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Italian Meatballs are such a versatile food. Because my wife rarely eats beef, I have learned to make my meatballs with white meat. I used a combination of ground turkey and chicken. The chicken added a little fat to the meat which made for moister meatball. I think it is hard to tell if this recipe is made with white meat or beef. The best thing about making meatballs? The leftovers. To show the variety and different cultures that make meatballs, I have provided links to a Tuesday Tip for making meatballs, a Moroccan recipe, a Cajun recipe and another traditional Italian recipe.
Italian Meatballs
You will have to wait but a later post will be about a meatball sandwich. I love a meatball sandwich. This post is a traditional Italian dinner. I am not Italian but when I make this dinner, I feel the home country. Spaghetti and meatballs is such a comforting meal. How can any child resist this dinner. The spaghetti is a great compliment to both the meatballs and to the marinara. When you make this meal, be sure to make plenty of marinara. I am one of those people that cannot get enough sauce. The sauce is for the pasta and to top the meatballs.
The only other subtlety of this meatball is the use of challah as my bread. Challah is such a soft, light bread. When it is added to the meatballs, it provides a good binder but it helps make the meatball, that looks dense, pretty light.
- ¼ loaf of challah, broken with your hands
- ½ to ¾ cup of whole milk
- 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
- 1/8 cup chopped fresh basil
- 1/8 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound ground turkey meat
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1 ¼ pound ground Italian seasoned ground turkey
- For the meatballs: In a large bowl, combine the challah and milk. Next, add the parmesan, basil, parsley, tomato paste, salt, pepper, eggs, and garlic. Using a spoon, work all the ingredients together. Add the ground turkey, chicken and sausage meat. Using fingers, gently mix all the ingredients until thoroughly combined.
- Using your hands, form the meat mixture into fairly large meatballs. Place the meatballs on a heavy nonstick baking sheet, spacing apart. Drizzle with olive oil and bake until cooked through, 20 - 25 minutes.
- Serve with the marinara and spaghetti.
Ingredients
The broken challah and parsley.
Challah
Parsley
The ground turkey and chicken being mixed in a bowl.
Ground Turkey & Chicken
The Italian meatballs formed.
Meatballs Formed on Tray
Similar ingredients without the meat for the marinara and vegetables.
Marinara Ingredients
Cut Vegetables
Vegetables added to the pan with wine.
Wine Added to Vegetables
Tomatoes added and the sauce cooked down.
Tomatoes Added
Sauce Cooking and Reducing
Italian Meatballs plated with spaghetti and marinara sauce.
Plated
Nicely done, great looking meatballs, one of my favs and yours look great!!
Peter, your meatballs look absolutely mouthwatering! I love that you used challah as a binder which I imagine adds just a touch of sweetness to the meatballs. And as always, your photos are captivating. Another beautiful dish my friend!
This is a delightful recipe. Very creative and delicious.
I love the use of challah bread in these meatballs! Actually, I love the whole thing! Pass the fork
I love the chicken and turkey mixture. I think this would make the meatball much more flavorful than just turkey! Great!
These meatballs look amazing! I love that you used challah instead of bread crumbs.
Growing up w/ a mom who was born in Italy and a grandmother to this day that knows about 5 words in English, I’m super finicky when it comes to Italian meatballs. These look like they stay nice and moist. Great job. I’m definitely going to try this recipe, I love testing out meatballs! And my husband doesn’t mind being a taste tester for them! Thanks!
You are a good critic then. These turned out really good. The challah was a really good change up versus traditional breadcrumbs.