Mediterranean Baked Turkey Meatballs with sun-dried tomatoes, basil, feta, kalamata olives and fresh garlic are wildly flavorful and deceptively easy to make! Serve these baked meatballs with your favorite side dishes for a healthy weeknight meal.
If you haven’t tried baked turkey meatballs, I highly encourage you to give it a go!
It dawned on me recently that the only reason I don’t make meatballs more often is because I find hovering over the stove top while they cook in a skillet daunting.
Are they done? Are they not done? Why are some of them falling apart? Why aren’t they square instead of round? So many questions, all the doubts and feelings.
Don’t get me wrong, I still find my skillet-cooked Paleo Swedish Meatballs, Teriyaki Turkey Meatballs, Sweet and Sour Meatballs, and Turkey Meatball Curry to be well worth the effort.
However, in order to omit much of the guesswork, I tried baking ground turkey meatballs in the oven, and as a result, my relationship to meatballs is even stronger.
Another benefit to baking meatballs in the oven is the fact that you can make a great deal of meatballs at the same time rather than having to cook them in batches. This is ideal for large families or meal preppers!
In addition, the baked version is a healthier alternative to pan cooked meatballs because you don’t need as much oil for cooking.
Not only are we diving into the lovely land of baked turkey meatballs here, but we’re dolling them up with Mediterranean flare by adding flavor-blasted ingredients like sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, feta, olives, and more!
Let’s chat about the ingredients for this easy best baked turkey meatballs recipe.
Ingredients Mediterranean Baked Turkey Meatballs:
The simple ingredients needed for this recipe are lean ground turkey, avocado oil (or olive oil), sun-dried tomatoes, kalamata olives, garlic, feta cheese, fresh basil, sea salt, and black pepper.
This combination of ingredients results in tender meatballs that are rich in flavor. The briny ingredients bring bright flavor to these healthy meatballs.
I use one pound ground turkey, but you can double the recipe if you’re serving more than three or four people or want leftovers.
While I eat the meatballs as is with side dishes, you can serve them up with your favorite homemade or store-bought sauce with noodles for a meatball pasta. Homemade marinara sauce (or tomato sauce or pasta sauce of choice), pesto sauce, and alfredo sauce are all great!
Optional Additions:
You can add mozzarella cheese (up to ½ cup), capers (2 tablespoons), artichoke hearts (½ cup) for even more flavor if you’d like! For more flavor, add 1 teaspoon of onion powder or garlic powder, and for a little kick, add ½ teaspoon of red pepper flakes.
If you love adding breadcrumbs to your meatballs, feel free to add 1/2 cup plus one egg for juicier meatballs. I keep my meatballs grain-free by leaving out the bread crumbs altogether, but they do indeed provide that iconic spongy texture.
If you prefer other fresh herbs, like fresh parsley, go ahead and add it in? Love Italian seasoning or fresh spinach? In they go! Feel free to swap ground chicken or ground beef for the ground turkey to make beef meatballs.
How to Make Mediterranean Baked Turkey Meatballs:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and spray or lightly oil a large casserole dish or roasting pan. As an alternative, you can use a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
Add all of the ingredients to a large mixing bowl. Use your hands to mix all of the ingredients together until it seems as though everything is well distributed throughout the meat. Note: you can also use a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for this process.
Form the meat mixture into 12 to 14 meatballs and place meatballs in the prepared casserole dish.
Bake meatballs for 15 to 20 minutes, or until they are golden-brown and cooked through.
Serve Mediterranean Baked Turkey Meatballs with your favorite side dishes. I love them with steamed rice and/or my Easy Sautéed Vegetables Recipe. Serve them up with zucchini noodles or cauliflower rice to keep the quick meal low carb.
Also try my Pesto Quinoa Salad with Asparagus Avocado and Kale, Pasta Salad with Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing, or Baked Feta Pasta for sides that pair well with these Mediterranean meatballs.
Store any leftover turkey meatballs in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
How Long To Bake Meatballs?:
When are turkey meatballs fully cooked? Turkey meatballs must reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit to be considered fully cooked. At a minimum, turkey meatballs need 15 minutes in the oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
I like baking meatballs at a higher temperature for a little longer to ensure they get a nice little crisp on the outside.
The exact baking time will vary depending on the size of your meatballs and the temperature of the meat before it goes in the oven.
If you enjoy this recipe, you may also love my Asian-Inspired Air Fryer Turkey Meatballs!
Enjoy these protein packed flavorful healthy turkey meatballs!
Mediterranean Baked Turkey Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 2 Tbsp avocado oil
- ⅓ cup sun-dried tomatoes finely chopped
- 3 Tbsp kalamata olives finely chopped
- 2 large cloves garlic minced
- ½ cup feta cheese crumbles
- ⅓ cup fresh basil chopped
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and spray or lightly oil a large casserole dish. As an alternative, you can use a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
- Add all of the ingredients to a large mixing bowl. Use your hands to mix all of the ingredients together until it seems as though everything is well distributed throughout the meat. Note: you can also use a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for this process.
- Form the meat mixture into 12 to 14 meatballs and place meatballs in the prepared casserole dish.
- Bake meatballs for 15 to 20 minutes, or until they are golden-brown and cooked through.
- Serve Mediterranean Baked Turkey Meatballs with your favorite side dishes. You can serve them as is for a lighter meal or use your favorite homemade or store-bought pasta sauce and pasta noodles for meatball pasta.
Nutrition
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at this point I have made these half a dozen times! The recipe is perfect down to the amount of salt because the olives add a saltiness to the overall result. Thank you so much! I eat these like a protein snack sometimes instead of a protein bar or shake. LOVE LOVE LOVE!
Wahoo! I love hearing that! I’m always psyched when someone enjoys a recipe enough to put it on repeat. I just adore these meatballs too! 🙂
I am making these tonight, they look too good not to.
Wahoo! Hope you enjoy!
These Meatballs were delicious! I had everything but the Kalamata Olives and made due with regular black olives and they were still wonderful. Next time I’ll definitely use Kalamata Olives because I love the flavors they add . Mediterranean anything and I’m all in . Thanks for sharing the recipe and I’ll be making these again .
I’m so happy to hear it, Greg!! I love all things Mediterranean too and I’m so happy you loved the meatballs – they’ve been one of my favorites lately 🙂 xoxo
I am not a fan of olives. I know they provide a salty briny flavor. Any substitutions you wound recommend? Thnx
Hi Barbara!
You can replace the olives with more sun-dried tomatoes or finely chopped artichoke hearts or capers! Hope you love them!! xo
These were delicious! I left out the feta because we were out but they were still amazing. Will definitely be repeating. 🙂
I’m so happy you enjoyed them, Kelli! They’re a new go-to for me as well 🙂