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Heather's Dish

Heather's Dish

Baked Turkey Ricotta Meatballs

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This weekend was WILD y’all.

That’s right, totally wild.  I did crazy things like GO TO PARTIES and STAYED UP WAY PAST MY BEDTIME and CAME THISCLOSE TO DRINKING A VODKA TONIC.

This all makes me sound sort of lame, right?

Well let’s just put it all in perspective real quick:  we went to a going-away party for some very good friends of ours and took Weston with us.  I had every intention of having a beer or two and then I forgot a vital part of Wes’s bottle that keeps it from leaking everywhere and then had to nurse him at the party instead of giving him the milk we brought.  And thus, no alcohol for Heather.

But it was almost totally WILD.  Almost completely crazy!

In other news, these meatballs are sort of like a party in your mouth.  I’ve searched long and hard for a great meatball recipe, trying my hand at baking them, frying them, browning and then baking, and yet I just couldn’t find THE ONE.  Until now.  The secret is the ricotta cheese and then baking them in the sauce that makes all the difference – trust me.  You want these.

BAKED TURKEY RICOTTA MEATBALLS

  • 2 lbs ground turkey
  • 1 small red onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 2 whole eggs
  • 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 cup bread crumbs
  • 8 oz ricotta cheese
  • 4 cups fresh spinach, chopped
  • 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
  • 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
  • 2 Tbsp prepared pesto

Preheat oven to 350.  Heat a skillet over medium low heat; add the oil and onion and saute until translucent, about 4 minutes.  Add the garlic and saute another 1-2 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in the spinach; it will wilt with the carry-over cooking from the onions and garlic.  Let the mixture cool for about 4-5 minutes off the heat.  In a large bowl mix together the eggs, parmesan, bread crumbs, ricotta and Italian seasoning.  When the onion mixture has cooled fold that in.  Add the turkey and, using your hands, mix until everything is well combined.  Form into 20 meatballs (about 2 inches in diameter).  Wash your hands.  In another bowl mix together the tomatoes and pesto.  Spray a 9×13 baking dish with nonstick spray.  Pour about 1/4 cup of the tomato mixture into the bottom of the pan, then evenly place the meatballs on top – you may have to squish them together some, but they’ll shrink a bit during the cooking.  Top the meatballs with the remaining tomato mixture.  Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake at 350 for 2.5 hours.  Let sit for a few minutes when done baking to let them cool and to allow the juices to stay in the meatballs.  Serve hot!

I’m telling y’all – it’s wild!

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Comments

  1. Catherine says

    September 19, 2012 at 11:24 am

    Love these! So nice and light. The ricotta really helps the texture. I’ve made something similar with feta before, but these are better. I made them with kale last time (I had farmer’s market turkey, kale, and homemade ricotta – a failed yogurt making attempt that I then strained) and they were wonderful. I was eating them out of the fridge after the kids went to bed! Going to try again today with some dandelion greens and store bought ricotta this time.

    Reply
    • Heather says

      September 19, 2012 at 12:45 pm

      thanks catherine! i’m so glad you liked them – they really are a go-to for us these days. i like that you’re using different greens too!

      Reply
  2. Christina @ This Woman Cooks! says

    June 21, 2012 at 3:24 pm

    Maybe these will make my hubby a meatball lover. Can’t wait to try!

    Reply
  3. Bev @ Bev Cooks says

    June 20, 2012 at 10:52 am

    OH MAMA. I’ll totes let you feed me 4 billion of these.

    Reply
  4. Laurie {Simply Scratch} says

    June 19, 2012 at 5:03 pm

    Heather I love how you snuck some spinach in these! You’re so clever!

    Reply
  5. Lindsay @ Fuel My Family says

    June 18, 2012 at 8:00 pm

    Adding riccotta is a great idea, especially since ive found turkey meatballs to be drier than ground beef ones!

    Reply
  6. Nicole, RD says

    June 18, 2012 at 7:32 pm

    I’m not normally a huge meatball fan, but these sound fantastic! I love the spinach in there 🙂

    Reply
  7. Rachel Cooks says

    June 18, 2012 at 11:37 am

    Total comfort food. They look great!

