Packed with protein and a fiery kick these whole 30 turkey meatballs make a great weeknight dinner! Baked in the oven to juicy perfection these meatballs make a great 30-minute dinner recipe and can even be prepped in advance!
Save your sanity on busy nights and keep this ground turkey recipe on hand!
Not sure what to do with the ground turkey in your freezer? Step up your weeknight dinners with these whole 30 meatballs!
As a Certified Nutrition Coach, I love recipes like whole30 turkey meatballs because they're a super easy way to keep dinnertime simple and protein-packed. Learn more about the benefits of a high protein diet and why you want to amp it up!
Plus, you can easily make them ahead of time (learn more about making meal prep easier!).
And though this ground turkey meatball recipe is served with veggies on top of spaghetti squash, there are so many other options!
You'll love these paleo turkey meatballs because they're:
- Allergy-friendly (dairy-free, gluten-free, paleo, and whole30)
- Easy (the meatballs come together in about thirty minutes)
- Flavorful (add some spice to your meals to switch it up!)
- Freeze well (make ahead and freeze or keep a stash in the fridge)
Ingredients You Need
These whole 30 turkey meatballs don't use traditional flour (or even gluten-free flour) to bind them.
This helps keep them extremely juicy but denser (versus a "light" meatball).
Ground turkey: ground turkey keeps these paleo meatballs protein-packed and with less grease- similar to this gluten-free ground turkey pasta recipe.
Tapioca flour: don't be confused by the name, it's still whole30 approved! Tapioca flour is made from the cassava plant and thus not a grain. It's the secret ingredient to bind the meatballs.
Jalapenos: there wouldn't be a fiery kick without them! Mince them well so you're not biting into big chunks (and if you like spice, check out these Camarones a la Diabla - deviled shrimp!).
Spice Blend: contains cayenne pepper which means that you can adjust the potency of the heat to your liking.
Carrots: sneaking a veggie into the healthy meatballs to give you more nutrients!
Step By Step Photos
How To Meal Prep The Recipe
Want to make dinnertime, even more simple? Prep your whole 30 turkey meatballs and the squash ahead of time! One of my staples is to always have cooked rice or grain in the fridge (like quinoa for these meal-prep friendly quinoa and veggie wraps)
While it's not necessary, it does save twenty-five minutes after work.
We've even made gluten-free meatballs in big batches and frozen them (freeze raw!) as part of my postpartum meal prep! Indeed, gluten-free turkey meatballs make the easiest meal prep recipe.
Important Teaching Tips
Make sure to grate the carrot on into very small pieces and not the typical length. This helps keep the meatballs together.
Ground chicken would work for the recipe also.
These baked turkey meatballs work on top of anything (salad, as a snack, on top of pasta or rice) but I haven't tried to cook them IN pasta sauce.
That said, in place of making a tomato-veggie mixture you can definitely use a tomato sauce over top!
Make The Whole30 Turkey Meatballs Into A Full Meal
To make this into a full meal, simply boil some spaghetti squash and shred it with a fork (making sure to drain it fully before you need it- this can be done in advance!).
Then, saute some of your favorite veggies (roughly 4 cups) with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and ½ teaspoon of red pepper flakes.
Likewise, you can also top the dish with a whole30 marinara sauce.
Place it all together in a bowl and enjoy!
A Hack To Cook Meatballs (No Grease!)
The biggest meatball hack you'll ever learn silicone pyramid baking mat.
I now use a red silicone mat on top of my baking sheet to cook the meatballs (which you can see in the video for these teriyaki meatballs).
After years of cooking meatballs either directly on the baking sheet (in which they sit in the grease- ew) or having to pre-cook the grease off before baking them, my mom got me this mat.
And it was a game-changer.
It allows the grease from the gluten-free turkey meatballs to drain off so they're not sitting in it. Furthermore, it's silicone so super easy to clean (and makes your baking sheet easy to clean too!). Honestly, it's been one of the things I use most in the kitchen!
Frequently Asked Questions About Ground Turkey Meatballs
Make sure to add something that will help hold them together (a flour-like coconut flour or in this case tapioca flour) as well as to massage your meat. You also want to make sure that you don't add too much "stuff" to the mixture and that what you do add is chopped finely. This makes the meatballs able to stick together better.
