Turkey, Spinach & Cheese Meatballs
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The addition of turkey sausage and cheese makes these meatballs tender and flavorful.
Photo by Johnny Miller, Clarkson Potter 2021
I used to be one of those opinionated people who felt you shouldn’t sneak vegetables into your children’s food, but then I gave birth to a picky eater and all that righteousness went right out the window. Parenting is nothing if not humbling, right? These meatballs are a great way to sneak in some spinach, but what makes them really special is the addition of turkey sausage. Not only does the sausage make the meatballs tender, but it also adds great flavor without the need for a ton of other ingredients. Serve the meatballs with pasta, Parmesan smashed potatoes, or polenta and a big Italian salad, and dinner is served!
Table of Contents
“DELICIOUS!!!! I make a full batch and freeze for individual dinners. We serve it with zucchini noodles—really great twist on meatballs.”
What You’ll Need To Make Turkey Meatballs
Step-by-Step Instructions
To begin, mix the egg with chopped spinach, scallions, and garlic.
Add the ground turkey, turkey sausage, bread crumbs, mozzarella cheese and Parmigiano Reggiano.
Mix until evenly combined.
Form the mixture into 1-1/2 inch balls.
Broil the turkey meatballs until golden, about 10 minutes.
Then simmer in the sauce for 10 minutes more.
That’s all there is to it. Enjoy!
Video Tutorial
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Turkey, Spinach & Cheese Meatballs
The addition of turkey sausage and cheese makes these meatballs tender and flavorful.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large egg
- 3 ounces baby spinach, chopped (3½ cups whole; 1½ cups chopped)
- 3 scallions, white and green parts, finely sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1.25 pounds 93/7 ground turkey (I use Shady Brook Farms)
- 1.25 pounds Italian turkey sausage, removed from the casings (I use Shady Brook Farms)
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella (preferably whole milk but low-fat will work)
- ⅓ cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano, plus more for serving
- ½ cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
- 1 (24 oz) jar marinara sauce, homemade or good quality store-bought
Instructions
- Preheat the broiler and set an oven rack on the second-highest rack. Line a baking sheet with heavy duty aluminum foil and grease with the olive oil.
- In a bowl large enough to hold all of the ingredients, beat the egg. Add the chopped spinach, scallions, and garlic and stir until evenly combined. Add the ground turkey, turkey sausage, mozzarella, Parmigiano-Reggiano and bread crumbs. Using your hands, mix until evenly combined. Shape the mixture into 1½ inch balls and place on the prepared baking sheet.
- Broil the meatballs until golden brown on top, about 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat the tomato sauce in a large pan on the stovetop. Add the broiled meatballs and simmer over low heat for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the meatballs are fully cooked.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: These can be frozen in their sauce for up to 3 months. When ready to serve, reheat the meatballs in their sauce on the stovetop over medium heat until hot in the center.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (6 servings)
- Calories: 509
- Fat: 27g
- Saturated fat: 8g
- Carbohydrates: 18g
- Sugar: 7g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 49g
- Sodium: 1409mg
- Cholesterol: 194mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Another yummy dish! Usually, anything with turkey is dry and tasteless. NOT this. Lots of flavor and very moist. I would recommend this recipe. Thank you Jenn for these great ideas. During our time at home, I have been trying lots of new stuff and your site is my favorite.
Delicious recipe as expected from jenn!
Can you freeze the meatballs after being in the fridge for 2 days? Btw, absolutely delicious! I used chicken italian sausage because I couldn’t find turkey.
I’ve been using your recipes since the lockdown began and I must say our family has loved EVERY one!!! Such a life saver during a difficult time.
Thank you@
Glad you’re enjoying the recipes, Alyssa! It’s fine to freeze after two days.
This recipe was fabulous! I made the parmesan smashed potatoes also. I highly recommend 👌
Hi Jenn,
I would love to make these today for this coming weekend as they are soo good! I know you said these freeze and reheat well but just wondering should I defrost and then reheat or can you do it from a frozen state?
Many thanks!
Kristen Berry
Hi Kristen, While you can get away going either way, I’d recommend defrosting them in the fridge first. Hope you enjoy!
Hello, I couldn’t find Italian turkey sausage at the store, so I bought 2 lb. plain ground turkey instead. Would you recommend adding Italian seasoning in this case? If so, how much?
Hi Leah, I’d guesstimate you’d need a heaping tablespoon. You’ll also need to add salt if the Italian seasoning doesn’t include it. Also, keep in mind that due to using all turkey instead of the combo of turkey and turkey sausage, the meatballs may not be as tender and juicy. Hope that helps and that you enjoy!
Do you think I could substitute chopped frozen spinach for the fresh? Or perhaps parsley?
Sure, frozen spinach will work here. Just make sure you squeeze it very dry. Hope you enjoy!
Was super yummy 😋 Followed the instructions exactly and turned out so good! Another winner from this excellent chef! Thank you Jenn!
