Honey Garlic Baked Turkey Meatballs - Easy Dinner Recipe (2024)

Who can resist a plateful of Honey Garlic Baked Turkey Meatballs?! Great as appetizers or served over rice as an easy dinner. 239 calories and 7 Weight Watchers SP

We are fans of all-things-meatballs in this house, and these Honey Garlic Baked Turkey Meatballs are taking one of the top spots in my family's rankings. Every day when they walk through the door after school, my boys ask me what we're having for dinner (they are their mother's boys - always thinking of the next meal). If the answer involves meatballs of any kind, I am rewarded with a fist pump and hug.

Baked Teriyaki Turkey Meatballs are their all-time favorites, but over-sized Italian Turkey Meatballs and even Baked Salmon Meatballs (with a creamy avocado sauce!) are just as popular.

The inspiration for these honey garlic meatballs came from a Cooking Light Magazine spiced chicken thigh recipe that I've been making for years. The basic spice rub for the chicken turned into a mix-in of spices, including chili powder, cumin, paprika, salt and cayenne pepper, for the meatball mixture, and the honey-apple cider glaze is brushed onto the meatballs in the last couple of minutes of baking time.

How to make healthy turkey meatballs:

To keep the meatballs tender and juicy, opt for lean turkey (93% lean) rather than extra lean (99%). That little bit of extra fat makes all the difference in both taste and texture when making meatballs. To read more about when to use lean vs. extra lean, head to .

My family aren't fans of big chunks of onion in their meatballs. Rather than leaving out the onions altogether and missing out on that layer of flavor, I grate the onions on the large holes of a box grater (affiliate link). Include both the grated onion and any accumulated juices into the meatball mixture.

The most time consuming part of making meatballs is rolling them into even little spheres. My trick is to use a cookie scoop to evenly portion out the turkey mixture, followed by a quick roll between my palms. Once I get on a roll (so to speak), it takes no more than five minutes to finish the task.

How to serve these baked turkey meatballs:

While I served these honey garlic meatballs over brown rice with a side of stir fried cabbage as an easy dinner, I'm also tucking this recipe into my appetizer files. Stick a toothpick or a fancy appetizer pick into each meatball. They are guaranteed to disappear from the appetizer table in minutes!

Are these meatballs gluten free?

No, they're not. However, the only ingredient with gluten is the breadcrumbs and are easily replaced. Gluten free bread crumbs are available at many healthy food stores or online (affiliate link). Alternatively, you can make your own gluten free breadcrumbs by pulsing gluten free crackers in a food processor or using gluten free bread and following my directions in my post on How to Make Breadcrumbs.

Other healthy ground turkey recipes:

Turkey Taco Stuffed Sweet Potatoes {Cookin' Canuck}
Southwestern Turkey Rice Casserole {Cookin' Canuck}
Baked Pasta with Ground Turkey {Feel Good Foodie}
Ground Turkey & Veggie Brown Rice Bowls {Life Is But a Dish}

Printable Recipe

This post was originally published on March 13, 2017 and updated with new information on March 5, 2020.

Disclosure: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

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