I decided to research creative recipes for those trying to build muscle. All the rage has been around quinoa meatballs. Quinoa is one of our choices for healthy carbs, so the idea of cooking a creative, tasty dish that involves ingredients my husband and I have to eat was exciting. And today, we’ll share one of our all-time favourite hearty quinoa and turkey meatballs recipe that we know you’ll love as well.
I have to admit, I’ve only been doing this for about 2 weeks, and I am already sick of chicken! I’ve never been a big fan of meat in general, but ground turkey and chicken seem to go down easier for me. This recipe involves them, so I was also excited about that.
This recipe for quinoa and turkey meatballs was inspired by others I read online. It is my version, where I eliminated and added some things; I encourage you to be creative and do the same. Some recipes I read added ingredients like carrots, onions, and even oats; I plan to make these again and experiment.
Hearty Quinoa and Turkey Meatballs Recipe
Ingredients
1 package ground turkey (minced turkey) - 98% fat-free
1 medium zucchini - grated
3 cloves garlic - grated
1 cup quinoa - cooked
2 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons Italian herbs (oregano, rosemary, thyme, and sometimes basil and parsley)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 medium egg
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a large bowl, mix ground meat of choice (I used both ground turkey and ground chicken), grated zucchini, grated garlic, 1 cup of cooked quinoa, 1 egg, and dry seasoning until blended thoroughly.
- Spray pan with Pam oil spray.
- Using a tablespoon, round the mixture into a meatball and place it on a baking pan. Repeat until the mixture is gone. Make sure meatballs are spaced evenly apart.
- Place in oven for 20 to 25 minutes. ( I found when using chicken, 20 minutes worked better, and for turkey, 25 minutes worked better) meatballs should be firm and cooked throughout, no pink.
- Serve with low sodium, low sugar tomato sauce, or have them plain! If you can have tomato sauce, I suggest heating the sauce up in a skillet and placing meatballs in the sauce before serving. This helps with flavour!
