used:

  • 1lb ground turkey thigh
  • 1/2 can diced tomatoes aka the secret (save and freeze the other half, we'll use them again soon!)
  • palmful each of dried oregano & dried basil
  • a handful of fresh basil leaves (chiffonade)
  • a generous sprinkle of nutritional yeast
  • 2 eggs beat
  • salt to taste (but don't actually taste its raw poultry yuck!)

How to:

  1. Mix all of those ingredients in a big bowl. Make into meatballs (larger than a golf ball, smaller than a tennis ball) and place on a  baking sheet. Pop in the oven at 375 for 40-45 minutes.
  2. It was super simple and they were actually pretty darn good. I should have added a little more salt and other herbs would be nice, like parsley. But I ended up eating them with a  hearty drizzle of pesto so the lack of salt & green herbs wasn't an issue. 
  3. Note: Next time I might also try adding in marinated sun-dried tomatoes and kalamata olives for even more moisture and flavor! Top with THIS vegan homemade pesto