Easy Italian Turkey Meatballs (Gluten-Free)

I have made meatballs for years and they never quite come out the same way twice.  I just sort of throw in a little of this and a little of that and they usually turn out pretty good.  Most of the time, I make meatballs with Italian flavors and add them to marinara sauce for spaghetti and meatballs or zoodles and meatballs.  This summer, when I was teaching my college-aged son to cook, I wanted to show him how to make meatballs with pantry ingredients so the recipe was quick, easy, and approachable.  No mincing fresh garlic, no washing and chopping fresh parsley, etc.  We made some meatballs and he liked them, but we did not measure anything.  I've made up these meatballs a few more times since with good results and I've finally written down the ingredients/proportions.  I like to make two pounds of meatballs at a time; we eat some right away and freeze the rest for a later date. (Note: I do bake them before freezing them.  When I am ready to use them, I let them thaw in the refrigerator and then add them to the sauce).

This is a flexible recipe. Here I've used dried parsley and garlic powder, but I often use fresh garlic and fresh parsley.  Sometimes I add in about 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese; feel free to do so if you like.  If you do, you might opt to add a little less salt to your meatballs since cheese is rather salty.

In this recipe, you'll notice I use oatmeal in place of bread crumbs or cracker crumbs.  Not only does this make this recipe gluten-free, but I also look at this as an opportunity to add in some whole grains. Store bought bread crumbs are more processed and have a lot of additives.  I just looked at the Italian Style Bread Crumbs I have in my pantry.  Yowza! There are a lot of ingredients in there.  In the recipe I suggest using instant oats, but I don't always have them on hand. ***  If you don't have instant oats, measure out a 1/2 cup of old fashioned/rolled oats and put them in your blender or food processor. Pulse them awhile in the blender or food processor and they will break down a bit and will be perfect to add to your meatballs.  In the photo above, you can see the oats.  I got so carried away pulverizing them that they look like oat flour.  You don't need to go that far but the meatballs will turn out great regardless.

Easy Italian Turkey Meatballs
2 pounds turkey (93 percent lean)

1/2 cup instant oats (see note above ***) 

2 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. dried basil

1 tsp. salt (I used kosher salt)

several grinds of black pepper (about 1/4 tsp.)

1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 egg

Line a baking sheet with foil; spray with non-stick cooking spray, set aside.  Preheat oven 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Combine all ingredients together in a large bowl.  Stir well with a fork or your hands.  Shape into 32 meatballs (somewhere between the size of a big walnut and a golf ball).  

Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 17 minutes.

If you make fewer/larger meatballs, cook longer.  For example, today I made only 20 meatballs instead of 32 meatballs and they were perfectly cooked at 20 minutes.

Wow, what a yummy lunch I had!  Zucchini noodles (Zoodles!) and meatballs with marinara sauce.  This is one of my all time favorite things to eat.