Description
These juicy baked turkey meatballs are flavored with paprika, cayenne, garlic, and oregano, then coated in a sweet-tangy brown sugar glaze. Perfect as a delicious appetizer or party snack, they are easy to make and baked to perfection before being simmered in a flavorful soy-based glaze.
Ingredients
Scale
Meatballs
- 2 pounds ground turkey (or 1 package of Butterball Sweet Onion Turkey Burgers, thawed)
- ½ cup Italian breadcrumbs
- 1 egg (lightly beaten to break up the yolk)
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste)
- ¾ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (or to taste)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
Glaze
- ⅔ cup water
- ½ cup low sodium soy sauce
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
Instructions
- Prep the oven and baking sheet: Preheat your oven to 350ºF. Place a wire rack over a baking sheet and set this up to allow the meatballs to bake evenly and stay juicy.
- Combine the ingredients: In a large bowl, add the thawed ground turkey or turkey burgers, Italian breadcrumbs, beaten egg, paprika, cayenne pepper, salt, freshly ground black pepper, minced garlic, and dried oregano. Use a wooden spoon to mix thoroughly until everything is well incorporated.
- Shape the meatballs: Take the mixture and form it into 1-inch diameter balls. Place the meatballs on your prepared baking rack and baking sheet. You might need to do this in batches depending on the size of your sheet.
- Bake the meatballs: Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven and bake the meatballs for 16 to 18 minutes, or until they are fully cooked through and no longer pink inside.
- Make the glaze: While the meatballs are baking, take a large non-stick frying pan and combine the soy sauce, water, light brown sugar, white vinegar, rice vinegar, and sesame oil. Bring this mixture to a gentle simmer and cook for about 2 minutes until it thickens slightly.
- Coat the baked meatballs: Once the meatballs are done baking, add them to the frying pan with the glaze. Cook on medium heat for 8 minutes, turning the meatballs once halfway through to coat them evenly. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.
- Serve and enjoy: Remove the glazed meatballs from the pan and serve immediately. They can be served with skewers for easy party appetizers.
Notes
- These baked turkey meatballs are juicy and tender thanks to baking on a wire rack which prevents sogginess.
- The brown sugar glaze adds a delicious sweet and tangy flavor that’s perfect for parties.
- Serve with skewers for easy handling and presentation at gatherings.
- You can adjust the cayenne pepper to control the heat level according to your preference.
- They’re great served fresh but also keep well for a couple of days refrigerated.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 meatball
- Calories: 59 kcal
- Sugar: 4 g
- Sodium: 84 mg
- Fat: 1 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.2 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0.5 g
- Trans Fat: 0.01 g
- Carbohydrates: 5 g
- Fiber: 0.2 g
- Protein: 8 g
- Cholesterol: 22 mg
