Description
Homemade pesto baked turkey meatballs deliver a Mediterranean-inspired comfort meal with irresistible herbal notes. Italian herbs and lean protein combine perfectly when you serve these alongside pasta or crusty bread.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1.5 lbs (680 g) ground turkey
- 1 large egg
- ⅔ cup (160 ml) mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup (240 ml) pesto
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp dried basil
Instructions
- Preheat Preparation: Set the oven to 400°F, establishing an optimal thermal environment for culinary transformation.
- Meatball Composition: In a comprehensive mixing vessel, amalgamate ground turkey with egg, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and dried basil, meticulously kneading until ingredients merge into a harmonious blend.
- Foundational Layer: Spread a gossamer film of pesto across the baking dish’s base, creating a fragrant non-stick barrier that will enhance the meatballs’ aromatic profile.
- Spherical Formation: Sculpt uniform meatballs by portioning the meat mixture into consistent globes, ensuring symmetrical size and balanced cooking potential.
- Strategic Placement and Coating: Arrange meatballs within the pesto-lined dish, then lavishly drench with additional pesto, guaranteeing complete flavor saturation and moisture retention.
- Thermal Transformation: Slide the dish into the preheated oven, allowing the meatballs to roast for approximately 25 minutes, enabling the turkey to cook thoroughly while absorbing herbal nuances.
- Cheese Culmination: Crown the nearly completed meatballs with a generous mantle of mozzarella, returning to the oven for a final 5-minute interval to create a molten, golden-brown cheese canopy.
- Resting and Serving: Extract the dish, permitting a brief interlude for flavor melding and temperature stabilization before presenting this aromatic culinary creation.
Notes
- Prep Precision: Use fresh ground turkey with at least 93% lean meat for optimal moisture and texture in meatballs.
- Temperature Control: Maintain consistent 400°F oven temperature to ensure even cooking and prevent drying out the meat.
- Mixing Mastery: Gently mix ingredients with fingertips, avoiding overworking the meat to keep meatballs tender and light.
- Cheese Melt Magic: Select low-moisture mozzarella for perfect golden browning and prevent excess liquid during final cheese topping stage.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Lunch, Dinner, Snacks
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 5
- Calories: 350
- Sugar: 2 g
- Sodium: 600 mg
- Fat: 22 g
- Saturated Fat: 6 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 14 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 6 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 32 g
- Cholesterol: 100 mg