This meal reminds me of our Covid days when we were cozy at home in our house in Chicago. I made this A LOT. It is the most savory, warm meal but is light and easy. I have shared my meatballs before (this is the best recipe here) and this recipe is a variation but less because I didn’t have any breadcrumbs and only had one egg on hand. Which is fine! I feel like meatballs often sound like a lot but they can truly be as simple as you’d like! They always come together someway, somehow. But if you’re following some instructions – follow this recipe for the best meatballs ever.
I have talked about how I often try to look at our dinners by recreating meals I love from restaurants. Or making some of my favorite indulgent meals a little more healthy. This is one of those meals! I sauté cut up mushrooms and peppers just a bit so they still maintain their crunch (a little bit) and cover with marinara. Then top with some meatballs fresh out of the oven! These meatballs are a little more fancy because I stuffed them with mozzarella balls. YUM.
I usually double the recipe on these meatballs because they are a hit in our house and easy to reheat for meals for the kids. I should also note that Charlie had two servings of this. It is so good and swapping the spaghetti for veggies is easy thanks to yummy marinara sauce. If you’re not a fan of mushrooms you could easily do zucchini, chickpeas, roasted carrots, broccoli – options are endless!
Stuffed Meatballs with Sautéed Vegetables and Marinara Sauce
Ingredients for meatballs: (makes about 12)
1 lb ground turkey
1 cup grated parmesan (or if you have breadcrumbs, do 1/2 cup breadcrumbs + 1/2 cup parmesan)
2 tbsp your favorite pesto (I love Gotham Greens)
1 egg
2 cloves fresh garlic
2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
salt + pepper
mini mozzarella balls (I prefer to use the kind NOT in liquid, for less moisture)
Ingredients for veggies:
2 cups marinara, I love Rao’s!
chopped veggies
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Preheat oven to 375. Combine all ingredients for meatballs. Once you form the meatball, stuff a mini mozzarella ball into the center. Once done, place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 25 minutes. Sauté veggies in olive oil and once cooked top with marinara sauce. Plate everything together and serve!
You can see a step by step tutorial on my Instagram Reel here!
){kind=link}