Easy one-pan Paleo turkey meatballs with apples and herbs for a warm cozy combination of sweet and savory flavors. These turkey meatballs are great for kids and weeknight dinners, Whole30 friendly and ready in 20 minutes!
Good morning guys! Great to see that everyone slept well, or at least didn’t have any nightmares, fevers, or other middle-of-the-night-maladies.
Oh, what’s for dinner, you ask? That’s a perfectly reasonable question when it’s 7:30am and I haven’t even finished scrambling your eggs. But, it just so happens that I’m serving up turkey meatballs with “green things” in them tonight – and I don’t want to hear any complaints – AT ALL. They’re not even really green things, just “Thanksgiving spices” so you’ll like them, trust me.
Plus, there are brownies waiting in the fridge waiting if you eat your meatballs. Plus a couple of skillet cookie sundaes. Just saying.
Okay – did you get the joke? Not really funny, I know. But, that actually is how I talk to my kids about dinner, and I’m proud to announce that these Paleo turkey meatballs have shown me just how far we’ve come in my family when it comes to “green things.”
Ingredients in Paleo Whole30 Turkey Meatballs
These easy turkey meatballs are basically Thanksgiving in compact form. They’re packed full of fall flavors and are perfect for a cozy fall dinner. Here’s what you’ll need to make them:
Ground turkey
Shredded apple
Egg
Almond flour
Rosemary, thyme, and sage
Salt & pepper
Coconut oil or some other cooking fat for frying
How to Make Kid-Friendly Turkey Meatballs
I still have two really picky kids (I have 3 total but 1 eats anything!) – one who won’t touch anything “crunchy” or “crispy” and the other who won’t eat anything “chunky.” I actually adapted this meatball recipe from a very old one on the blog that my kids actually couldn’t stand.
I had chopped the apples instead of grating them, and of course the “chunks” did not go over well. It’s amazing how one tiny change makes a world of difference when it comes to a picky kid deciding to accept something as edible.
Here are the steps I took to make these meatballs kid friendly:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and place an ovenproof skillet on the stove. These meatballs are started on the stovetop and finish cooking in the oven.
- In a large bowl, combine all of the meatball ingredients and mix them with your hands. Make sure that everything is well mixed, but don’t overwork the meatballs or they could come out too tough.
- Heat some coconut oil in your skillet over medium-high heat.
- Form the turkey into balls and add them to the skillet. You should be able to get 13-14 meatballs out of this recipe.
- Brown the meatballs for about 5 minutes. Turn them as needed to ensure that the outsides are crispy all over.
- Place the skillet into the oven and cook them for another 8-10 minutes.
- Serve with potatoes or your favorite fall salad, and enjoy!
Tips for Making Meatballs
- Once again, be sure not to overwork the turkey mixture. The last thing anyone needs is tough meatballs!
- Wet your hands before forming the meat into balls. You’ll have an easier time forming them and you’ll have less mess on your hands too! Literally!
- Form the meat into balls that are between 1-2 inches in diameter. This way they’ll be small enough to cook thoroughly, but will still be hearty enough to make a filling meal.
I guess it’s a good lesson in cooking and baking overall – texture can be EVERYTHING. I’ve noticed that my picky ones will often judge a food solely based on its texture rather than flavor. And, I guess you don’t have to be all that picky to know when the texture of a cake, cookie, or even a meatball, makes it go from good to awesome.
That said, I don’t think you can go wrong with these meatballs, no matter what. Um, well maybe if you overcook them, then yes, they’d be ruined, but other than that? Delightful. Practically perfect in every way (direct Mary Poppins quote.)
The shredded apples add the right amount of sweetness while the fresh savory poultry seasoning gives them a great comforting flavor and make your house smell amazing! Do make sure you use ground turkey that’s not too lean – I would not go leaner than 94% for sure – I used 92 %.
To serve, you can really do anything you want – I decided to go with roasted butternut squash noodles, but any sort of roasted potatoes, squash, or green veggies would be delicious. If you want to go all out yum – my butternut apple bacon hash would be an amazing side dish!
Paleo Turkey Meatballs with Apples & Savory Herbs {Whole30}
Easy Paleo Turkey Meatballs with Apples & Savory Herbs {Whole30}
Ingredients
- 1.25 lbs ground turkey 85-94% lean (not too lean)
- 1 medium apple peeled and shredded/grated
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp almond flour
- 1 Tbsp fresh rosemary finely chopped
- 1 Tbsp fresh thyme finely chopped
- 1/2 Tbsp fresh sage leaves finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp fine grain sea salt
- black pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp coconut oil for frying or your favorite cooking fat
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and have a large oven proof skillet ready to cook the meatballs.
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In a large mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix with your hands to evenly distribute, but don't overwork the meat.
