Baked Turkey and Courgette Meatballs
These baked turkey and courgette meatballs are packed full of flavour. Tossed in a tomato sauce and served on your favourite pasta, it's a simple mid-week winner that's on the table in just over 30 minutes.
Servings: 4
Calories: 368kcal
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 50 g breadcrumbs
- 2 tbsp milk
- 150 g courgette grated
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove grated
- 1 tsp fennel seeds crushed
- 500 g turkey mince
- 1 egg
- 20 g parmesan grated plus extra to serve
Tomato Sauce
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion finely diced
- 1 garlic clove grated
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
- 1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp fresh oregano or basil finely chopped
Instructions
- Line a large baking tray with foil and brush with the teaspoon of olive oil. Pre-heat the oven to 180 °C
- In a small bowl, add the milk to the breadcrumbs, mix well, and set aside for a few minutes.
- Place the grated courgette in a few pieces of kitchen paper, or a clean tea towel, and squeeze out as much excess liquid as possible.
- In a large bowl, add the courgette, onion, garlic, fennel seeds, turkey mince, egg, parmesan, with some salt and pepper. Mix everything well with a wooden spoon or your hands. When everything is combined, add in your soaked breadcrumbs and mix again.
- Using your hands, shape the mixture into meatballs roughly the size of a golf ball. You should make around 20 meatballs. Place them on the greased baking tray so they are not touching each other.
- Bake in the middle of the oven for 25 minutes until cooked through and golden.
- Meanwhile, make your tomato sauce by adding the olive oil, onion, garlic, and dried oregano to a medium saucepan. Fry over a medium heat for 5-6 minutes until softened.
- Add the tin of chopped tomatoes, along with 1/2 can of water to rinse the can, and the balsamic vinegar. Simmer at a low bubble over a medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. At this point, cook your pasta.
- Remove the meatballs from the oven, add the fresh oregano or basil to your tomato sauce and season to taste. Gently add your meatballs to your tomato sauce, and stir.
- Spoon the meatballs and sauce onto the cooked pasta, sprinkled with extra parmesan if you wish.
Notes
- These meatballs also work well with chicken or beef mince.
- I suggest serving this with pasta, but it would also taste great with polenta or rice. Or you could go all out on the courgettes and serve with courgetti!
Nutrition
Calories: 368kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 138mg | Sodium: 720mg | Potassium: 716mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 434IU | Vitamin C: 21mg | Calcium: 192mg | Iron: 4mg