Description
These juicy baked turkey meatballs are a flavorful and easy appetizer seasoned with a blend of paprika, cayenne, garlic, and oregano, then glazed in a sweet-tangy brown sugar and soy sauce mixture. Perfect for parties or a delicious meal, they offer a healthier twist by using ground turkey and baking instead of frying.
Ingredients
Scale
Meatballs
- 2 pounds ground turkey (or 1 package of Butterball Sweet Onion Turkey Burgers, thawed)
- ½ cup Italian breadcrumbs
- 1 egg (lightly beaten to break up the yolk)
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste)
- ¾ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (or to taste)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
Glaze
- ⅔ cup water
- ½ cup low sodium soy sauce
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Place a baking or wire rack over a baking sheet and set aside to ensure even cooking and prevent sticking.
- Combine the ingredients: In a large bowl, mix together the thawed ground turkey or turkey burgers, Italian breadcrumbs, beaten egg, paprika, cayenne pepper, salt, freshly ground black pepper, minced garlic, and dried oregano. Use a wooden spoon to thoroughly combine all ingredients until evenly incorporated.
- Shape the meatballs: Form the mixture into 1-inch meatballs. Arrange them evenly spaced on the prepared baking sheet with the wire rack. Depending on the size of your baking sheet, you may need to work in batches.
- Bake: Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven and bake the meatballs for 16 to 18 minutes or until they are cooked through and reach an internal temperature of 165ºF.
- Make the glaze: While the meatballs bake, combine the soy sauce, water, light brown sugar, white vinegar, rice vinegar, and sesame oil in a large non-stick frying pan. Heat over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Allow the mixture to cook for about 2 minutes to meld flavors and slightly thicken.
- Add the meatballs: Transfer the baked meatballs to the frying pan with the glaze. Cook over medium heat for 8 minutes, stirring and turning the meatballs halfway through cooking to coat them evenly and allow the glaze to thicken and caramelize slightly.
- Serve: Remove the glazed meatballs from the pan and serve them warm, perfect as an appetizer with skewers or as a main dish accompaniment.
Notes
- These meatballs are tender and juicy thanks to baking on a wire rack, which allows fat to drip and heat to circulate.
- The sweet and tangy brown sugar glaze complements the spicy seasoning perfectly.
- Adjust cayenne pepper according to your preferred spice level.
- Perfect for party appetizers; serve with toothpicks or small skewers for easy eating.
- Using low sodium soy sauce controls the saltiness for a balanced flavor.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 meatball
- Calories: 59 kcal
- Sugar: 4 g
- Sodium: 84 mg
- Fat: 1 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.2 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0.5 g
- Trans Fat: 0.01 g
- Carbohydrates: 5 g
- Fiber: 0.2 g
- Protein: 8 g
- Cholesterol: 22 mg
