Meatballs

I’ve been on a meatball kick recently. First, I made those tasty Lamb Turmeric Cherry Meatballs. I loved those so much that I was inspired to try more of these sweet and savory flavors together. With warmer weather on the horizon, a lighter meat and apricot flavors were in order.

I added shredded sweet potato to make these meatballs a bit heartier. You can easily shred the sweet potato with a cheese grater.

There are plenty of variations on this recipe so that you can make it your own. I added in chopped jalapeño for a little more of a punch. If you are sensitive to heat at all, these can be left out. If you fall into the “more heat the better!” camp, don’t deseed the jalapeños.

Feel free to play with the herbs. I used sage and parsley but fresh rosemary or fresh thyme would substitute great for the sage depending on what you have on hand or what flavors are speaking to you.

I used almond flour to make this recipe a little more paleo-friendly. Whole wheat flour or bread crumbs could be substituted as well.

These meatballs are so delicious that you can pair them with any grain or spiralized noodle. For our meal, I served the adult portions with spiralized zucchini and the kid portions with penne pasta. Both were delish! You can simply flavor your base with a little evoo and salt and pepper. To really give this recipe a punch, make the Ginger Lemon sauce listed in the recipe and flavor your base to your liking.

The real secret to this amazing meal is to make these meatballs your own by using the ingredients you like best and enjoy how your family will devour them!

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Apricot Sweet Potato Turkey Meatballs with Lemon Ginger Noodles

Apricot Sweet Potato Turkey Meatballs are so delicious and flavorful that they can be served a top any base you'd like - veggies, pasta, grains. Anything goes! 

Course Main Course

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 6 people

Ingredients

Meatballs

• 1 lb ground turkey meat
• 1/2 cup shredded sweet potato
• 1 tbsp sage finely chopped
• 1 tbsp flat leaf parsley finely chopped
• 1/4 cup red onion minced
• 1/2 cup yellow pepper minced
• 1/2 cup dried apricots minced
• 1/2 jalapeno deseeded and minced
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp almond flour
• 1 egg beaten

Noodle Dressing

• 1/2 inch ginger knob grated
• 1 tbsp parsley chopped
• 1/3 cup avocado oil
• juice of one lemon
• salt to taste
• pepper to taste

Base

• spiralized zucchini noodles or pasta of your choice

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400.

2. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. 

3. Add all ingredients for the sauce to a small tupperware, mix thoroughly, and set aside. 

4. Combine all meatball ingredients in a large bowl.

5. Mix well until completely incorporated, using your hands for better mixing.

6. Scoop 1 tablespoon sized portion of meat mixture and roll into a ball.

7. Place meatballs on the baking sheet, leaving 1/2 inch - 1 inch spacing in between.

8. Once all meatballs have been rolled, place the sheet pan in the oven. 

9. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown, turning 1/2 way through bake time. 

10. While the meatballs are cooking, either cook pasta or spiralized veggie noodles. Once cooked, drain and toss in lemon ginger dressing. 

11. Remove the meatballs from the oven. 

12. Serve immediately over dressed noodles.