Yay, it’s completely free from the top nine most prevalent food allergies! Free from gluten, peanuts, tree nuts, dairy, egg, soy, sesame, fish and shellfish. No coconut either. Note: This post contains affiliate links, so any purchases made on Amazon through the links will help support Yay, It’s Free From This!
These completely allergy-free turkey meatballs are so good, that both kids and adults really love them. Tasty, tender and juicy, you won’t believe there are no breadcrumbs, eggs or cheese. Managing multiple, life-threatening food allergies make hosting and entertaining feel impossible. No one can bring anything, and I’ve yet to find a place where I can safely order completely allergy-free catering from. Recently, however, I’ve learned how to make simple, delicious food to feed anyone. With just a bit of planning, we can absolutely have any number of friends over and have an amazing time. These delicious meatballs are definitely my go-to for entertaining. They are quick to make and can easily be scaled up for a larger group. 😃
Ground Turkey
For the ground turkey, I recommend dark meat if possible. The meatballs will be much juicier. If you are purchasing at the butcher, look for ground turkey thigh, not ground turkey breast. For the packages, look for the highest percentage of fat, such at 15% fat, 85% lean. These are usually sold in one pound amounts. Paired with a pound of pasta, it’s perfect to feed a family of four.
Make the Meatballs
Throw all the ingredients into a medium-sized bowl. I like to stir with a spoon or spatula first, and then go in with my hands. If you are not cooking these right away, you can cover with plastic wrap and place the mixture in the refrigerator until ready to shape and bake. When you are ready, prep a large baking sheet pan with some parchment paper. You can skip this and just grease the sheet pan instead, but I find that the parchment paper makes a more tender meatball because it allows them to cook in its own juices. Also prepare a bowl of lukewarm water and a tablespoon spoon.
Scoop leveled tablespoonfuls of the ground turkey mixture and drop it onto the prepared baking sheet. Dip the spoon into the water before each scoop. This helps to release the spoonful of the mixture easily. Do this until all of the mixture has been used. The meat won’t be looking too neat on the baking sheet at this point.
To shape the meatballs, wet your hands a bit using the same small bowl of water. Pick each mound up and roll into a ball. Drop it back onto the sheet pan, this time spacing the meatballs neatly. Be sure to wet hands before rolling each meatball. Brush each meatball with olive oil before baking.
Bake in the oven at 350ºF for about 14 minutes total. Rotate the entire baking sheet halfway through. I find it unnecessary to flip each meatball. Use an instant-read thermometer (I purchased and use this thermometer) to be sure the internal temperature reads at least 165ºF. Watch the time carefully since overcooking these will dry them out.
How to Serve
Once done, serve immediately! Serve as an appetizer with toothpicks or as a full meal with pasta and a side of veggies.
My best tip when using this recipe to entertain kids of any age when pairing with pasta is to keep half of the pasta plain, without sauce. You can butter it with a good nut-free vegan butter, and then sauce the other half of pasta with marinara sauce. This gives options and also less stress to parent guests if their kid is picky about their food. Every guest I’ve served these to had no idea these were free from dairy, eggs and breadcrumbs.
You can also make these ahead of time, which is the best for parties. Bake the meatballs a day beforehand, cool and refrigerate until ready to serve. About 30 minutes before the guests arrive, place the meatballs in a slow cooker and set it on high. Once they are thoroughly warmed, turn the setting down to warm and let the guests self-serve.
Whether you are entertaining a small playdate for the kids, or if you’re having a large party, this recipe hits all the marks. You won’t have to worry about food allergies, picky eaters or hungry people! If you make this, please share how you served this and if you made any substitutions. 😊
Top 9 Free Turkey Meatballs
Course: Appetizers, Dinner, LunchCuisine: ItalianDifficulty: Easy4
servings30
minutes15
minutesIngredients
1 lb ground turkey thigh
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 Tbsp nutritional yeast, see Notes
2 Tbsp gluten-free flour, see Notes
3 Tbsp dairy-free milk, see Notes
Olive oil for brushing
Directions
- Heat oven to 350°F and set the rack to the middle of the oven.
- Add all the ingredients into a large bowl and mix thoroughly with hands or a spatula.
- Prepare a small bowl of lukewarm water with a tablespoon spoon.
- Wet the spoon and scoop out leveled tablespoonfuls of mixture onto a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Once all the mixture has been measured out, shape each mound before baking.
- To shape the meat, wet hands and shape each mound of mixture into smooth balls. Wet hands for each meatball.
- Brush each meatball with some olive oil.
- Bake for a total of about 14 minutes. Rotate the entire baking sheet halfway through for even cooking.
Notes
- If there are no egg allergy concerns, you can directly swap the gluten-free flour with gluten-free breadcrumbs. Gluten-free breadcrumbs usually contain eggs.
- For the dairy-free milk, I like to use Oatly’s full-fat oat milk, but any dairy-free milk should work.
- Nutritional yeast is a dairy-free dry seasoning that tastes a bit cheesy and is commonly used in vegan cooking. If you do not have a dairy allergy or restriction, feel free to use parmesan cheese as a substitution.