This week’s member recipe is my go-to healthy turkey meatballs. I’ve been making them for a while and while they’re not my Italian grandmother’s recipe (they’re more of a Swedish meatball) they do work with a maranara sauce and are a breeze to make.

Making great meatballs is all about memorizing a basic ratio that you can adjust to suit your taste and you can use any meat — even fish if you want to take it in that direction. I use ground flax and egg to bind it together but you can add breadcrumbs for lightness if needed. You can then serve these turkey meatballs with red sauce, brown sauce, rice, cauliflower rice, quinoa or salad. Mars loves them on a toasted baguette with cheese or with spaghetti. I like to batch cook these on Sunday and have them on hand for an easy weeknight meal and everyone is happy.

INGREDIENTS 

• 1 pound ground turkey

• 1/2 teaspoon cumin

• 1/2 teaspoon oregano

• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder

• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 teaspoon sea salt

• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley

• 1 egg

• 2 tablespoons ground flax

• 1/4 cup finely chopped white onion

INSTRUCTIONS 

• Preheat oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. If you use foil, spray with cooking spray.

• In a bowl, add ground turkey, cumin, oregano, onion powder, garlic powder, parsley, egg and onion. Then add flax. Add more if necessary or feel free to add some breadcrumbs for lightness. Gently mix with your hands until well combined. Careful not to over-mix or the meatballs won’t be moist and tender.

• Use your hands to mix (roll them in your palms) the mixture into meatballs. Place on parchment lined baking sheet. Some people prefer using a medium cookie or ice cream scoop which will make 12-15 meatballs, 1-inch in diameter. You can definitely make them in whatever size you’d like, just make sure they are all relatively the same size so they cook evenly.

TO MAKE TURKEY MEATBALLS IN THE OVEN

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through.

TO MAKE TURKEY MEATBALLS ON THE STOVETOP

In a large skillet heat two tablespoons of olive oil at medium-high heat. Cook the meatballs in batches until browned on all sides for about 6-8 minutes. If you’re planning to drop these in red sauce stop browning at 4-5 minutes and then place in red sauce on low for a few additional minutes.