    Reply
  8. DessertForTwo says

    June 18, 2012 at 11:07 am

    Looooove a good baked meatball. And your almost partyin’ cracked me up! 🙂

    Reply
    • Heather says

      June 18, 2012 at 1:45 pm

      i am tres cool 🙂

      Reply
  9. Liz @ Tip Top Shape says

    June 18, 2012 at 10:26 am

    Ooohh this looks good!!!

    Reply
  10. Charise says

    June 18, 2012 at 9:33 am

    I love meatballs with ricotta! I will def be trying your way using turkey with spinach added.

    Reply
  11. Sommer@ASpicyPerspective says

    June 18, 2012 at 9:09 am

    Girl, mmmm. Just MMMM!

    Reply
  12. Lauren T says

    June 18, 2012 at 8:52 am

    Those look delicious! Where did you get the idea to use ricotta in them?

    Reply
    • Heather says

      June 18, 2012 at 1:45 pm

      honestly i would normally have added milk to the mixture, but was out and saw that i had an 8-oz container of ricotta in the fridge! it worked out perfectly!

      Reply
  13. Marina {YummyMummyKitchen.com} says

    June 18, 2012 at 8:36 am

    Sounds fabulous! A GOOD Spaghetti and meatballs dinner really can’t be beat. Pinning this for later.

    Reply
  14. Bianca @ Confessions of a Chocoholic says

    June 18, 2012 at 8:16 am

    I love trying new meatball recipes – and this one with ricotta sounds fantastic!

    Reply
  15. Aggie says

    June 18, 2012 at 7:24 am

    Oh these meatballs look awesome! Love that you added ricotta, never tried that! I’ll hav to bake these up soon.

    Have a great week!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Baked Turkey Meatballs w. Roasted Garlic Tomato Sauce | Attempts in Domesticity says:
    April 18, 2013 at 9:38 pm

    […] gave up on the search and turned to my old friend Google. After some browsing I decided on this recipe from Heather’s Dish. Even though I knew it wasn’t the recipe I had been thinking about, […]

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  2. What’s in the Box? #68 | In Her Chucks says:
    April 4, 2013 at 2:12 am

    […] Turkey Ricotta Meatballs always seem to be my go-to recipe for spinach, but it’s such a hit I can’t resist. […]

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  7. What’s in the Box? Recipe Roundup #5 | In Her Chucks says:
    January 31, 2013 at 12:38 am

    […] what I did.  And even though it was just used as a garnish, it was a good excuse to execute another delicious meatball recipe.  The end result was a bit too spicy for me so I plan on cutting back on the jalapeño next time […]

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  8. What’s in the Box? Recipe Roundup #4 « In Her Chucks says:
    December 27, 2012 at 2:09 am

    […] squeezed orange juice.  Then we snuggled up on the couch and watched Home Alone while a batch of Turkey Ricotta Meatballs baked in the oven.  Family time, good food and relaxation…the perfect way to celebrate […]

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  9. What’s in the Box? #49 « In Her Chucks says:
    October 25, 2012 at 2:28 am

    […] sale fundraiser, so these oranges are just on time!  I will also be throwing some of my favorite Baked Turkey Ricotta Meatballs in the oven for company on Saturday, thanks to that lovely bunch of spinach.  And of course, what […]

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  10. What I Ate Wednesday #10 « In Her Chucks says:
    October 10, 2012 at 12:53 am

    […] Homemade Turkey Ricotta Meatballs with Tri-Colored Quinoa […]

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  11. What’s in the Box? #45 « In Her Chucks says:
    September 27, 2012 at 2:12 am

    […] I get fresh spinach I always love to whip up a batch of Harper’s favorite dinner…these Turkey Ricotta Meatballs.  They are the perfect meal for growing toddlers and hungry […]

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  12. What’s in the Box? #33 « In Her Chucks says:
    July 5, 2012 at 1:13 am

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  13. What’s in the Box? #31 « In Her Chucks says:
    June 20, 2012 at 11:59 pm

    […] have been dying to make these meatballs for dinner this week.  The red onions will work great in this recipe.  That is if Freddie […]

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