I have been trying to get this recipe down on paper for the past month! It’s such a delicious one that I honestly couldn’t find the words. This is my Herby Cracker Turkey Meatballs with homemade marinara sauce. It’s homey, it’s filling, it’s so incredibly tasty I can’t begin to tell you how much you’ll love it!
HOLD THE PHONE… HERE’S THE BEST TURKEY MEATBALL + MARINARA YOU’LL EVER MAKE
My favorite part of this meal is serving it to my kiddos. I cut up the meatballs and add extra sauce to their plate. They love it and always ask for seconds.
I however love eating a massive serving of this dish in a deep bowl while watching my favorite tv show. I feel like one super comforting thing should go hand in hand with the other. Anyone else do this???
Ok. well here we go. This is a dish that take a little bit of time but do not fret. You can make the meatballs one day, and then heat them up in a fresh batch of home made marinara sauce. I promise everyone will clap for you after they’ve finished their meal.
Meatballs ingredients
2 cups of chopped parsley
6 cloves of garlic
1.5 tablespoons of italian seasoning
1 tablespoon of garlic powder
2 teaspoons of salt
1/2 cup olive oil
4 lbs of ground turkey
2 sleeves of butter crackers pounded down into crumbs (I use ritz crackers)
1 egg – beaten
2 Arrow root powder for coating the meatballs
Marinara sauce ingredients
2 – 28 oz cans of san marzano tomatoes
6 oz tomato paste
2 tablespoons of italianseasoning
1 tablespoons of paprika
1 tablespoon of salt
1 tablespoon of fennel seeds
4 cloves of garlic minced
1 large red onion – diced
1/4 cup of olive oil
Meatball instructions
- Add the parsley, garlic, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, and olive oil in a large mason jar and use an immersion blender to blend it all together.
- Add the turkey to a large bowl and add the parsley mixture, egg and crackers. Mix with your hands until combined.
- Using two large tablespoons, form the turkey mixture into balls and drop on the arrowroot powder. You can also use an ice cream scooper to form the balls.
- Coat the meatballs with arrowroot powder and set aside on a large plate. Once all of the meatballs are coated, place the meatballs in the refrigerator until ready to cook.
- Bring a large pot with frying oil (canola or vegetable) to medium-high heat. Check the oil to make sure it’s hot by dropping a tiny piece of the dough. If it sizzles, then it’s ready to go.
- Place the meatballs in the hot oil spaced out and cook in batches. Watch the oil to make sure that it doesn’t get too hot. Move the meatballs to make sure that all sides cook evenly. They should be golden brown.
- Set aside on a paper towel-lined plate until they’re all cooked through – I usually place half of the meatballs in a ziplock and freeze for another night and leave the rest to finish this dish the day of or the next day.
Marinara sauce
- In a large saucepan set to medium-high heat add the red onions and olive oil. Cook until translucent 10 minutes
- Add the rest of the marinara sauce ingredients to the pot and cook on high heat until it starts to boil.
- Lower the heat to low and simmer the sauce for 10 minutes
- Slowly, add all of the meatballs to the sauce, cover, and let simmer in the sauce for 15-20 minutes.
- While this cooks, make your prefered pasta ( I prefer spaghetti )
- Top with shaved parmesan and fresh basil
Serve with your favorite pasta. I love traditional spaghetti with meatballs but I say, go with what you love.
Lastly, if you make THE BEST TURKEY MEATBALL + MARINARA YOU’LL EVER MAKE, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
RECIPE NOTES
You can substitute the crackers for 1 cup of breadcrumbs
If you don’t have arrow root powder you can use flour
You can use ground beef and decrease the olive oil to 1/4 cup.
Looking for a few more homey and comforting pasta recipes? Check these out:
My Mom’s Lasagna
Summer BBQ veggies
