Paleo Turkey Meatballs are loaded with protein are gluten free, dairy free and darn delicious. They are simple to make and can be made ahead of time.
It doesn’t matter if you are on the paleo or gluten free diet, these meatballs will please everyone who eats them. They are moist and packed with flavor. Because you are using ground turkey you have a leaner calorie count, because you are using almond flour instead of bread crumbs you have healthy oils and extra protein. This is a great recipe to make ahead, and freeze to pull out when you are short on time but want a healthy and delicious meal for yourself and your family. Choose a marinara sauce that does not include sugar to keep your recipe as clean as possible.
I like to do a quick fry of the meatballs in a saucepan first and then finish them off in the oven. If you are short on time you can skip the frying in the pan and just bake meatballs in the oven, adding 5-8 minutes on your bake time. However, I really like the extra flavor the quick fry gives the meatballs. Also, grating your onion {though you will shed more tears} guarantees an even onion flavor throughout your meatballs and also helps to keep them moist because the onion releases more of its fluid. Because you want all that fluid to be incorporated in your meatballs, grate your onion in a bowl you plan on mixing your ingredients.
Have you ever made your own meatballs? If not, you gotta try this recipe it is easy and you will be thrilled with the results. I mean who doesn’t love a big ol’ bowl of meatballs for dinner, and don’t tell them they are made with turkey, they will never know unless you tell them.
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil, for pan
- 1 pound ground turkey breast
- 1 egg
- 1 yellow onion, peeled and trimmed and grated
- 1/4 cup almond flour + 1/2 cup almond flour, divided
- 2-3 tablespoons frank hot sauce
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 2 tablespoons dried Italian parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
- Sugar-Free Marinara Sauce
- Preheat oven to 400°
- Wrap baking sheet with foil {for easy clean up}
- In a large bowl combine turkey, 1/4 cup almond flour and remaining ingredients to ground black pepper. Combine thoroughly with a fork, or use your hands, it is easier using hands.
- Place remaining 1/2 cup of almond flour in a small bowl.
- Start forming meatballs into 2″ balls, I used a [url href=”http://www.amazon.com/The-Pampered-Chef-Medium-Scoop/dp/B0016A076A”]medium scoop.[/url]
- Roll balls in almond flour, gently shake meatballs to loosen excess almond flour.
- Heat pan over medium heat and melt coconut oil.
- Drop meatballs into pan spacing 2″ apart. Let brown 3-4 minutes and flip to brown additional side 3-4 minutes. I use a large spoon to flip
- Place browned meatballs on baking sheet, and continue until all meatballs are browned.
- Place cookie sheet in oven and bake meatballs for 25 minutes.
- Meanwhile heat up Marinara sauce according to directions.
- Remove meatballs and place into a large serving bowl, top with marinara sauce, serve and enjoy.
If you like this recipe you might also like these:
No Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Coconut Bars
Superfood Peanut Butter Protein Breakfast Cookies
Paleo Thai Broccoli Chicken Curry
Paleo Orange Chicken Recipe
I cannot resist a good meatball. Yours look especially delicious!
Thanks Kim!
Oh, I love these meatballs and love your photos. Terrific job!
Thanks so much Susie!
I was just looking for ground turkey recipes yesterday! What perfect timing your recipe is. My hubby will absolutely love these as he tries to enjoy a Paleo diet but sometimes it is hard! Thanks for the recipe.
It really is hard to find great Paleo recipes, I am sure he will love this one!
These look amazing! Your pictures are fantastic.
Thanks Aimee!
Oh I LOVE THIS RECIPE! I really want some meatballs now! 🙂 I can’t recall even the last time I had one!!!
Oh girl you need to get some meatballs in your belly! Enjoy!
Can’t wait to try these Amy. They look absolutely delish!
Love the almond flour and hot sauce in there. Really a nice change-up.
Love these pictures! So pretty! Those meatballs look like perfection!
Great looking recipe and would be perfect with a plate of pasta!
Looks great! I really liked your tip about grating the onion. I will have to try that next time I cook meatballs.
I agree about the quick pan fry, it that yummy bit caramelization. I love a good meatball, and these have me craving them right now!
I love using turkey to make things traditionally made of beef! So much healthier 🙂
http://www.skinnybelle.com/
I hope you enjoy the recipe Robyn!
