Turkey Meatballs and Gravy

A bit of thanksgiving flavor with much less effort! These Turkey Meatballs and gravy are quick to put together, packed with flavor and perfect for a weeknight meal! The warm flavors including cinnamon, allspice and sage give these a unique flavor.

If you have never tried turkey meatballs, I hope this recipe makes you a believer and change that immediately!!! Truth be told, I do not enjoy a whole roasted turkey during the holidays, I usually opt for roast lamb but I do use ground turkey all year long and dare I say, I love it almost more than ground beef! L Be sure to check out my Thanksgiving Prep Guide, you may want to add these to your menu!

A sampling of ingredients

I love these meatballs because they really come together simply with a few staple ingredients.

• Ground Turkey- When choosing ground turkey, opt for a higher fat content. If you are using extremely lean, white meat ground turkey, you will not get the flavor and meatballs may be a bit dry. 93/7 or 85/15 is where you want to be vs 99/1 which is too lean. I have tried this recipe and many others with 99/1 lean turkey and it does not yield the flavor that you will be happy with.
• Ground Cinnamon- This may seem like an unexpected flavor in a savory dish but cinnamon is used often in savory Lebanese dishes, like these meat fatayer. While we typically associate cinnamon with sweets like apple desserts, it also creates a warm flavor in savory dishes. We'll flavor both our meatballs and gravy with it.

You'll also need baking sheets, parchment paper (helpful but not necessary) and large sauté pan or skillet. See recipe card for full ingredients and quantities.

How to Make Turkey Meatballs and Gravy

We begin by cooking our aromatics, onions, celery and spices. Some recipes have you add these into the meat mixture raw but I find the flavor and texture is much nicer when taking a few minutes to cook these together. Adding spices directly to the aromatics creates a lovely flavor that gets distributed throughout the meatballs.

Sauté your onions and celery and add sage leaves, salt, pepper, cinnamon and allspice. allow to fully cook and become soft. If using fresh garlic, add during the last 2 minutes of cooking. Allow to cool before adding to your ground turkey.

In a large bowl, add your ground turkey, eggs, breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, toum (if using) and cooled onion/celery mixture. With clean hands, work the mixture until everything is cohesive and combined. Add an additional teaspoon of kosher salt to your mixture.

Pro tip:

Since we can't test raw poultry, if you want to get an idea of your flavor and seasonings a quick way to do that is by taking a small amount of your mixture, flatten and place on a microwave safe dish - microwave for 20-30 seconds. This quick cook will allow you to sample the flavor and decide if you need any additional seasonings.

Once your mixture is cohesive and seasoned, line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. Begin forming your meatballs into small round balls. They should be about 1.5" across and about 30 grams each. These will cook for 20-25 minutes until the bottoms are browned and cooked all the way through.

While the meatballs are cooking, prepare your gravy. In the same skillet you sauted your aromatics, add your butter and allow to fully melt. Add in your flour and whisk until it begins to bubble. This process is cooking the flour to ensure it's not raw. Once a bubbly paste begins to form, slowly add in your turkey/chicken stock. I like to start with a splash, whisk to combine then continue pouring. As you pour your stock, continue to whisk on medium-high heat until it begins to thicken. Add your spices: cinnamon, pepper, sage and salt - I leave the salt amount up to you as different stocks/broths have different levels of salt content. Start with a pinch of salt and continue to increase until the flavor is at your liking.

Once your meatballs are done in the oven, toss them into your gravy and enjoy!

Tips for Cohesive Meatballs

There is a fine balance when making meatballs, you don't want them too firm and you don't want them too crumbly. Having the right balance of biding agents (breadcrumbs and eggs) is crucial. When forming your meatballs you want the mixture to hold together and be almost smooth. If they are too lumpy, you may have too much breadcrumbs. If they are too wet and not forming, you may need to add additional breadcrumbs.

I find that using disposable kitchen gloves when making meatballs helpful, the mixture tends to stick less to your hands and form easier. A cookie scoop can also be helpful to achieve a consistent size and shape.

Storage and Freezing

The best parts of making meatballs is the ability to make them ahead and even freeze them for a great weeknight meal option.

If you are making these ahead and want to freeze you have a few options:

• Make meatballs and cook as instructed, allow to cool then freeze on a sheetpan flat until frozen. Once frozen, toss into a ziplock bag and pull out and defrost when you want meatballs.
• Make meatballs as directed until the baking part. Once you have rolled and lined your meatballs on a tray, pop into freezer flat and freeze uncooked. Once frozen solid, pop into ziplock bag and bake frozen when ready to enjoy. They may take an extra few minutes of cook time.

If you plan to freeze the gravy, place in a separate container and freeze. All items are best to freeze up to 3 months in standard freezer or 6 months in a deep freezer.

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As always, I love seeing your creations! This is a perfect salad or side dish to serve all year long.

I hope you enjoy these Turkey Meatballs and Gravy as much my family does! If you make Turkey Meatballs and Gravy, please let me know by leaving a rating and review below!

As always, I love seeing your creations. Please leave a review or share your dish with me on social media #cosetteskitchen which lets me know what is working for you! You can find me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter , Tiktok and Pinterest. For more delicious recipes to your inbox, sign up for my newsletter!

xoxo,
Cosette

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