These are on the menu for the week dinners. It will be my 3rd time making them. Best part to me is that both my 6 and 8 year old happily ate them and didn’t even ask what the “green stuff” was in them.
🙂
I have a really hard time eating other meatballs after these. They really are just so so good!
Made these meatballs today, 3rd time now; these meatballs are easy to make & are soooooo tasty. This meatball recipe is now in our regular recipe rotation. Thx for a great recipe.
Hi Jenn,
I re-heated the leftovers from yesterday’s meatball dish, medium fire on stovetop. At 15 min., they were still cool in the center, but at 18, although the temperature was perfect, the meatballs were a little burnt on the bottom, and the sauce thickened up, sort of like a paste. If I make them first cook with more sauce, would the original sauce consistency hold up better? And should I be stirring the meatballs so they don’t char on the bottom? Thanks for your help!
Hi Elise, sorry you had a bit of a problem when reheating these. Yes, I would definitely stir the meatballs periodically so they don’t char on the bottom. And regarding the sauce thickening up, did you have the pot covered? If not, I would cover it next time around.
These meatballs are delicious! For “making ahead” for serving the next day, is it better to assemble, broil, and cook them up in the sauce completely, and store in a sealed container, just reheating only on the stovetop, right out of the fridge the next day, or should we only assemble the meatballs and store them overnight, raw, with the broiling and simmering in the sauce on the day of serving? Or something in between🙄.? Or does it matter? I’m one of those relatively non-confident cooks! Thanks for all your help- want it to taste fresh, but have a lot of other prep to do on the day of serving too!
Hi Elise, Glad you like these! You really could go either route –both options will work!
I made this dish last night.. we thoroughly enjoyed it over a bed of zucchini linguine. I can’t wait to make it again👍🏻
I would love to make this tonite, would fontina be a good substitute for mozzarella?
Yep 🙂
***** These turkey meatballs were the best I have ever made. So moist and soft and beautifully flavoured. Absolutely delicious. They will certainly remain in my repertoire of recipes. Thanks for another great dinner recipe.
These were SOO good. I’ve never liked ground turkey but I clearly had not tried this recipe before. The meatballs were moist, flavorful, didn’t fall apart, easy to put together, and so so tasty. One of my husband’s favorite meals is spaghetti and meatballs, but he said he’d prefer these going forward – taste good AND feel good later. Thank you Jenn!! I used a 1.5 inch cookie scoop and got roughly 60 meatballs
meatballs were ok
What would be the best way to freeze these? What kind of container? Would it be better in foil pan or smart seal glass dish?
Thanks!
Cindy
Whatever is the most airtight would be the best, so I would guess the glass dish. Hope that helps!
Jenn, I want to make these (again) but when I ordered ingredients, the store substituted Italian-seasoned ground turkey for the turkey Italian sausage. I wonder if there are things I might add to end up with the same yummy meatballs – fennel? Garlic? Others? I can’t tell from the package what the seasoning is, but I could guess basil, garlic, oregano (can’t see anything in the meat). The recipe makes a lot – I hope I can turn this into something close to the original.
Hi Judy, I think you could get away with using the Italian-seasoned ground turkey without adding any additional seasonings. Due to using all turkey instead of the combo of turkey and turkey sausage, the meatballs may not be as tender and juicy. Hope that helps!
Jenn, Thanks for your quick response. I decided to wait until I can get the turkey sausage because we loved your recipe, as written!
👍
These turkey meatballs were so delicious that all 34 disappeared with no chance of freezing leftover ones! —unfortunately I could not find the Shady Grove brand healthier turkey Italian sausages 🙁 so I substituted pork Italian sausage. I saw that Shady Grove has the Hot Italian turkey sausages as well, wish the surrounding grocers carried these.
thank you for another great recipe!
I absolutely love this recipe. We’ve made them so many times and they always turn out amazing. The only difference is that we swap out the turkey for morning star grillers crumbles and they are absolutely delicious. Can’t tell that they’re the vegetarian version. Always have successs with Jenn’s recipes.
Can I use Monterey jack cheese?
It will definitely give the meatballs a bit of a different flavor, but it will work. 🙂
I liked them better than hubby [healthy stuff doesn’t tickle his taste buds] so probably won’t make these again any time soon. Good to take to a pot luck though or having healthy eaters over for dinner.
Very good – made this several times, last time made them as turkey burgers, yum!
My family loves these! I add a little chopped Italian parsley. Great recipe!
I made these yesterday. Instead of meatballs, I made it into a meatloaf and it was delicious. I have leftovers for lunch and I’m looking forward to having it again.
Absolutely delicious! I used panko bread crumbs instead, added finely chopped crimini mushrooms, used white onions instead of scallions (Trader Joe’s is temporarily out of stock of them), ground chicken sausage instead of turkey sausage, & a couple dashes of red pepper flakes. Definitely bookmarking this recipe!
I have made these delicious meatballs several times to rave reviews. I often double the recipe, vacuum seal and freeze. Makes a quick and yummy dinner!
