The Meatballs My Kids Love 🍝

(You will, too)

Since October, I’ve been teaching a cooking class at the local high school to give back to the community I love so much. The class is mostly middle schoolers. We spend two hours together cooking and talking about how to nourish their bodies with delicious food. Then, of course, we eat dessert.

For the first class, we made a big salad and grilled chicken, and with close to 20 kids it was chaos. Then we made cookies for the holidays. And yesterday, we made the turkey meatball recipe I’m sharing below. They’re lighter than traditional meatballs and packed with veggies, perfect for a weeknight dinner. I add broth to the sauce for extra protein; for a thicker sauce leave it out.

If you love this recipe, check out the meatball deep dive, too! It’ll teach you everything you need to know about making meatballs, with lots of variations given.

Let the Meatballs Roll: A Deep Dive

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Turkey Meatballs & Spaghetti

Ingredients

• 1 medium eggplant, peeled

• 1 zucchini, trimmed

• 1 red onion, chopped

• ¼ cup avocado oil (or another neutral oil), divided

• 1½ teaspoons salt, divided

• 3 garlic cloves

• 1 lb. ground turkey

• 1 egg

• ½ cup breadcrumbs

• 1 teaspoon dried oregano

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• Fresh black pepper

• ½ - 24 oz. jar marinara sauce

• 1½ cups bone broth

Directions

1. Using the wide holes of a box grater, shred the eggplant and zucchini in a large bowl.

2. Heat 2 tablespoons avocado oil over medium heat in a frying pan and add the onion. Cook for 3-5 minutes, until translucent.

3. Add the grated eggplant and zucchini to the pan and stir. Turn the heat up to medium and stir in ½ teaspoon salt and a few turns of black pepper.

4. Cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until all the liquid has reduced and the vegetables are very soft (you should be able to break them easily with your spatula). Remove the pan from heat.

5. Grate the garlic using a microplane and stir it into the veggies.

6. Transfer the veggie mixture to a large bowl and let cool slightly.

7. Add the turkey, egg, breadcrumbs, 1 teaspoon salt, oregano, garlic powder, and a few more turns of black pepper to the veggies. Use your hands to mix until everything is well combined.

8. Refrigerate the mixture for at least 10 minutes (up to 24 hours—the longer it rests the better it will be), then roll into 1” balls.

9. While the mixture is in the fridge, get the sauce ready.

10. Shake together the marinara and bone broth (I use the sauce jar, if you don’t have space you can whisk them together in a measuring cup).

11. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons avocado oil in a high-walled pan (like this one) and add the meatballs. Cook for 1-2 minutes on each side to sear until golden brown.

12. Pour in the sauce and bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low and let cook for an hour or until ready to eat—I like to cook mine for 2-3 hours when I have the time. If you’re in a rush, cook until the inside of the meatballs reads 165°F.

13. Serve with spaghetti or rice.