Give your turkey meatballs a flavor upgrade with this easy recipe! Juicy (never dry!) meatballs bake to perfection with Greek-style seasonings like creamy feta, fresh spinach, and mint.
There’s a lot to love about ground turkey. It’s lighter, less expensive, and cooks faster than ground beef. It also has a mellow flavor that makes it the perfect blank canvas for big Mediterranean flavor.
Just like with chicken meatballs, though, the meat can more easily dry out. My main goal when I developed this recipe was for the meatballs to not only be flavorful, but super juicy. A few tricks–like a soaked piece of bread and reverse-searing them under the broiler–made all the difference!
These meatballs are perfectly light and yet juicy, and rich in flavor. They’re delicious tossed into pasta with red sauce, of course. But I love the spanakopita-inspired seasonings alongside a fresh salad and tzatziki even more!
Table of Contents
Ingredients and Substitutions
Classic Greek-style ingredients make these turkey meatballs extra delicious and flavorful:
- Bread: The secret to moist, juicy meatballs. I used whole wheat, but white bread also works well. For gluten-free, simply swap out whole wheat bread for your favorite gluten-free variety.
- Extra virgin olive oil: I used our Hojiblanca Spanish EVOO. Its mildly bitter, fruity, slightly peppery finish makes it a great choice for cooking.
- Baby spinach: A great way to sneak extra nutrients into your meals, especially if you have picky eaters at home!
- Ground turkey: Substitute with ground chicken if you prefer, or a combination of both.
- Yellow onion: White onion also works.
- Garlic: Mincing fresh cloves will give you the best flavor (see my guide to mincing garlic for tips).
- Feta: Use blocks of feta in the brine and crumble it yourself for this recipe. Pre-crumbled feta is dry and will not meld well with the other meatball ingredients.
- Egg: Act as a binder, preventing the meatballs from falling apart.
- Parsley: Adds a peppery, slightly earthy finish to the meatballs.
- Dried mint: Adds bright freshness.
How to Make Turkey Meatballs in the Oven
Broiling turkey meatballs as a final step is the key to getting that caramelized crust and juicy center without the fuss of pan-frying. Here’s how it’s done:
- Get ready. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly oiled a large sheet pan.
- Soak the bread. Toast 1 slice of whole wheat bread until just brown, then transfer it to a bowl. Remove the crust and cover the bread with water. Allow it to soak for about 5 minutes, or until very tender. Discard the water and squeeze the bread very dry. Crumble into a large, dry mixing bowl.
- Meanwhile, wilt the spinach. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil over medium heat. Add 2 cups baby spinach and cook briefly until just wilted. Remove from the heat and let cool briefly.
- Make the meatball mixture. Into the mixing bowl with the bread, add 1 pound ground turkey, 1 grated yellow onion, 1 minced garlic clove, 4 ounces crumbled feta, 1 beaten egg, 1/2 cup chopped parsley, and 1 tablespoon mint. Add the wilted spinach and season with a big pinch of salt and pepper. Mix well to combine.
- Form and bake the meatballs. Form the mixture into balls (golf ball size) and arrange them on the prepared sheet pan. Bake in the heated oven for about 30 minutes, or until fully cooked through.
- Broil, then serve. Transfer to the top rack and turn the broiler on for just a couple of minutes or until the tops are browned. Keep a close eye to ensure they don’t burn. Enjoy!
What to Serve with Turkey Meatballs
You can of course toss these meatballs with pasta sauce and cooked pasta and it will be absolutely delicious. They’re also great as an appetizer with toothpicks and a dip. But don’t stop there! Serve with:
- Fresh seasonal salad: Tomato cucumber salad in the summer, and fennel orange salad in the winter.
- A flavorful sauce: Creamy whipped feta, tzatziki, or tahini sauce.
- Bread or grain: Pita bread or lemony rice.
- Something bright and briney: Quick pickled red onions or Greek Kalamata olives from our shop.
More Meatball Recipes
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Ingredients
- 1 slice bread (whole wheat, white, or gluten free), crust removed
- 2 cups baby spinach
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 yellow onion, grated
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (1/2 cup)
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon dried mint
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
Instructions
- Get ready. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly oiled a large sheet pan.
- Soak the bread. Toast the bread until just brown, then transfer it to a bowl and cover with water. Allow it to soak for about 5 minutes, or until very tender. Discard the water and squeeze the bread very dry. Crumble into a large, dry mixing bowl.
- Meanwhile, wilt the spinach. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the spinach and cook briefly until just wilted. Remove from the heat and let cool briefly.
- Make the meatball mixture. Into the mixing bowl with the bread, add the ground turkey, onions, garlic, crumbled feta, egg, parsley, and mint. Add the wilted spinach and season with a big pinch of salt and pepper. Mix well to combine.
- Form and bake the meatballs. Form the mixture into balls (golf ball size) and arrange them on the prepared sheet pan. Bake in the heated oven for about 30 minutes, or until fully cooked through.