Oh wow, these look amazing! Also you always have the most beautiful photos. Great work, this sounds like such a delicious recipe!
This looks fantastic! I love making my meatballs using ground turkey rather than beef, mainly for the nutritional benefits but the use of almond flour is one I haven’t heard of. I need to try this the next time I make meatballs!
It is amazing how turkey can replace so many recipes with ground beef, making the recipe leaner without sacrificing flavor.
Love the healthy alternative, great post!
Mmm yum. I’ve been wanting to make some meatballs lately and these seem tasty. I like that they are turkey since I mainly eat turkey and chicken.
Hope you enjoy the recipe Kimberly!
These meatballs look amazing! Plus I love how you can make them in advance!
Thanks Shelby!
Can you recommend another flour ingredient? I would to have my son try these but we have to avoid almonds for now. Can we use a tapioca based flour or maybe “Bob’s Red Mill gluten free flour mix”?
Thanks,
Rich
Hi Rich, you could use gluten free bread crumbs, or regular bread crumbs. I prefer to use the italian flavored, but plain would work just as well.
I’ve been looking for a turkey meatball recipe that doesn’t use bread crumbs. I really like your use of almond flour in this recipe!
Thanks Lindsay, I hope you enjoy the recipe as much as we do!
I am surprised nobody has mentioned the hot sauce! I love these meatballs and have made them a few times already, but the hot sauce totally ruins them and I now omit that ingredient! Maybe 2-3 sprinkles of hot sauce would add a nice kick, but tablespoons? Too much! Love them otherwise!
Sorry you didn’t like the amount of hot sauce Meg, I think it really comes down to personal preference how much to add. We like it a bit spicy in our house. Thanks for letting me know.
Maybe it was the brand I used…either way, I love them still! 🙂
Fabulous – thank you!
Thanks Michelle! xo
These are amazing!! I have made them three times in the last three weeks. I use green onion in place of the yellow onion since I have a sensitivity to yellow onions, other than that I follow it to a T. Everyone is so impressed when I make these and once you get the hang of it they’re actually quite easy to make. Love the time they’re in the oven for clean up or additional food prep. Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
I am so glad you liked them and modified to your taste. I tell everyone how easy these little guys are to make. I love to make extra and freeze them to pull out for lunch or when I am short on time for dinner! Thank you stopping back and letting me know what you thought!
I don’t know how anyone got these to turn out. The mix was a gooey mess. I had to add significantly more almond flour to get them to hold a round shape. The first ones i pan fried are more blob than ball.
Sorry to hear that Matt. Not sure why yours didn’t turn out. I have made this recipe several times and I have always had good results.
These were really good, my kids even liked them. I cant have the almond flour so we used coconut flour instead. Thank you for the recipe!
That is wonderful to hear Sam. Thank you for letting me know about the substitution!
I can’t have any nuts nor Bob’s Red Mill gluten free breadcrumbs. I love that you were able to use coconut flour. Did you use coconut flour measure for measure as a replacement for the almond flour?
Jana, I am not sure what your question is? There are no bread crumbs in this recipe and I did not use coconut flour?
how much coconut flour did you use?
how many meatballs are for the serving size?
Taya, each meatball is its own serving.
If I was to do these in the crockpot, Do i still cook them the full time you listed in the oven?
Hi Michelle, no you can skip the oven.
Hi I would like to try this recipe the meatballs look great, what is the serving size?
I meatball is a serving.
Great recipe! What is the approximate total serving size for 1 pound of ground turkey?
Are you asking the serving size on my recipe? If so 1 meatball is the serving size.
This is my favorite recipe that is allowed on my diet and even when I am not dieting, I LOVE this recipe… I now make these in bulk in order to be able to freeze some for easy meals during the week. Your grating of the onion definitely makes a difference with the flavor and has inspired me to use my food processor to also chop up garlic, zucchini and mushrooms to add into the meatball mix. Excellent! Thank you!!
Hi! I’m looking forward to trying this recipe out. Would it matter if I used banana flour instead of almond flour? Bought this nifty little bag of banana flour, and I’d like to incorporate into this recipe. Thank you in advance.
Hi Liz, I have never worked with banana flour so I don’t know if it would work.
Was super excited in making these but it turned out much more dry than expected. Perhaps it was the almond part? Can you advise how to fix?