Breadcrumbs are the popular choice when making homemade meatballs but they're not necessary. In fact, any flour will normally work to help absorb the grease and bind the meatballs together.
Turkey is a very delicate meat. So while you do need to massage the meat in order to get it to bind, you don't want to over-mush it.
Typically, any gluten-free flour will work with ground turkey meatballs. This includes gluten-free all-purpose flour, oat flour, coconut flour, and of course, tapioca flour.
More Easy Dinner Recipes You'll Enjoy
- 30-minute teriyaki meatball bowls
- Easy chicken fajita bowls
- 15-minute chicken pesto pasta
- Slow cooker chicken teriyaki
- One pot sausage pasta
- Slow cooker tuscan chicken
- Sweet peach curry
- Maple balsamic crockpot chicken
- Stovetop venison chili
- 30-minute dinner ideas
- Healthy dinner recipes
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The Busy Mom's Cookbook is where frazzled moms get high-protein dinner on the table fast without sacrificing nutrition or sanity.
Spicy Baked Turkey Meatballs Recipe (Whole30)
Video
Equipment
- Large pot
- Baking sheet
- Silicone baking mat
Ingredients
- ½ jalapeno finely minced
- 1 garlic large, minced (or 1tbs garlic powder)
- ¼ cup carrot peeled and shredded finely
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 lbs ground turkey
- 1 teaspoon basil
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 tbs Tapioca flour
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- Pepper to taste
Instructions
Cook The Meatballs
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients.
- Mix until combined.
- Line a baking tray with a meatball mat.
- Use your hands to portion the meatballs and roll them evenly.
- Bake in the oven for 25-27 minutes.
Notes
- The recipe makes 15 meatballs, each serving is three meatballs.
- These gluten-free meatballs work on top of anything (salad, as a snack, on top of pasta or rice) but they will fall apart if you try to cook them IN pasta sauce.
Disclaimer:
Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data"
Nutrition
These homemade ground turkey meatballs make a delicious, and healthy weeknight dinner recipe!
They're low carb and whole30 based using real food ingredients. They have a bit of a kick to them to boost your immune system which makes them perfect for a dinnertime kick.
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Lindsey Dietz
I know this sounds SO cheesy, but meatballs are literally one of my favorite foods! I'll choose meatballs over a burger any day, which is kinda weird since a burger is basically a giant meatball! These look yummy!
fitasamamabear
Sooo not cheesy! I love them too, I'll eat them right out of the fridge (crazy I know) because they're just soooo good!
Daniela
Oh wow!!! These look out of this world. So much goodness in one single dish!
fitasamamabear
Thanks so much Daniela! It's a tasty recipe!
Melissa @Real Nutritious Living
I love the addition of the crushed red pepper. It makes the sauce!
fitasamamabear
Mmm I could live off that stuff- gives a nice boost to all main dishes!
Julia
Ooooo these look really amazing! I LOVE spaghetti squash and love how you have the shreaded carrots in the recipe! 🙂
fitasamamabear
Thanks Julia! I go on and off spaghetti squash sometimes but when I'm on it's ALL I want lol
Raia
Those meatballs sound uh-mazing! Not all my family is into spicy... so more for me! Haha. Can’t wait to give them a try. 🙂
fitasamamabear
Haha yea, my toddler is hit or miss with spicy so for hers I omit the flakes and make two different servings lol #momlife
Carol Little R.H.
I am with you! LOVE meatballs and often change over from beef to turkey! My version will now have the shredded carrots!
I never use bread crumbs or almond meal. Forgive the question, if it's obvious.. Why add the almond meal?
Always eager to learn. I'm with you too re the heat.. Herbalists often say that it's great to have a hit of some heat with meals here and there
to encourage good circulation and support immune health (as you said) and my tolerance has grown over the years.
Yummy! thanks!
fitasamamabear
I could live off meatballs haha I actually used to hate spice but now I find myself loving it- and so great for your system! As for the almond meal, I began using it in place of flour to help bind them one day when I ran out of flour haha now I do it because I like adding a bit of extra healthy fats to them and combined with the egg I feel it helps hold them together- no other fancy explanation aside from I'm an almond addict 😉