- Broil, then serve. Transfer to the top rack and turn the broiler on for just a couple of minutes or until the tops are browned. Keep a close eye to ensure they don’t burn. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Shop this recipe: Visit our shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients, including the olive oil used in this recipe.
- Leftovers and storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can also freeze the meatballs before or after you bake them.
- To freeze uncooked meatballs: Place the uncooked meatballs on a sheet-pan lined with parchment paper. Freeze for an hour or so, until the meatballs are solid. Then transfer to a freezer-safe container and store until you are ready to eat them. (They will freeze well for up to 3 months, but I try to eat mine in about a month.) Bake the prepared meatballs from frozen–they might just take a bit longer to cook. When they reach an internal temperature of 165°F , the baked turkey meatballs are cooked.
- To freeze cooked meatballs: Allow the meatballs to come to room temperature, and transfer to a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Freeze for about an hour, and then transfer to a container and store in the freezer. To reheat, place the meatballs on a lightly oiled baking sheet and warm in a 400°F heated oven for around 10 minutes.
Nutrition
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*This post has recently been updated with new information for the readers’ benefit.
I rarely comment on recipes, but had to chime in on this one. I’ve made a lot of meatballs over the years, but these are pretty close to the best. I grew up in a German community and had completely forgotten about the trick of soaking the bread! I also wasn’t sure about the mint, but it added the perfect flavor to take these over the top. My very picky eaters loved these. My only complaint – there were no leftovers for lunch the next day!
This is so great to hear, Lisa! Thanks for taking the time to rate and review!
Delicious!! I liked them even better the second day after they set overnight and the flavors blended. They are even good cold!
Thank you for the recipe.
Addictive! I brushed a bit of olive oil over the tops just before broiling for a little extra char. It took less than two minutes…. I didn’t walk away from the oven.
Thanks for the recipe!!
Thanks for sharing, Nancy!
I want to make these today. I have the fresh ground turkey but the only spinach I have is frozen. Will that work?
Hi, JoAn. I have never tested this with frozen spinach, but I think it would be fine. You’ll want to be sure and defrost the spinach and squeeze out all the excess moisture. Make sure to really squeeze out the moisture because too much moisture will cause the meatballs to fall apart.
This recipe is absolutely delicious. I’m living on our boat in the middle of a circumnavigation. My oven isn’t working properly at the moment. I often use an Omnia Pan for things needing roasted or baking which would have worked here, although I wanted to cook this faster at the same time so I sautéed these instead. I just used the skillet I used for the spinach and did not add any other oil. You have to be careful of time but they turned out perfect. The flavors were crisp and full. Perhaps you could include this into more of your recipes as getting this repaired has been difficult. Because I’m in a country where replacement of a stove can be a nightmare I do my best work around. Thank you.
Thanks for your feedback, Charlene!
Very easy to prepare and a great success. A minor gripe – we (in the U.K.) tend not to use ‘cup’ measurements. Somewhat confusing but didn’t detract from a very tasty dish. What’s the difference ‘twixt ‘kosher’ salt and ordinary sea salt? I haven’t found ‘kosher’ salt in our supermarkets (Waitrose).
I never really buy ground turkey, and these meatballs gave me a reason to! And I am so glad I did! They turned out amazing. Definitely don’t skip the soaked bread part — it works wonders.
Thanks, Ania!
I can’t wait to try these. Just wondering if you squeezed the spinach water out after cooking it? Thanks!
You usually do squeeze out the excess water
For a little extra awesomeness, replace whole wheat bread with Challah bread
Yum! Thanks for the tip, Amit!
Can’t pin the recipe. Any idea why?
We just gave it a try on a few computers here in the office and it seems to be working on our end. Maybe restart your computer and give it another try? You can also go to The Mediterranean Dish Pinterest page and pin it from there to one of your boards.
Can these be batch cooked inan air fryer?
Hi, Peter. I have not made these in an air-fryer, but I don’t see an issue with giving it a try. Would love to hear how it turns out if you do!
I made a batch using both the aiirfryer and the oven. The airfryer meatballs retained their shape, leaked less cheese and cooked faster. Oven meatballs leaked so much cheese they flattened on the bottom More important the airfryer meatballs tasted better. Landslide for the airfryer.
Thanks for sharing, Ruthie!
When we made meatballs we used two slices of bread and soaked them in milk. I bet buttermilk would be great!
Oooo! If you give that a try with this recipe, would love to hear how it turns out.
My husband has been begging for a Mediterranean meatball. He was pumped! This may be a once a week dinner!
Yay! Thanks, Susan!
The meatballs were so good! Highly recommend.
Made these to go with our pasta and sauce. Perfection! Thank you!
Love to hear it! Thanks, Tina.
Success! The soaked toasted bread really helped, and these were delish!
Yay! Thanks, Meredith!