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Preheat your oven proof skillet over med-hi heat and add the coconut oil. Form the turkey mixture into 13-14 meatballs and add to the hot skillet. Allow them to brown on all sides, turning as needed, for 5 minutes.
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After the meatballs are browned, transfer the skillet to the preheated oven and bake for 8-10 more minutes until juices run clear and they're cooked through. Remove from oven, and serve with your favorite veggies noodles or potatoes, with more fresh herbs for garnish. Enjoy!
Nutrition
What I Used to Make My Paleo Turkey Meatballs:
Want more easy, kid friendly Paleo and Whole30 dinner recipes? Try one of these!
Slow Cooker Meatballs in Marinara Sauce
Easy Pan Fried Meatballs (Low FODMAP)
One-Pan Bacon Wrapped Chicken Thighs
Paleo Turkey Meatballs Around the Web:
Tell Me!
Are you a picky eater? Your feelings on “green things”?
How important is texture for your favorite foods?
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OOOH
this apple thing is BRILLIANT!
we make something similar here and now I wonder if anyone would notice ’em if I chopchop??
I don’t mind the apples chopped at all, YUM!
Texture is everything. Well, and so is flavor, but still. I am a texture junkie! And I love the herbs you used here!
I feel like I’ve been bathing in these herbs lately 😉
Even I, as an adult am a big texture person when it comes to food. I haven’t made meatballs in forever and need to get on that! It’s been too darn hot here for fall foods!
I love meatballs and everyone eats them here so it makes me love them more. Finding new ways to make them can be tricky though.
I’ve had a problem with texture for my entire life. I refuse to eat mushy food, so apple sauces, overripe bananas and all “mashed” things still get a pass from me. Rosemary, thyme and sage are probably my three favorite spices at the moment (minus cinnamon).
You sound just like my Emily! She hates anything mashed UNLESS it’s mac and cheese, then soft is okay. Some days I just give up!
I totally get the texture thing! A lot of the time I’ll actually crave a certain texture more than I will a food or flavour. It’s kind of weird, but I’ll want something crunchy, or doughy, or wet, and nothing else will satisfy.
Doughy sounds good, lol!
Such a festive recipe! Perfect weeknight dinner that nobody in the family can resist. YUM! Your photography is stunning! I’m pinning this recipe 🙂
Thank you do much! Definitely great for a weeknight since it’s so quick with a bit of a seasonal twist 🙂
Butternut squash noodles would be an amazing bed for these meatballs!
Yes they go well with everything, but really good with these meatballs!
I’m loving the sweet and savory flavors of this dish! Sounds delicious!
geebuz, the texture and flavor of these- Another killer here! I have for the longest time associated apple with savory and you!
Made these tonight for dinner and they were amazing, like a small bite of Thanksgiving but better! Paired them with lime cilantro sweet potato wedges and spinach with lime cilantro dressing. Yummy! Love your recipes and the photography is beautiful.
Ooh thrilled to hear! That sounds delicious!
It was delicious! The combo of lime and cilantro really worked with the turkey meatballs.
Wow! These turkey meatballs were by far the best I have ever had, thank you. I have tried to eat healthy for quite some time and have been converting to paleo since January. We have turkey in the rotation quite a bit and this recipe was indeed savory and satisfying. Great taste! There are recipes that make you joyful that you have taste buds and this is certainly one of them.
I’m so thrilled you liked them! One of my favorite combos 🙂
Texture is at least 75% of my “tasting” experience. I can be head-over-heels about stuff other people are “meh” about if the texture is amazing. This is part of the reason why I don’t care one bit for smoothies. (Laziness is the #1 reason, though.) It’s also, I think, part of why I’m so particular about composing every single bite of food, something that’s frustrating to my boyfriend ’cause I can’t effectively multitask while eating. Food just consumes my attention.
These are great in flavor, but mine turned out very dry. Do you know how I can avoid that next time? I made them for meal prep and after left in the fridge overnight and reheated, they were not juicy at all.
Maybe add a little less almond flour and bake for a shorter period of time 🙂
Your recipes all look amazing! I get so excited until I see the words “almond flour”. I can not have gluten or nuts. Is there another flour that will work in your recipes?
Cassava flour might work for the meatballs, I’ve been meaning to test it! If you try it, I’d use a less than the recipe states, maybe half, and see how that works out.
Turned out fantastic! The only turkey I had was 99% lean, this actually turned out to be fine. I look forward to the next time I make this with the suggested %. I used marjoram and oregano instead of sage and thyme. Included a simple salad with the turkey balls – spinach and bell peppers. All came out wonderfully, thank you for posting.
Nice blog post.
We made these exactly as written. They were so delicious!
How would you make these ahead of time or make three or four batches to freeze? I want to serve for a big family dinner. They’re so yummy!!
Is there a way to make this without the egg?