Hi Jenn, had asked you about using ground chicken and chicken sausage instead of turkey. Well, I went ahead and made it and my husband raved! Didn’t change anything else except I used 1lb of each meat instead of 1.25 lbs. Came out fantastic. Easy and lots for leftovers and to freeze. Thanks.
So glad they turned out nicely — thanks for reporting back! 🙂
Nice to see this recipe come up in the email newsletter! I’ve made these using your recipe many times Jenn, and they are always delicious. I add chopped onions and mushrooms for more antioxidants. This recipe always works. Great job, Jenn!
Hi Jennifer,
I’m looking forward to trying this recipe (hoping my 1 yr old will like it!), but I am wondering how to substitute frozen spinach for fresh? Thank you 🙂
-Danielle
Hi Danielle, I’d use about 1/3 cup chopped frozen spinach (squeezed very dry). Hope that helps!
Tried this recipe on Saturday and it was a hit! I had to substitute smoked turkey sausage for regular sausage because that was the only type I could find, but they were great. I will be making them again soon!
WOW! Love this recipe. Meatballs were very tasty and moist. Perfect.
You have the best recipes!!!
I made these but baked them at 375 for 20 minutes, turned over and broiled for 10…delish! Didn’t cook in sauce because grand daughters don’t like sauce
I made this recipe as much as I could and my son just sent a letter from basic training telling me he misses my turkey meatballs. So, Jen, thank you for making such memorable and delicious recipes!
Awwww…. that’s so sweet! Hope he’s getting through basic training okay! ❤️
Completely delicious. I’ve made a lot of turkey meatballs and this one is the best. Incredibly, every recipe I bake from this site and the cookbook turns out amazing.
Definitely a keeper! I didn’t see the turkey sausage and substituted an Italian chicken sausage. This will definitely be a regular at my home. In fact, I think I will make a double or triple batch to keep in the freezer. My son has Alpha Gal and it’s hard to find flavorful meals to replace beef dishes.
Hi Jen,
Made a modified version of this last weekend. Its hard to find turkey meat so substituted that with just minced beef. It was a lovely dish. We loved that combination of meat and spinach and cheese. We were hoping that our two year old daughter would love it too (that way she will eat some spinach too), but sadly she didnt want to try it even. But this was definitely a great recipe. Thanks for sharing.
Cheers.
Emile
I made this recipe with vegetarian ground “beef” and made a small meatloaf instead of balls. It was very juicy and tender, loved it!
Have made these turkey, spinach and cheese meatballs twice now in one week. They are delicious, juicy and so tender. I love that they have the added nutrition from the spinach! My pickiest eater (12 year old son) said that he loved them and he devoured them! That is high praise!! My husband who usually dislikes anything I make using ground turkey adored these meatballs as well! It made my day! Thank you, Jenn, for another go-to recipe which is quick, highly nutritious and tastes scrumptious! You are the best, and your picture showing your use of an ice cream scoop to form the meatballs was pure genius!! What a great tip and hack—thanks a million!!
😊
Hi Jen,
Do you broil these on high or low? I didn’t see it specified in the instructions.
Thanks
High (you can assume that any recipe of mine that requires broiling means that it should be done on the high setting). Hope you enjoy the meatballs!
I made these meatballs a couple of years ago for the first time. Now I am the official meatball maker in our house. My wife, (the Italian), says these are much better than hers. I always make extra!
Just wonderful meatballs! Made 24 so we have enough for 2 meals for us two seniors and I sent the other dozen to our daughter. She also gave them FIVE stars. I will be tossing all other turkey meatballs in my file; this is the only one I will ever need (and use) again.
Delicious recipe! My problem was that 1/2 of them were eaten before I could get them in the Marina sauce! Will be great for a pot-luck I plan to attend.
These were so easy but delicious! Used the Trader Joe’s Tuscano Marinara sauce and it was perfect! The meatballs are more moist than most recipes and the sausage makes a big difference! Thank you Jen!
Wow, these are SO good!! To be honest – we really weren’t expecting much from these and quite frankly I don’t even like sausage but we decided to give these a try since we have loved nearly all of the recipes on this site. Turns out that we just may even like these better than our regular beef meatballs, they are just that good!! Thanks again for another stellar recipe.
Fantastic! Tender and delicious
I made two batches of the meatballs for a couples potluck; one with gluten free breadcrumbs the other as written. The broiler timing was spot on! Both versions were delicious!
Loved this recipe! The spinach was an unusual addition but so delicious!
These were really good! I only used 1 lb of turkey and 1 lb of turkey sausage, because I could only find it in 1 lb increments at my store and I didn’t want to have a bunch of leftovers. I cut back on the spinach just a bit (3 cups instead of 3.5), but kept everything else the same. They came out great – my husband and toddler both loved them. Will definitely make again.
These are so good! The first time I made them I just measured out 3 oz of spinach, chopped it up and added it to the mixture. It was too much spinach though. I made them again today and chopped up 1 1/2 cups spinach. It was the perfect amount. It only weighed a little over 1 1/2 oz.