Turkey meatballs you say? Ok, you got me! Anything that has the word meatball in it, sounds like a winner to me. Possibly because meatballs are one of my all time favorite foods.
Crock-Pot Turkey Meatballs
My friends and I used to walk to a meatball and sausage sandwich shop when we were kids. That shop is still open and I admit to indulging in the deliciousness it has on offer (bread and all!) about once a year. Even with my yearly indulgence, don’t worry, there will be no bread in my paleo cookbook!
This recipe takes the standard ground beef and/or sausage meatballs and replaces it with turkey, a slightly leaner meat. It’s a fun twist on your regular meatball recipe that adds a little bit different, but just as tasty flavor.
This recipe is so simple, you might even be able to teach your dog to cook it for you.
You basically combine the meat and other ingredients together, brown them for a few minutes on the stove and then throw them into the crockpot with the items for the sauce which include crushed tomatoes, some garlic, onion, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. In 6-8 hours, you will have a pot of juicy mouth-watering meatballs that you probably won’t want to share (Don’t worry, I’m not judging!).
You can choose to add some spaghetti squash tossed lightly in extra virgin olive oil as a nice side or opt for a large salad or some steamed broccoli.
Crock-Pot Turkey Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 lb Ground turkey (or beef or pork or a combination if you’re wild and crazy like that)
- 2 Eggs
- 1/2 cup Pine nuts (crushed)
- 4 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 yellow onion (minced)
- 1 tbs Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp Black pepper
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1 large can Crushed tomatoes
Instructions
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Place the ground turkey, pine nuts, half of the garlic, half of the onion, half of the Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper into a large mixing bowl.
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Beat the eggs and pour them into the bowl.
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Using your squeaky-clean hands, mix all ingredients well. Once mixed, roll into balls (about the size of golf balls) and set aside.
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Add the crushed tomatoes and the remainder of the garlic, onion, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper to the Crock-Pot. Stir a few times if you want.
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Heat the oil in a pan or skillet. Brown the meatballs, turning them often. You don’t have to completely brown the balls and you can skip this step if you want to, but bear in mind that skipping this step will increase the chance of your meatballs falling apart from you remove them from the Crock-Pot.
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After browning, place the meatballs into the Crock-Pot on top of the tomato mixture. Set the Crock-Pot on low and cook for six to eight hours.
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Serve with spaghetti squash if you are craving that pasta sensation or, if not a large mixed greens salad works well.
Photo credit: Maggie Hoffman
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