There is something so comforting about a marinara sauce simmering on the stove for hours! This is the kind of meal I love to make in the winter when I want a house that smells of delicious food and a high protein, low-fat meal that will keep us full and satisfied. Plus, leftovers!
I’ve taken a simple turkey meatball recipe and made it gluten-free by subbing my favorite “breadcrumb” substitute — blended brown rice crackers. If you’d like the recipe to be paleo, seasoned almond flour works here too! Just add a few pinches of salt to the almond flour and sub it into the recipe.
These turkey meatballs have:
- Garlic! (and lots of it)
- Minced sweet onion
- Parsley (sneak those greens in anywhere you can!)
- Coconut Aminos (wheat and soy-free alternative to soy sauce for extra flavor)
- Egg, salt, and pepper — the staples!
Prepare these simple Turkey Meatballs in Basil Marinara Sauce by:
- Mixing the ground turkey in with the seasoning ingredients
- Browning the meatballs in a large skillet, then removing them
- Browning some extra garlic for the marinara sauce
- Adding the crushed tomatoes and spices for the sauce,
- Adding the meatballs into the marinara sauce and slow simmering for an hour.
The Perfect Stovetop to Simmer Away!
The newest appliance I have been working with is the Sharp Induction Cooktop. This beautiful cooktop comes in a standard 30-inch size and a luxurious and spacious 36-inch size.
My favorite feature? The POWER BOOST! (because I am impatient). Set a pot of water on the cooktop, select Power Boost, and little bubbles form on the bottom of the pan almost instantly. If you’re like me and are always in a hurry to get your pasta water to boil, this cooktop is ready to go in the time it takes to walk to the pantry and grab a box of pasta.
Another feature that is great to have is the simmer enhancer — something that is so helpful if you are preparing a meal like these meatballs! The simmer enhancer gives a steady supply of heat to the dish at low temperatures, meaning delicate sauces or dishes such as the marinara sauce simmer evenly — no sauce splattered, no burning on the bottom of the pan.
When I cook on a regular electric cooktop, I really notice all the differences between it and my new Sharp Induction Cooktop. Kitchen luxury!
What to Eat with Turkey Meatballs
These mindful turkey meatballs are a meal on their own! I love having a few meatballs with marinara sauce and a sprinkling of parmesan cheese as light and protein-packed lunch or dinner.
Mindful Turkey Meatballs
These mindful turkey meatballs take that dish up a notch. I have never made meatballs before, so these were so fun and such a great way to make a meal feel exceptional.
These were simmered for an hour in the basil marinara sauce on a Sharp Induction Cooktop — a cooktop that gets me excited to be in the kitchen. It heats up and cools down so quickly, meaning cooking is faster and more efficient.
Turkey Meatball Ingredients
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- 2 lbs Ground Turkey
- 3/4 cup Brown Rice Crackers (ground into crumbs)
- 1/4 cup Onions (finely minced)
- 1/2 cup Parsley (chopped)
- 2 tbsp Coconut Aminos
- 1 Egg
- 1 tsp Sea Salt
- 1 tsp Ground Black Pepper
Basil Marinara Ingredients
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 2 cloves Garlic (minced)
- 2 cans 28 Ounce Crushed Tomatoes
- 1 tsp Sea Salt
- 1/4 tsp Oregano
- 1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
- 1/3 cup Fresh Basil (chopped)
- Grind rice crackers in a blender to form gluten-free bread crumbs, or sub your favorite bread crumbs.
- In a large bowl, add ground turkey and all other meatball ingredients, except olive oil. Stir well to combine.
- Scoop out the turkey to form large meatballs, rolling them between palms to make the edges smooth and even.
- On a Sharp Induction Cooktop, place a heavy skillet on a cooking zone and turn it on to level 7. Drizzle the pan with olive oil.
- Add all turkey meatballs to the skillet, and allow to brown. Roll over and brown on the other side, then remove meatballs from the pan.
- Add the other 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the minced garlic. Saute the garlic for 3-4 minutes to soften.
- Add the tomatoes, salt, oregano, and red chili flakes, and reduce the cooking heat to 3 to activate the simmer enhancer.
- Add the turkey meatballs back into the pan, and simmer in the sauce for 1 hour. Reduce the cooking heat to 2, or add water to thin, if necessary.
