Crockpot Italian Turkey Meatballs

These simple, easy and healthy meatballs are the perfect staple for dinner on any given night of the week. I’m a huge fan of crockpot dinners. I left the meatballs simmering for four hours and didn’t have to think about anything! We have been trying to make healthier choices in our home but we are addicted to Italian dishes… aka: a whole lot of pasta! I’ve substituted your traditional ground beef meatballs with lean ground turkey, and served this over gluten free quinoa pasta! This dish had everyone going for seconds and craving for more!

Ingredients for Meatballs:

• 2 lbs lean ground turkey meat
• 3 large garlic cloves (finely minced)
• 3 jumbo sized eggs
• 2 tablespoons of fresh parsley (finely minced)
• 2 tablespoons of fresh basil (finely minced)
• 2 teaspoons of salt & pepper mix
• 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese
• 3/4 cup of italian style bread crumbs
• 2 teaspoons of onion powder
• 1 teaspoon of dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil

Ingredients for Tomato Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 large garlic cloves (finely minced)
• 1/4 cup of white onion (finely minced)
• 1 – 29oz can of tomato sauce
• 1 – 28oz can of crushed tomatoes
• 1 – 14oz can of petite dices tomatoes
• 3 teaspoons of salt & pepper mix
• 2 tablespoons of fresh basil (finely minced)
• 1 teaspoon of dried oregano
• 1 cup of water
• 1 package of ground italian sausage (optional but recommended)

Directions:

1. Start with sauce – Set your crock pot to low heat. Add olive oil, garlic, onion and to crock pot. Next, add the rest of your sauce ingredients into crockpot (all cans of tomato, salt & pepper, oregano, basil and water). Cover the crockpot with lid.
2. Meatballs – In a large mixing bowl, add in turkey meat along with all of the other ingredients for meatballs. (Make sure that garlic, basil, and parsley is chopped VERY small!) With your hands, mix/fold all of your ingredients together.
3. Set aside a sheet pan topped with parchment paper or tin foil. With a cookie-scoop, portion out your meatballs evenly onto the sheet pan. With both hands, roll each scoop so that balls are even.
4. Time to get sear your meatballs – In a fry pan, add about 2 tablespoons of canola or vegetable oil and set burner to medium heat. Once your oil is hot, add in meatballs and cook for about 3 minutes on each side OR until golden brown/crisp. * If the oil is burning or running low, add more oil as you continue to sear the rest of your meatballs*
5. As your meatballs are done searing on each side, add them directly into the crockpot.
6. Ground italian sausage – In the same fry pan that you seared meatballs in, cook one packet of ground italian sausage. Make sure that sausage is brown (you do not want to see any red color)! This will add a ton of flavor to the sauce! Once done cooking, dump directly into crockpot with sauce and meatballs.
7. Cover crock pot with lid, and cook on LOW for 4 hours!
8. Serve over organic quinoa pasta (healthy option) or your desired pasta. Top each dish off with parmesan cheese!

Recipe yields: 28 Meatballs